[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 197 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN MEMORY OF OFFICER HUNTER EDWARDS, WINCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 13, 2018

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep regret and sadness that I 
rise to share with you and our colleagues, the tragic news about the 
passing of a community hero of Winchester, Virginia, Police Officer 
Hunter Edwards. Officer Edwards is the second Winchester police officer 
to have died in the line of duty and the residents of the close-knit 
community of Winchester and the Northern Shenandoah Valley are in 
profound grief over this tragedy.
  On November 24th, Officer Edwards died after his police cruiser 
skidded on a downhill, rain-slicked section of road and tragically 
crashed into a tree as he was quickly responding to a call for help at 
a residence where a major altercation had broken out. Only 30 years old 
and recently married, Hunter had begun to experience the joy and 
satisfaction of family life with his wife, Tara Markley, and their 
four-year-old son, Landon. And since becoming a member of the 
Winchester Police Department in the summer of 2014, Hunter's 
professionalism and dedication to duty had resulted in his being 
assigned to the Civil Disturbance Unit and the SWAT Team, and as a 
field training officer for the Department. He had also earlier worked 
as a police officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency.
  As a nation of freedom-loving people, we are deeply grateful to our 
national and community heroes, without whose selfless sacrifice we 
know, for a certainty, that we would not be free. When we tuck our 
children and grandchildren into bed at night, and turn out the lights 
in our homes, we rest assured that heroes like Hunter Edwards, who was 
working the second shift from 2:30 p.m. until 2:00 a.m., are protecting 
us from all evil and danger.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in echoing the 
sentiments of a grateful nation for the courageous service of Police 
Officer Hunter Edwards, and in expressing prayers for Officer Edwards' 
family as they cope with this tragic and untimely loss. May we be 
forever inspired by the duty and sacrifice of Officer Hunter Edwards, 
to acknowledge and support our police officers, sheriff's deputies, 
fire fighters and other first responders and their families, and do 
whatever we can in our own lives, to build stronger, safer communities 
in which to live.

                          ____________________