[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2801-S2802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          National Police Week

  Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, in commemoration of National Police 
Week, families from across the country are gathering in Washington to 
pay respect to law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the 
line of duty last year.
  Mississippi tragically lost four officers who are being recognized 
this week at ceremonies in Mississippi and here in the Nation's 
Capital.
  On May 17, 2018, Officer Emmett Paul Morris, 61, of Louin, was killed 
in a car crash. Having served the Raleigh and Reservoir Police 
Departments, Officer Morris was described as ``a kind man who had the 
spirit of service.''
  Patrolman LeAnn Simpson of Philadelphia, MS, died in an automobile 
crash while responding to a call on November 24, 2018. She was just 23 
years old. Prior to joining the Philadelphia Police Department, Simpson 
was a sergeant in the U.S. Army.
  The loss of two other officers from Mississippi last year has special 
significance to me because they had dedicated themselves to protecting 
my hometown of Brookhaven in Lincoln County, MS.
  Officers James Kevin White, 35, of Sontag, and Corporal Walter 
Zachery Marshall Moak, 31, of Brookhaven, lost their lives in a 
terrible standoff on September 29, 2018.
  Corporal Moak served with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office before 
serving with the Wesson and Brookhaven Police Departments.
  Officer White, in addition to being a police officer, served in Iraq 
with the Mississippi National Guard.
  I join the families and communities of these four Mississippi 
officers in remembering their lives and expressing sincere gratitude 
for their service.
  Sadly, their sacrifice did not end our losses in Mississippi. 
Mississippians just yesterday, this past Monday, paused to mourn a 
veteran Biloxi police officer, Robert McKeithen, as he was laid to rest 
after being gunned down outside the police station on May 5, 2019--last 
Sunday.
  These officers and Trooper Kenneth ``Josh'' Smith of the Mississippi 
Highway Patrol, along with the more than 160 officers from around the 
country who lost their lives, deserve national recognition.
  Law enforcement officers risk their lives daily to help keep us safe, 
and any loss of an officer deeply affects entire communities. I greatly 
admire members of the law enforcement community who remain steadfast in 
the

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dangers of their noble profession. We acknowledge their brave service 
and fortify our support of their work to protect our families and our 
communities.
  I yield the floor.

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