[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 26750]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING SEATTLE POLICE OFFICER TIM BRENTON

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a public servant, 
Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton. Officer Brenton was killed in the 
line of duty last week on October 31, 2009. Officer Brenton lost his 
life in an apparent deliberate murder that has shocked Seattle and 
frozen our hearts.
  Officer Brenton leaves behind his wife and two children and the rest 
of his family, including a father and an uncle who also served the 
public as police officers and a brother who is a firefighter. He leaves 
behind a partner, Officer Britt Sweeney, who was also wounded that 
night.
  He leaves behind a police department in mourning, and he leaves 
behind a community in shock because of this brutal and senseless crime. 
But more than that, he leaves behind a legacy of selflessness, of 
caring, and of commitment to service. We all owe a great debt to 
Officer Brenton and to the many public servants who place their lives 
on the line to protect us.
  The Seattle Times newspaper noted that a neighbor called the Brentons 
``just a regular American family, going to work, making a living.'' But 
the Brentons are no regular family. They have been doubly marked by 
valor and by sacrifice. The perpetrators of this tragic crime have 
marked all of us as we mourn the effects of this violence on the family 
and friends of Officer Brenton.
  I ask you all to join me in bowing your heads in remembrance of 
Officer Brenton.

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