[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           IN SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF SHAWN BARRINGTON SILVERA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MARK R. KENNEDY

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 20, 2005

  Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
bravery and service of Officer Shawn Barrington Silvera of the Lino 
Lakes Police Department.
  Officer Silvera was killed in the line of duty on September 6th, 
2005, when he was struck by a stolen car driven by a convicted felon 
attempting to evade arrest.
  Officer Silvera was a Minnesota family man in the truest sense of the 
words. He married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer, to whom he sent 
flowers every month to mark their anniversary, even after five years of 
marriage.
  Together, Shawn and Jennifer had two children, eighteen-month-old 
Jordan and five-month old Madelynn.
  Mr. Speaker, Officer Silvera loved giving back to his community and 
to society as a whole.
  He joined the Lino Lakes Police Department in 1997, but took a leave 
of absence to work for two years with the Peace Corps in Honduras, 
where he helped build a community library.
  Outside of police work, Officer Silvera worked with the Explorers 
program, to get teenagers interested in careers in law enforcement. He 
also served in the D.A.R.E. drug awareness program, and worked as a 
counselor at the local Safety Camp.
  Even after all this volunteer work, Officer Silvera would often join 
the kids he worked with for lunch or a game of football or basketball.
  Mr. Speaker, Officer Silvera knew the dangers of his profession, but 
he also knew of its importance. He genuinely loved helping people, and 
he touched countless lives before his tragic death.
  Officer Silvera was a true American hero, and I extend my deepest 
sympathies to his family for their loss.

                          ____________________