[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 215 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING UNDERSHERIFF MICHAEL G. McCABE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 14, 2021

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Undersheriff 
Michael McCabe as he retires from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office 
after 44 years of service.
  Born and raised in Bloomfield Township, Mike's lifelong dream was to 
become a police officer. When he was a young child, he had been riding 
in the car with his mother and brother when they were involved in a 
traffic accident. Although thankfully no one was seriously injured, 
Undersheriff McCabe still remembers the Bloomfield Township police 
officer that came to take a statement in the hospital.
  That seminal memory stuck with him as he attended Brother Rice High 
School alongside future Sheriff Mike Bouchard, and later, when he 
graduated from Michigan State University in 1977. Just four months 
after earning his degree, Undersheriff McCabe joined the Oakland County 
Sheriff's Office--earning one of six spots out of 800 applicants. The 
rest, as they say, is history.
  Over a career spanning more than four decades, he's risen through the 
ranks, working in every division along the way--from patrol deputy to 
detective to substation commander to chief of staff to now undersheriff 
and chief deputy, the position he's held for nearly 18 years. As the 
senior official responsible for day-to-day operations, his latest 
duties have included managing more than 1,400 employees and overseeing 
the $165 million annual budget.
  Undersheriff McCabe's commitment to his fellow officers is the stuff 
of legend. In 1982, while responding to an armed robbery, his partner 
was critically wounded with gunshots to the chest and left shoulder. 
Without a moment's hesitation, Undersheriff McCabe threw his fellow 
officer into the passenger's seat of their patrol car and drove him to 
Crittenton Hospital--undoubtedly saving his partner's life. Last year, 
when a routine doctor's visit discovered an issue that required him to 
go in for emergency surgery, he was reportedly answering emails and 
returning phone calls from his room in the hospital.
  However, it is his actions in the last few weeks of his service that 
will serve as a lasting testament to Undersheriff McCabe's heroism. On 
November 30, 2021, when a 15-year-old student at Oxford High School 
opened fire on his classmates, Undersheriff McCabe was one of the first 
responders to arrive and he was on-site and in command as the senior 
officer in charge of the law enforcement mobilization. He and his 
fellow officers answered the call--more than 100 in total that were 
frantically placed to 911--and without waiting to set up a perimeter or 
assess the danger, they ran into the high school and apprehended the 
shooter before more lives were lost. As he had done before in his 
career, Undersheriff's McCabe's quick thinking saved lives. There is 
110 question that there are teachers and students who are still here 
because of what he did and that his seasoned, experienced leadership 
helped mitigate and manage an unimaginable situation. For that, our 
community will forever be in his debt.
  Madam Speaker, even before the tragedy at Oxford High School, 
Undersheriff McCabe deserved recognition from this chamber for his 
decades of service. That the coda to his career is a moment in the 
national spotlight, as the face of a grieving community, only deepens 
it.
  Simply put, Undersheriff McCabe is the best of what Oxford, Michigan 
and Oakland County represents. There is nothing in the world that I 
wouldn't give for his recognition to be under different circumstances, 
and yet, it is a small comfort to know that, in this moment of 
incredible pain as we seek to pick up the pieces, he has been there as 
a steady hand and a guiding force for his fellow neighbors.
  I rise today in profound thanks to Undersheriff Michael McCabe for 44 
years of service, and in honor of his actions throughout his career, 
and especially his final acts on the force. I ask that my colleagues 
join me in wishing him and his wife, Rebecca, a well-deserved 
retirement.

                          ____________________