[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this week we commemorate National 
Police Week and pay tribute to the local, State, and Federal law 
enforcement officers who keep our country and our communities safe. We 
are grateful for their service and for their sacrifice. We benefit from 
their pledge to serve, protect, and defend.
  I had the pleasure recently of meeting with several officers from 
Richmond, KY, who were in town for the events of police week. I also 
met with the families of Kentucky police officers who laid down their 
lives in the line of duty. Tragically, five officers from the Bluegrass 
State were lost in 2015: on March 5, Lieutenant Clifford Scott Travis 
of the Bullitt County Detention Center; on March 11, Officer Burke 
Jevon Rhoads of the Nicholasville Police Department; on June 23, State 
Trooper Eric Keith Chrisman; on September 13, State Trooper Joseph 
Cameron Ponder; and on November 6, Senior Patrol Officer Daniel Neil 
Ellis of the Richmond Police Department.
  The names of these five officers, along with the names of hundreds of 
other brave officers from across the country, have been added to our 
national monument to law enforcement officers lost in the line of 
duty--the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The names of over 
500 Kentuckians appear on the memorial, and more than 20,000 names from 
across the country appear in all.
  That includes the four Capitol police officers we have lost in the 
line of duty since 1994. The Capitol police recently held a ceremony to 
honor their fallen officers. It reminds us of the continuing sacrifices 
of the men and women who stand guard every day at the very heart of our 
democracy. We are grateful for their service.
  I am a proud cosponsor of the resolution to recognize National Police 
Week this year. The resolution recognizes the work of active-duty law 
enforcement officers, the 25th anniversary of the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial, the 15th anniversary of 9/11, and all 
the officers lost in the line of duty in 2015.
  I am also a proud cosponsor of the Fallen Heroes Flag Act. This bill 
would create a program to provide flags that have been flown over the 
Capitol to the immediate family members of law enforcement and public 
safety officers who were lost in the line of duty. This bill has passed 
both the House and the Senate and is awaiting the President's 
signature.
  I am also a cosponsor, with my friend the senior Senator from Texas, 
of the POLICE Act. The POLICE Act would expand COPS grants so that 
those grants could be used for active-shooter training and to help 
equip law enforcement to respond to events like the San Bernardino 
shootings. Passing the POLICE Act would help give our police officers 
the training they need to do their jobs more effectively. I am hopeful 
we can quickly move to this important legislation.
  I am proud to represent Kentucky's police officers here in the 
Senate. Law enforcement is very dangerous work. It is also a noble 
calling, and I am grateful for the service of every police officer in 
Kentucky and across the Nation. I know my colleagues share my deep 
admiration and respect for police officers everywhere.

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