[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15020-15022]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR THEIR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 17, 2014

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the following law 
enforcement personnel who have recently been honored by the Horseshoe 
Curve Benevolent Association for their tireless service and continued 
willingness to put their lives on the line to protect our communities. 
This year's honorees are Sergeant Jonathan E. Smith, Clarke County 
Director of Emergency Communications Pam Hess, Deputy Bryan Smith, 
Corporal Bradley W. Davidson, Officer Terry W. Fritts, Sergeant Frank 
Myrtle, Officer Brock Justice, Officer Tommy Gardner, Lieutenant Wally 
Stotlemeyer, K-9 Officer Kota and his partner Corporal Brittney 
Kotynski-Neer.
  Sergeant Jonathan E. Smith has played a pivotal role in the 
implementation of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP-2), a 
joint federal, state and local jurisdiction effort to better train 
first responders as well as traffic incident and management support 
staff. As the lead instructor for Northwestern Virginia, Region 2, Sgt. 
Smith has conducted more than 30 sessions of the program, instructing 
more than 900 people, in addition to continuing his supervisory 
responsibilities as a Virginia State Police officer. His efforts have 
brought nationwide praise to the quality of Virginia law enforcement.
  Director of Emergency Communications Pam Hess has been with the 
Clarke County Sheriff's office since 1986. Today, she plays a crucial 
role as supervisor of the county's 911 center and de facto project 
manager for monitoring and upgrading the county's sophisticated 
communications equipment. In addition to these responsibilities, 
Director Hess still works shifts as an emergency operator and is on-
call every hour of every day.
  Deputy Bryan Smith has been a real asset to the Frederick County 
Sheriff's Office. Earlier this year, Deputy Smith played a critical 
role in resuscitating a motorist who was thought to have died in order 
to transport him to the Winchester Medical Center. Although the crash 
victim was beyond medical help, Deputy Smith's efforts gave him the 
chance to live.
  Corporal Bradley W. Davidson has served in the Winchester Sheriffs 
Office since 2006 and was recently promoted to Corporal in January. 
Bradley has trained many of his colleagues on responding to active 
shooter situations. He also manages the Sheriffs office's external 
functions. He is known around town as a family man as well as a man of 
integrity.
  Officer Terry Fritts has filled many roles in the Berryville Police 
Department, including providing technology expertise to investigating a 
bank robbery earlier this year, organizing Berryville's National Night 
Out and voluntarily handling difficult situations with citizens 
experiencing emotional crises. Throughout all this, he has been a great 
resource to Berryville and his colleagues in the police department.
  Sergeant Frank Myrtle of the Winchester Police Department has played 
a critical role in investigating and seeking successful indictments for 
two recent felony murder cases involving child victims. He has also 
taken the lead in the effort to address prostitution in Winchester by 
leading countless sting operations.
  Office Brock Justice has been an indispensable part of the Mount 
Weather Police Department. Officer Justice was trained in active 
shooter response tactics at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center 
and has extensively studied past incidents, such as the Navy Yard 
shooting last year. He has designed and implemented active shooter 
practice scenarios for Mount Weather police, fire and EMS services to 
hone their skills and identify areas for improvement.
  Officer Tommy Gardner serves the Northwestern Regional Jail. On the 
night of April 24, Officer Gardner, while off-duty, stepped above and 
beyond his call to duty and successfully negotiated the de-escalation 
of a dangerous domestic dispute in his neighborhood involving a 
firearm. He did his community a great service by his heroic actions.
  Lieutenant Wally Stotlemeyer serves with the Winchester Police 
Department and has been working with the Northwestern Virginia Regional 
Drug and Gang Task Force. He has exhibited tremendous leadership in 
overseeing the North End team as it manages the recent spike in 
regional heroin overdoses--part of the drug epidemic that threatens 
communities across the United States.
  Finally, K-9 Officer Kota was injured during the brave pursuit of two 
suspects in an attic. I join his partner, Winchester Police Department 
Corporal Brittney Kotynski-Neer in honoring Kota for his good work and 
welcome him back to duty at the Winchester Police Department.
  I am proud to join with the Horseshoe Benevolent Association--which 
has been honoring local law enforcement since 2004--to recognize these 
officers for their bravery, dedication and strength. We owe them a 
sincere debt of gratitude for their service to the 10th District and 
the Commonwealth of Virginia.

[[Page 15021]]

  I respectfully submit a speech given by Mr. Jim Wink at the Horseshoe 
Curve Benevolent Association's September 13th Law Enforcement 
Appreciation Dinner.

         Law Enforcement Appreciation, Dinner 13 September 2014

       Good evening: My name is Jim Wink. On behalf of the Horse 
     Shoe Curve Benevolent Association--I want to welcome 
     everybody and thank you for coming out to recognize those who 
     put their lives on the line to protect us.
       Before we begin to serve dinner, please stand for a short 
     prayer by Rev. Canon Dwight L. Brown, Grace Episcopal Church, 
     Berryville.
       Please join me in the Pledge of Alligence to our Flag.
       The purpose of tonight's gathering is to enjoy the company, 
     the food, the music, and--most important--to recognize local 
     police and secuirty officers who's dedication to serve their 
     community--that's us--has been outstanding.
       First: Let us recognize our guests. With us tonight are:
       Each of the officers recognized tonight will get not only 
     our respect and thanks, but also a plaque from the HSC 
     Benevolent Association, a certificate of appreciation from 
     the VA House of Delegates--compliments of Del. Randy Minchew, 
     and U.S. Congressional Recognition--compliments of 
     Congressman Frank Wolf. They will also get outstanding photos 
     of tonights activities compliments of Matt Baker.


                         VIRGINIA STATE POLICE

                       Sergeant Jonathan E. Smith

       Sergeant Smith is devoted to the implementation of the 
     SHRP-2--which is the strategic highway research program in 
     the Commonwealth of Virginia. In conjunction with the VA 
     Department Of Transportation, VA Department of Fire Programs, 
     US Federal Highway Administration and multiple local partners 
     involved in traffic operations, this curriculum was 
     implemented in the Commonwealth of VA as a pilot ``Train-the-
     Trainer'' program for all First Responders.
       The four hour course is nationally recognized traffic 
     incident management responder training that is offered to all 
     emergency responders and also those personnnel who support 
     traffic incident management operations. An important goal of 
     the program is to reduce congestion through incident 
     reduction, management, and response in order to improve 
     travel times for both commuters and freight throughout VA.
       SGT. Smith was tasked with being the lead instructor for 
     the Northwestern portion of VA (Region 2). He has coordinated 
     and jointly conducted 34 sessions of this training program to 
     over 900 attendees in various locations across his assigned 
     region. The work involved in the coordination of these 
     classes include, but not limited to, arrangement of the 
     training locations, advertisement of all classes, 
     registration of each attendee, and following up with 
     personalized certificates of completion.
       SGT. Smith has forged relationships and gained the support 
     and respect of many federal, state, and local agencies 
     thought the development of this program, which has greatly 
     enhanced the department's image by all cooperating agencies. 
     Although he has dedicated numerous hours (both duty and 
     personal) to this program, he has maintained all supervisory 
     responsibilities.
       SGT. Smith, congratulations and thank you for being there 
     for us.


                     CLARKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

                                Pam Hess

       Pam Hess is the director of emergency communications for 
     Clarke County. She has been employed by the County Sheriff's 
     Office since 1986. She is responsible for supervising the 911 
     Center, which includes the dispatching of all emergency 
     services in Clarke County. This responsibility requires that 
     Pam sometimes assumes the role of communications operator and 
     work a shift, a duty that she takes on without complaint. Pam 
     has become, by default, the project manager for all 
     communications upgrades with our 911 center. She takes care 
     of purchasing of complicated telephone equipment, and 
     oversees the installation of this equipment in addition to 
     all of the radio systems. She is really on call 24 hours a 
     day, 7 days a week to answer questions from staff, and 
     routinely act as a mechanic in keeping communications going. 
     Pam, sounds like you are doing it all!
       Pam: Congratulations, and thank you for being there for us.


                   FREDERICK COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

                           Deputy Bryan Smith

       On April 17, 2014, Trooper Joshua Myers of the VA State 
     Police and Deputy Bryan Smith were involved in an incident 
     where an apparent deceased motorist was resuscitated thanks 
     to their quick actions after a single vehicle crash on the 
     interstate. Upon VA state trooper Myers arrival no fire or 
     rescue personnel were on the scene. Trooper Myers attempted 
     to make contact with the driver of the tractor but he was 
     unconscious and partially on the floor board. There was no 
     breathing or pulse. Trooper Myers began to administer chest 
     compressions and rescue breathing on the subject. Deputy 
     Smith also stopped to provide assistance. He immediately 
     relieved Trooper Myers of performing CPR and continue to 
     sustain the subject while EMS was placing monitoring devices 
     on him to include an AED. He continued for several minutes. 
     The subject was transported to the Winchester Medical Center 
     where he passed away next day. If not for Trooper Myers and 
     Deputy Smith, he would have died in the truck. Deputy Smith 
     excels in his every day job with the Sheriff's Office. He 
     sets the bar high for fellow officers to follow.
       Deputy Smith, congratulations and thank you for being there 
     for us.


                      WINCHESTER SHERIFF'S OFFICE

                 Corporal Bradley W. Davidson (Harley)

       Corporal Davidson has been with the Sheriff's Office since 
     January 2006. He was promoted to Corporal in January 2014. 
     Corporal Bradley is in charge of all outside Sheriff's Office 
     functions such as evictions, levy's, distress warrants and 
     paper service. Bradley has played a very important role 
     within the Sheriff's Office to ensure that the office 
     continues to move forward in a positive way. Bradley is a 
     true profesional in dealing with the public with delicate 
     situations. Bradley is a person that can be counted on to 
     answer the call when situations arise that extra help is 
     needed.
       Bradley attended active Shooter Instructor School, then 
     came back and prepared lesson plans and started training the 
     Sheriff's Office. He is currently working on mass training 
     and drills for the Joint Judicial Building. Corporal Bradley 
     is married with one little girl. Bradley, in his off time is 
     a large supporter of WVU football and he spends a lot of his 
     time in the Fall hunting. His other interest is Harley 
     Davidson Motorcycles. He is a good family man as demonstrated 
     by his desk area full of family pictures. Corporal Davidson 
     is a person that the City of Winchester can be as proud of as 
     we in the office are. Bradley is a true professional and 
     friend that we in the office all enjoy coming to work with.
       Corporal Davidson, congratulations and thank you for being 
     there for us.


                      BERRYVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

                        Officer Terry W. Fritts

       Officer Fritts has served with Berryville since 2007 and 
     holds a variety of certifications including defensive tactics 
     and Speed Measurement Instructor, field training officer, 
     police cyclist, and intoxilyzer operator. Terry is always 
     willing to assist his fellow officers with assignments and 
     has advanced skills in dealing with technology issues that 
     has proven to be a tremendous asset to the department. He 
     constantly looks for ways to develop and refine procedures 
     within the department so they are more user-friendly and 
     efficient. There does not seem to be any problem associated 
     with technology that Terry is not equipped to tackle.
       Officer Fritts proved to be instrumental in the 
     investigaton associated with a bank robbery that occurred in 
     Berryville this year. While he was not the initial officer 
     involved, he asserted himself as part of the Berryville 
     Police Department team and worked diligently to collect and 
     compile information that ultimately led to the apprehension 
     of four suspects that are currently awaiting trial. This is 
     an example of the type of dedication and drive that Terry 
     routinely displays.
       Another attribute is his willingness to be involved with 
     the community that he serves. For the past several years he 
     has coordinated the National Night Out event. The event is a 
     showcase of community resources dedicated to public safety. 
     Each year Terry makes it bigger and better. This past August 
     Terry again pulled off a fantastic event that displayed how 
     community policing in a small town can bring us all together 
     for a safer community. In addition to this event, Terry often 
     spends time listening and educating local business owners and 
     members of the community while patrolling the downtown 
     district. By having a rapport with those in the community he 
     is often the officer that people ask for by name when they 
     have issues or questions. He also takes a special interest in 
     handling situations where a person finds themselves in an 
     emotional crisis and is in need of assistance. Officer Fritts 
     is very aware of the resources that are available for those 
     in a mental crisis and those who could benefit from community 
     resources that are not directly supplied by law enforcement. 
     He works very closely with representatives from Social 
     Services and often takes part in Family Team Meetings with a 
     multi-disciplinary team that works with a family to identify 
     problems and offer solutions in order to improve quality of 
     life issues. According to his boss, Officer Terry Fritts has 
     done a tremendous job representing the Berryville Police 
     Department in a professional manner.
       Officer Fritts, congratulations and thank you for being 
     there for us.


                      Winchester police department

                         Sergeant Frank Myrtle

       Sergeant Myrtle has been instrumental in leading two 
     felonious death investigations within the past year. Both of 
     these investigations involved very young children. One was a 
     high profile case involving a child who was the victim of a 
     house fire that was intentionally set by his mother. The 
     other

[[Page 15022]]

     case, which has yet to go to trial, involved a child who was 
     allegedly assaulted by her mother and who subsequently died 
     of those injuries. Sgt. Myrtle took the lead in both 
     investigations and successfully sought indictments for felony 
     murder in both cases. The first mother was convicted and 
     received a 36 year sentence for her crimes. Sgt. Myrtle 
     invested countless hours of investigation in both cases. He 
     did this while taking on other cases and maintaining his 
     administrative duties as a supervisor in the Criminal 
     Investigations Division.
       In addition, Sgt. Myrtle has made eradicating the crime of 
     prostitution in Winchester a priority. He has recognized that 
     prostitution leads to the more serious offenses and has spent 
     untold hours conducting sting operations to arrest both Johns 
     and Prostitutes operating in the city. According to his 
     superiors, Sgt. Frank Myrtle's hard work and dedication to 
     the citizens of Winchester and to his co-workers should be 
     recognized.
       Sergeant Myrtle, congratulations and thank you for being 
     there for us.


                    MOUNT WEATHER POLICE DEPARTMENT

                         Officer Brock Justice

       According to Brock's superiors, he has continually shown 
     himself as a professional police officer displaying the 
     highest degree of competence and dedication to the mission at 
     Mount Weather. As one of the department's officers that have 
     completed the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's 
     Active Shooter Instructor Course, Brock has worked tirelessly 
     to improve the department's capability for effectively 
     responding to and mitigating the impacts of an active shooter 
     incident. He spends countless hours reviewing after action 
     reports of shooting incidents such as the shooting at the 
     Washington Navy Yard last year capturing ways for improving 
     the department's training, equipment, tactics and procedures 
     for such incidents.
       Early in fiscal year 2014 Officer Justice developed a 
     challenging, reality-based training exercise to assess Mount 
     Weather Police, Fire and EMS responses to an active shooter 
     incident. The exercise utilized evaluators from outside 
     agencies and allowed the department to identify areas for 
     improvement starting with individual officer skills all the 
     way through incident management. He has also conducted 
     several classes for FEMA headquarters personnel and other 
     tenant organizations at Mount Weather. These classes focused 
     on teaching personnel on how to react to a shooting incident 
     in their respective work areas.
       Officer Justice, congratulations and thank you for being 
     there for us.


                       NORTHWESTERN REGIONAL JAIL

                         Officer Tommy Gardner

       On April 24, 2014 Officer Tommy Gardner was headed home 
     after completing his Tour of Duty. It was approximately 1830 
     hours when he arrived at his residence. As he was getting 
     ready to enter his home he noticed a crowd of people gathered 
     at a nearby residence. Tommy walked over to see if he could 
     be of assistance. When he arrived at the nearby residence 
     there was a woman on the porch. She had called 911 on her 
     cell phone. The woman informed Officer Gardner that the male 
     had been involved in a domestic and that he had a gun in his 
     back pocket. Officer Gardner noticed the outline of what 
     appeared to be a gun. He started talking to the male. He 
     instructed the male individual to put down the gun. After 
     several commands the male complied and laid the weapon on the 
     trunk of a vehicle he was standing beside. Officer Gardner 
     quickly approached the male, ordered him to lay face down on 
     the ground. He then placed his knee in the center of the 
     male's back detaining him until WPD arrived on scene 
     approximately 30 seconds later. The male was arrested.
       Officer Tommy Gardner's handling of this situation is 
     remarkable for several reasons. First, he went above and 
     beyond his Call to Duty. He is employed as a Correctional 
     Officer at Northwestern. He was also off duty at the time. He 
     was under no obligaton to become involved in the situation. 
     His strong character and desire to help those in his 
     community propelled his actions. Second, Officer Gardner 
     showed exceptional courage. When he walked over to the crowd 
     of people he was informed that the individual was under 
     extreme duress and had a handgun in his possession. He could 
     have simply done nothing and waited for the police to arrive.
       Instead, Officer Gardner chose to establish a dialogue and 
     de-escalate the situation even though he knew he would be in 
     harm's way. Officer Gardner's actions on the date personify 
     those of the law enforcement community who chose to put the 
     safety of the citizens above their own.
       Officer Tommy Gardner, congratulations and thank you for 
     being there for us.


                           NW DRUG TASK FORCE

                         Lt. Wally Stotlemeyer

       Wally Stotlemeyer is a Lt. with the Winchester Police 
     Department currently assigned duty with the NW Virginia 
     Regional Drug and Gang Task Force. The recent spike in heroin 
     overdoses has put a tremendous strain on the resources of the 
     task force. A large number of the deaths have occurred in the 
     Region Wally and the North End Team is responsible for. Wally 
     is the supervisor of the team and he has exhibited tremendous 
     leadership skills in managing the increase in their cases. 
     Practicing leadership from the front, Wally regularly appears 
     on the scene of the tragic events and makes sure that these 
     cases receive the proper attention to insure our valley is 
     safe. In addition, Wally is always present at meetings where 
     his opinion matters. He is truly working this epidemic from 
     both ends and deserves to be recognized for his efforts.
       Lt. Wally Stotlemeyer, congratulations and thank you for 
     being there for us.


                      WINCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT

                            K-9 Officer Kota

                      Cpl. Brittney Kotynski-Neer

       Officer Kota has been with the Winchester Police Department 
     since May, 2009. On January 3rd of this year, Kota was 
     injured while helping apprehend two suspects hiding an attic 
     crawl space during a burglary. He fell eight feet through the 
     ceiling to the floor below and broke his right front leg and 
     injured his ``wrist''. Despite his injuries, he climbed up a 
     flight of stairs to return to Cpl. Brittney's side in the 
     attic. Kota returned to work last week.
       Officer Kota, congratulatons and thank you for being there 
     for us.
       That, ladies and gentleman, highlights how lucky we 
     citizens of Northern Virginia are given the outstanding 
     people we have protecting us. Thank you for coming and don't 
     forget them.

                          ____________________