[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H5020-H5021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    VIOLENCE AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT

  (Mr. YAKYM asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YAKYM. Mr. Speaker, in the last 2 months northwest Indiana has 
sadly seen a rash of violence against law enforcement. Three officers 
in and around

[[Page H5021]]

my district have been shot in the line of duty.
  Trooper Benjamin Beers was shot during a traffic stop. Deputy Jon 
Samuelson was shot three times while helping a stranded driver. 
Sergeant Justin Helfin was shot during a pursuit.
  I want to be clear: If someone targets our officers, they will face 
justice.
  For far too long, we have seen the officers who protect us demonized 
while excuses are made for the career criminals who terrorize our 
communities. It is dangerous, and as we have seen recently, it has 
tragic consequences.
  These officers deserve to go home to their spouses, their children, 
and their parents at the end of every shift. I am grateful that these 
three survived, but survival is not safety, and three shootings in 2 
months cannot be ignored or normalized. It must be a wake-up call.
  Law and order does not sustain itself. It is upheld by the men and 
women who put on the badge, and they are willing to risk everything for 
strangers. That is what separates us as a functioning society and why I 
and the thousands of Hoosiers I serve will always back the blue.

                          ____________________