[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S32]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Honoring Sergeant Philip Dale Nix

  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the service and 
sacrifice of Greensboro Police Officer Sergeant Philip Dale Nix.
  Before the start of the new year, Sergeant Nix was off duty at a 
local gas station when he witnessed three individuals stealing alcohol. 
Of course, we know there is really no such thing as being off duty for 
a brave law enforcement officer who took the oath to protect and serve. 
So Sergeant Nix's instincts kicked in immediately. He approached the 
suspects as the crime was taking place, and they responded by shooting 
him.
  Another off-duty officer, a Guilford County paramedic, tried to 
render him aid. His wounds were fatal, though; and he passed away 
shortly thereafter at the hospital.
  Sergeant Nix embodied the very best of law enforcement. He was a 
consummate professional, a good and decent person, and was beloved by 
the community of Greensboro.
  It should come as no surprise that Sergeant Nix, like so many other 
officers, comes from a family with a long legacy of public service. In 
this case, it included public service at the Greensboro Fire 
Department, where his father was a captain, his uncle was an assistant 
chief, and his brother currently serves as a firefighter.
  Sergeant Nix worked for the Greensboro Police Department for 22 years 
and had a distinguished record of service. He worked as a criminal 
investigations division detective; a patrol corporal; a patrol 
sergeant; a police training officer; a financial crimes detective; and, 
most recently, as a supervisor of the family victims unit. As one 
detective of the Greensboro Police Department noted:

       Sergeant Nix was the Family Victims Unit. The amount of 
     work, and dedication that he put into his career and into the 
     community to protect vulnerable communities, and protect 
     innocent people [was] unmatched.

  For as impressive as Sergeant Nix was for his exemplary work in 
uniform, it was his job as a family man--a loving husband, a father, 
and son--that made him the man he was.
  As the Greensboro city council member Zack Matheny put it:

       [Sergeant Nix] cared about this community . . . and he 
     loved his family 10 times more than he [even] loved this 
     community. So I hope that they can feel his arms wrapped 
     around them.

  Sergeant Nix upheld his oath to protect and serve even when he wasn't 
in uniform. He exemplified what it means to be an exceptional law 
enforcement officer, and he made the ultimate sacrifice.
  My deepest condolences go out to Sergeant Nix's family for their 
tremendous loss, and my condolences go out to the community of 
Greensboro, which lost one of their finest and most decent public 
servants.
  We should never--and I will never--forget his service.