[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 108 (Thursday, June 27, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E673-E674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING OFFICERS OF THE VINTON POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR HEROIC ACTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CLAY HIGGINS

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2024

  Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Officer David 
Lyons and Corporal Dempsey Lavergne of the Vinton Police Department 
(VPD) for their life-saving actions in response to a dire situation. 
Their actions illustrate an optimal delivery of a vital public service: 
timely heroics by law enforcement officers.
  In July of 2022, a resident of Vinton, Louisiana was driving home 
with her four-year-old granddaughter via Interstate-10. As they neared 
their exit, the driver maneuvered her vehicle to avoid a collision, 
veering off the road and into the middle of a canal. As a result of the 
crash, the vehicle's windows and doors would not open. As the vehicle 
began to sink in the 10-foot-deep canal, the occupants trapped within 
were at risk of losing their lives. The driver's daughter and mother of 
the four-year-old child was alerted to this incident via a family 
safety app on her phone. When her mother failed to answer a phone call, 
she reported the vehicle's location to an emergency operator. Officer 
Lyons and then-Sergeant Lavergne were immediately dispatched to the 
scene. Arriving at the vehicle's location, the officers identified the 
weight of the situation and rushed into the canal's waters toward the 
sinking vehicle.
  Unable to budge the vehicle's locked doors, the officers smashed its 
rear window, through which the driver passed them her granddaughter. 
While the four-year-old had reached safety, the driver remained trapped 
in the nearly submerged car. With admirable resolve, Officer Lyons and 
Corporal Lavergne clung to her, ignoring the water rising around them. 
Finally, moments after the car had fully submerged, the officers were 
able to pull her from

[[Page E674]]

the vehicle. This harrowing rescue, and the incident's overwhelmingly 
positive outcome were described by witnesses as a miracle.
  Details in the incident's aftermath leave no doubt that Officer Lyons 
and Corporal Lavergne are the instruments through which this miracle 
came. These officers' courageous actions are a testament to their 
character. Dismissing the obstacles, danger, and odds, these officers 
instinctually abided by their oath of office, exemplifying the very 
best of the Thin Blue Line. Officer Lyons' only statement regarding 
this incident presents an ethos worthy of aspiration: ``We don't do it 
for the glory, we simply do what God put us on the planet to do.'' May 
the Lord continue to bless and protect Officer Lyons and Corporal 
Lavergne in their service and protection of our community.

                          ____________________