[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 8385]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING ALASKA CORRECTIONAL OFFICER DANIEL BATES

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, law enforcement officers from around 
the Nation--troopers, police officers, sheriff's deputies, professional 
corrections officers, conservation officers and rangers and federal law 
enforcement officers--are traveling to our Nation's Capital for the 
annual observance of National Police Week which begins on May 9 and 
continues through May 15.
  National Police Week is a solemn period, during which law enforcement 
officers recognize their brothers and sisters who died in the line of 
duty and provide support and comfort to the survivors.
  Last year, during National Police Week, I had the sad duty of 
acknowledging the loss of Officer James C. Hesterberg, the first member 
of the Alaska Department of Corrections to lose his life in the line of 
duty. This year, I must sadly acknowledge the loss of Officer John 
Watson of the Kenai Police Department who was fatally shot while on 
duty on Christmas night 2003.
  On May 11, as part of the National Police Week observance, 
Corrections U.S.A., an association of 90,000 publicly-employed 
professional corrections officers, will meet to honor their brothers 
and sisters who have performed acts above and beyond in the protection 
of public safety.
  It gives me great pride to recognize Officer Daniel Bates, an 
employee of the Alaska Department of Corrections, presently assigned to 
the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, who will receive the 2004 
Silver Medal of Valor from Corrections U.S.A.
  On December 31, 2000, Officer Bates, then assigned to the Ketchikan 
Correctional Center, reacted quickly and professionally to an incident 
involving an inmate who one month prior was convicted of twelve 
criminal counts stemming from the armed robbery of a liquor store and a 
convenience store. Two of those counts were for the crime of attempted 
murder. The prisoner in question was arrested after an all night 
manhunt during which he shot at police officers who tried to apprehend 
him at a motel.
  The inmate was participating in outdoor recreation at the jail when 
he began to scale the first of two perimeter fences around the exercise 
area. He succeeded in scaling the inner fence, ignoring orders to stop, 
and failed to stop after being struck by a rubber projectile fired by 
Officer Bates. After the prisoner breached the outer fence, the final 
barrier, Officer Bates fired at him with live ammunition, bringing him 
down.
  Given this inmate's history of violence toward law enforcement 
officers, it was critical to the public's safety that Officer Bates 
acted promptly and decisively to prevent the escape. His calm and 
professional actions may have been instrumental in keeping the names of 
one or more Alaska law enforcement officers off of the National Law 
Enforcement Officer's Memorial Wall in Judiciary Square. For this we 
are grateful.
  Our Nation's professional correctional officers are said to walk the 
toughest beat in law enforcement. I am pleased to join with Corrections 
U.S.A. in recognizing one of America's finest officers, Daniel Bates, a 
veteran member of the Alaska Department of Corrections, whose actions 
personify the department's motto, ``Vigilance Pride Dedication.''
  I thank the President and yield the floor.

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