[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2841-S2842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, each year during National Police Week we 
honor our law enforcement officers and the families who support them 
and sacrifice alongside them. It is so important to remember that, as 
much as the sacrifice of the officer or the man or woman overseas 
fighting for our country, the sacrifice of the family is in many ways 
just as great.
  They all give so much in service to their communities. Too many make 
the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe.
  This year we add the names of four Ohioans to the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial. Ohioans who laid down their lives last 
year were Officer Eric Joering of Westerville, a Columbus suburb; 
Officer Anthony Morelli, also of Westerville; Officer Vu Nguyen of 
Cleveland; and Officer Matthew Mazany, of Mentor, a community east of 
Cleveland along Lake Erie. Each of these losses is a tragedy for a 
family, for a community, for their fellow officers.
  Sadly, we already know the names of two people who will be added to 
the memorial next year: Detective William Brewer of the Clermont County 
Sheriff's Office east of Cincinnati and Officer Dale Woods of the 
Colerain Township Police Department near Cincinnati. Both were killed 
in the line of duty in 2019.
  We can't begin to repay the debt we owe them and their families, but 
we can work harder, frankly, to support their families and their fellow 
officers as they work to keep our communities safe.
  It is why I am working with my colleague Senator Portman on our 
bipartisan POWER Act to get officers the tools they need to screen for 
dangerous opioids in their communities.
  This bill builds on my INTERDICT Act, which the President signed into 
law last year. That law is getting new, portable, handheld screening 
devices to Customs and Border Protection agents to detect fentanyl and 
carfentanil at the U.S. border and stop them before they reach Ohio 
streets.
  The POWER Act will give our local and State law enforcement access to 
the same high-tech tools.
  All of our law enforcement officers know how big of an issue illegal 
fentanyl has become. They deal with it, it seems, almost every day.

[[Page S2842]]

  This week I am joining Senator Inhofe to introduce the bipartisan Law 
Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Response Act.
  We have seen too many officers hurt. We have seen far too many police 
officers and sheriff's deputies and Federal agents killed responding to 
people in their communities suffering a mental health crisis. This bill 
would invest in training to help officers resolve those situations 
safely for themselves and for the communities they serve.
  This National Police Week, let's offer more than gratitude to the 
people who put their lives on the line to keep us safe. Let's support 
these women and men by getting them the tools they need to do their 
jobs for themselves and for our communities.

                          ____________________