[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24645]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HOUSTON POLICE OFFICER TIMOTHY ABERNETHY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, for Houston police officer Timothy Abernethy, 
fighting crime was more than an occupation; it was his personal 
calling. Officer Abernethy was part of a special effort through the 
Houston Police Department to place more peace officers in high crime 
areas, which is why he was in an area of town that others tend to shy 
away from when he was shot and killed this past Sunday, December 7.
  Working overtime and in a one-man patrol unit, Abernethy had pulled 
over a 28-year-old male for a traffic violation. As the man and the 
officer talked, the individual made a run for it and Officer Abernethy 
pursued him on foot through a nearby northwest Houston apartment 
complex. Tragically, the coward of a man, who happened to be out on 
parole, hid and ambushed Abernethy shooting him four times and killing 
him. The criminal has been apprehended and is charged with capital 
murder of a peace officer.
  Officer Abernethy graduated May 27, 1997, from the Houston Police 
Academy, Class 170. During his 11-year HPD career, he was assigned to 
patrol at the North Command station and served with the HPD Search and 
Recovery Dive Team. Recently, Abernethy was part of an HPD bomb squad 
and was due to be transferred full-time to this squad.
  Officer Abernethy is remembered as a giving person. His Captain, 
Ceaser Moore, recalls a time during Hurricane Ike this past fall when 
his power was out for weeks, and even though Abernethy already had his 
in-laws staying with him, he invited Captain Moore to stay with him 
until electricity was restored.
  Officer Abernethy was the type of person who worked hard not only to 
improve his community but also himself. He worked successfully to 
obtain a degree while he was a member of the Houston Police Department.
  Prior to joining the Houston Police Department, Officer Abernethy 
served in the United States Navy in the Submarine Corps.
  Officer Abernethy is survived by his wife Stephanie, his son Timothy 
Scott Abernethy, Junior, and his daughter Olivia Ann Abernethy.
  His only son, Tim, Jr., followed in his father's footsteps and joined 
the United States Navy so that he, too, could serve his country. 
Abernethy's daughter Olivia is a 2008 graduate of Texas A&M University 
in College Station, Texas.
  Officer Abernethy was a man of honor who was dedicated to making our 
world a safer place for the rest of us. He will be greatly missed by 
citizens and peace officers alike. He was one of Houston's finest. Mr. 
Speaker, he was a cut above the rest of us.
  His funeral will be this Friday in Houston, Texas, and his fellow 
officers will wear their black cloth of sacrifice across their badges. 
Peace officers are the last strand of wire in the fence between the law 
and those that violate the law.
  Officer Timothy Abernethy lived and died serving the people of Texas 
and the City of Houston.
  And that's the just way it is.

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