[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1025]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            TRIBUTE TO SGT. BRUCE A. PROTHERO, A FALLEN HERO

  (Mr. EHRLICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks).
  Mr. EHRLICH. Mr. Speaker, today in Reisterstown, Maryland, hundreds 
of police officers have gathered to pay tribute to another fallen hero. 
Earlier this week, Sergeant Bruce A. Prothero, a 13-year veteran of the 
Baltimore County Police Department, said good-bye to his wife and five 
young children. He went to work his second job, something many police 
officers must do to support their families.
  Shortly after the jewelry store at which Sergeant Prothero was 
employed opened for business, armed thugs entered the store. While 
horrified customers were forced to the floor, the Sergeant was held at 
gunpoint until the robbery was completed. As the thugs made their 
escape, Sergeant Prothero was gunned down.
  Every day, all across America, police officers lay their lives on the 
line so that we may enjoy the freedoms so many of us take for granted. 
They are our moms and dads, our brothers and sisters, our sons and 
daughters. They are our heroes. Sergeant Bruce A. Prothero was just 
such a hero. But, more importantly, he was a loving father, a devoted 
husband, a son, and a brother.
  May God grant strength to his family, and eternal peace to another 
fallen hero. Let these words, now a permanent part of the history of 
this great Nation, serve as an introduction to those who never knew 
Sergeant Prothero, and as a reminder to those who will miss him so 
dearly.

                          ____________________