[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1333-E1334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING SHERIFF JOHN D'AGOSTINI

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TOM McCLINTOCK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 21, 2022

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, you want to understand successful law 
enforcement, the first place to look is the career of El Dorado County 
Sheriff John D'Agostini. It's not hard: it was under his leadership--
indeed, because of his leadership--that the day-to-day operations of 
his department became the subject of the popular TV series, ``The 
Sheriffs of El Dorado County''--that ran from 2014 to 2019.
  It is the very definition of successful policing--pioneered by Sir 
Robert Peale and perfected and practiced by Sheriff D'Agostini. Ideal 
police departments are run as extensions of the communities they 
serve--they work in partnership with local citizens--and this was the 
heart of Sheriff D'Agostini's success.
  I've seen that in action over and over. During the devastating King 
Fire, I watched him at his post even when his own ranch was imminently 
threatened. During the Caldor Fire, he opened that same ranch to the 
stream of evacuees who had fled the devastation with only the clothes 
on their backs. I can't tell you the number of times I watched him 
during these terrifying disasters--always calm, always focused, always 
reassuring, and omnipresent.
  He is loved by his community and his department because he loves 
them--and that caring is what binds the community to the Sheriff's 
department and exemplified and indeed, defined, his successful record 
of modem policing.
  He was first elected in 2010 by a margin of less than 1,300 votes. 
But as he proved himself--he became a beloved institution in the 
community and won re-election overwhelmingly in 2014 and 2018--and 
would have won by acclamation in 2022, but for the fact that he chose 
to retire back into the community he has so faithfully served and 
protected.
  They were not all easy years. He lost a deputy to an illegal alien in 
an illegal marijuana grow in 2019 and became a national figure warning 
of the dangers that our porous border and sanctuary policies present to 
communities across America and to those who risk their lives to protect 
us.
  When state bureaucrats ordered businesses to shut down during the 
Covid hysteria, Sheriff D'Agostini stood up for the constitutional 
rights of his constituents and refused to destroy their livelihoods. 
His courageous stand has since been affirmed by the mounting evidence 
that the lockdowns cost lives, destroyed livelihoods and did nothing to 
slow the spread of the disease.
  Sheriff D'Agostini worked his way up through the ranks, first 
graduating from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Academy in 1993. 
Throughout his career, Sheriff D'Agostini served in numerous positions 
including Patrol Deputy, Detective, SWAT Team Member, Narcotics 
Investigator, Rangemaster and Firearms Instructor, and investigator for 
the Amador County District Attorney's Office.
  Sheriff D'Agostini is well known for his many accomplishments and 
contributions to the community including his leadership in constructing 
a new Public Safety Headquarters located in Placerville. This building 
now provides local law enforcement with emergency operation services, a 
9-1-1 dispatch center, a morgue, an evidence building, a special 
operations and training building, as well as an indoor shooting range 
and armory.
  Madam Speaker, without law enforcement there is no law, and without 
law there is no civilization, which is why it is impossible to 
overstate the necessity of our local police departments and the law and 
order they uphold within our communities. I am proud today to 
congratulate John on his numerous accomplishments and his exemplary 
leadership, and on behalf of grateful citizens across El Dorado County, 
to thank him for his extraordinary service.
  El Dorado County has been extremely fortunate to have had his 
leadership for the past 12 years. And although he isn't going 
anywhere--he's retiring right back into the community that raised him, 
and although his successor is well prepared under his tutelage to carry 
on his successful policies--it won't stop us from missing him in the 
role he defined and the responsibilities he discharged so well.

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