[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25683]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         A TRIBUTE TO RON DOWNS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 9, 2005

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Lieutenant Ron Downs 
of Fresno, California. Mr. Downs was a respected member of the Fresno 
police department. He passed away Monday, October 31st, 2005 of a heart 
attack; he was three weeks away from retirement.
  Mr. Downs was sworn as a police officer in July 1, 1967, at the young 
age of 22. He worked as a lieutenant and commander of the special 
investigations bureau, for the department's narcotics unit. He 
previously was commander of the internal affairs bureau. At the time of 
Mr. Downs' death, he was one of the longest-serving active officers in 
the department.
  Mr. Downs worked tirelessly on behalf of our community for 38 years 
as a member of the police force. On any given day, he was willing to 
sacrifice his own safety to protect others. Mr. Downs was an exemplary 
citizen; his contributions to our community will be long lived.
  Mr. Downs is survived by his wife, Carolyn. He is also survived by 
his son, Kenneth Downs; his daughter, Kris Loughney; his wife's son, 
Michael Dick; three brothers; and five grandchildren. The community of 
Fresno is saddened by his passing and I would like to extend my 
condolences to his family.

                          ____________________