[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24896]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF PATROL OFFICER JAMES SIMONE

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                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 2009

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Patrol Officer 
James Simone, a Cleveland Division of Police officer, who is one of 
just 12 officers to have been honored at the 2009 Police Service 
Awards.
  Officer Simone was born on Cleveland's Eastside and attended St. 
Thomas Aquinas Elementary School. His family later moved to Lakewood, 
Ohio in 1966 where Officer Simone graduated from Lakewood High School. 
In 1968 Officer Simone joined the U.S. Military's 101st Airborne 
Paratrooper unit during the Vietnam War and received two Purple Hearts 
and two Bronze Stars for his service. After returning to Cleveland, 
Officer Simone became an officer for the Cleveland Police Department at 
the age of 25.
  Officer Simone has now served the residents of Cleveland, Ohio as a 
police officer for 36 years in the capacity of a homicide detective, 
member of the SWAT team, undercover agent and currently serves as a 
patrolman for Cleveland's second district. Throughout his career, 
Officer Simone has been shot, stabbed and run over numerous times, and 
despite it all, he continues to serve as a dedicated officer.
  While it is not the first award for the decorated Officer Simone, it 
is his heroic actions on January 10th, 2009 that has earned Officer 
Simone the honor of being named one of America's Top Police Officers 
this month. On that night, a woman fell through the ice-covered 
Cuyahoga River and was unable to get out of the freezing water. Officer 
Simone arrived at the scene and when a life-preserver failed as a 
rescuing device, he risked his life and jumped into the water to save 
the victim. Both the woman and Officer Simone suffered from hypothermia 
but survived because of his selfless and heroic decision.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor of Patrol 
Officer James Simone who has been the awarded an honorable mention in 
the 2009 Police Service Awards. While his heroic actions on January 
10th, 2009 have earned him this honor, the residents of Cleveland have 
been awarded with Officer Simone's 35 years of dedicated service.

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