[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 91 (Thursday, May 14, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2443-S2444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, this is National Police Week. It is one of 
the weeks that I always look forward to.
  For years now, it has been an opportunity to spend time with people 
who protect us--who protect all of us. We get a chance each day to say 
thank you to the Capitol Police, who work here at the Capitol. As the 
chairman of the Law Enforcement Caucus, I have lots of opportunities in 
our State to see officers in groups and one at a time, and I always try 
to be thankful to them when I see them. Yet this is a time every year 
when we get a chance to see people from all over the country come to 
Washington, and it is a chance for us to say thank you to them and 
thank you to their families.
  This year in particular, Chief Jon Belmar--the just recently retiring 
chief at the St. Louis County Police Department and good friend who was 
always there for advice, always brought a big contingent of officers to 
Police Week. So I am thinking about him and of not seeing him at Police 
Week in Washington.
  I am also thinking about the new chief of the St. Louis County Police 
Department, Chief Mary Barton. This is a county of over a million 
people, so it is a substantial job. It is a place to really affect how 
police work is done. I look forward to spending time with Chief Barton 
as she moves forward with what she can do to build on what has happened 
in the department over the years.
  Like so much else this year, Police Week is different than it has 
been before. There are no sounds of hundreds of motorcycles going down 
the streets of Washington as we celebrate the week. There are no groups 
of law enforcement officers or police vehicles from all over the 
country coming here. I am grateful for them. They protect

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our safety. This is a job wherein, every day when you leave home, you 
have no idea what events may come before you that day, and, frankly, 
your family has no idea what may happen that day.
  I have told a number of officers, in thinking about their families, 
including the officers who serve here at the Capitol, that they 
generally have some sense as to whether they are in a moment that could 
lead to danger or not beyond the normal readiness to serve us but that 
their families, with their not being with them when they are at work, 
have to wonder over and over again during the day what threat may come 
to the person about whom they care so much as that person protects 
others.
  Each year, one of the memorable events of National Police Week is the 
candlelight vigil that is held at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial 
a few blocks from here. We gather there annually to hear the names of 
officers who have lost their lives and to bear witness to and be 
grateful for their service.
  Sadly, in the past year, Missouri has lost three dedicated officers.
  Last June, Lakeshire Chief of Police Wayne Neidenberg passed away 
after assisting at the scene of a rollover crash in O'Fallon, MO. Chief 
Neidenberg had stopped at the scene on his way home, called for 
assistance, and proceeded on after the situation was stabilized, but 
before he got out of his car at home, he had a heart attack. We lost 
Chief Neidenberg at that moment.
  He spent his entire career in law enforcement. He served in both the 
St. Louis County Police Department and in the Lakeshire Police 
Department. He was an Army veteran. He is survived by Ardell, his wife; 
Cori, his daughter; and his three sons, Matthew, Darek, and Aaron.
  On Sunday, June 23, North County Police Cooperative Officer Michael 
Langsdorf responded to a complaint of check fraud at a local business 
in Wellston, MO. The man who has been charged with his murder shot 
Officer Langsdorf after a struggle inside the store. He had served with 
the department for only 3 months, but before that, for 17 years, he had 
been part of the St. Louis City Metropolitan Police force.
  At his memorial service, Officer Langsdorf's son, Kaleb, remembered 
his dad this way:

       They say never to meet your heroes because you'll end up 
     disappointed. Well, I had the chance to be raised by mine, 
     and he never disappointed. He taught me that a life of 
     rescuing, defending and serving is the only life worth 
     living.

  In addition to Kaleb, Officer Langsdorf is survived by Kim, his 
fiancee; by Olivia, his daughter; and by his future stepchildren, Devin 
and Kaitlyn.
  Officer Christopher Walsh joined the Springfield Police Department in 
2016. On the evening of Sunday, March 15 of this year, Officer Walsh 
responded to an active shooter situation at a convenience store. The 
shooter had opened fire in the store, killing three people and injuring 
a fourth person. Officer Walsh rushed into harm's way to protect 
others. The shooter opened fire on Officer Walsh and killed him. His 
fellow officer, Josiah Overton, was injured in the same attack. Officer 
Walsh was fatally wounded and died the next day.
  He was a U.S. Army Reservist. During his 14 years of service in the 
Reserves, he completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sheri, his wife, 
and Morgan, their daughter, will live with his loss for the rest of 
their lives.
  Let me share a passage from Chris's obituary. Chris, by the way, was 
the first Springfield officer of the town I live in to be killed on 
duty since the 1930s. It is a great city with the great, good fortune 
of its officers' managing to do their jobs without having a loss like 
this, but we had one this year.
  The quote from his obituary reads:

       Christopher Ryan Walsh, a man devoid of vanity and devoted 
     to the service and to the welfare of others, would hope that 
     out of these tragic circumstances something beautiful could 
     take root in all of our hearts. Chris would hope that his 
     memory would serve as an example to spur small kindnesses and 
     acts of devotion and service to all of our community, friends 
     and loved ones, to look past the things that separate us and 
     to focus on the things that unite us.

  So Police Week is exactly the time to think about the things that 
unite us, to think about these officers and their courage, to think 
about their acts of devotion and service as we remember them.
  Congress wants to make sure that law enforcement officers have the 
support they need and never get into a situation without the resources 
needed to back them up. I am honored to serve as cochairman of the 
bipartisan Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, which advances legislation 
that supports the efforts of law enforcement nationwide. Senator Coons 
from Delaware is the other founder and cochair.
  Together, we sponsored the National Law Enforcement Museum 
Commemorative Coin Act that became law last year. The proceeds of the 
sales from those coins minted under the law would go to education and 
outreach about the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers 
throughout our country's history.
  I am also a cosponsor of legislation that would provide resources to 
protect officers' mental and physical well-being, including the Law 
Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act and the Lifesaving Gear for 
Police Act. I am glad to be a cosponsor of the Thin Blue Line Act and 
the Back the Blue Act, both of which are designed to better protect 
police officers and hold perpetrators who attack them accountable. 
Through these pieces of legislation and several others, the Congress 
has a chance to once again show its support of the men and women who 
serve in law enforcement.
  Police Week is different this year. I think we are all particularly 
appreciative of how law enforcement is having to step up in the crisis 
of the virus, doing what needs to be done, and again often making way 
for first responders and others to do what they can to save life and to 
protect other people who somehow are on the edges of this virus. They 
deal with people who are isolated in their homes, and because they are 
isolated, their mental health issues have become bigger issues. This is 
not an easy time for any of those who serve.
  Every year, we remember law enforcement, but this year I think we 
need to be particularly grateful for those who serve and protect us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Braun). The majority leader.

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