[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6736-6738]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, today I wish to join Americans across 
the country in recognizing the immeasurable sacrifices made every day 
by the men and women of law enforcement. Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement officers put their lives on the line to help uphold the 
rule of law in America. Their professionalism and commitment to justice 
underpin so much of what has allowed this country to thrive for 
generations.
  In May 1962, President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 as Peace 
Officers Memorial Day and the week containing May 15 as National Police 
Week. In that proclamation, President Kennedy stated, ``. . . from the 
beginning of this Nation, law enforcement officers have played an 
important role in safeguarding the rights and freedoms which are 
guaranteed by the Constitution and in protecting the lives and property 
of our citizens. . . .''
  It is that twofold role of protecting both the constitutional and 
physical well-being of all Americans that earns law enforcement 
officers such a revered place in American society. In the 53 years 
since President Kennedy established this national celebration of law 
enforcement, much has changed in regards to the tactics and procedure 
for protecting essential rights and freedoms, as well as the nature of 
threats against personal property and the citizenry. What has not 
changed in the unwavering commitment to addressing these challenges by 
law enforcement agencies nationwide.
  My home State of Maryland is home to a close-knit, well-trained, and 
dedicated network of law enforcement agencies. Maryland is often called 
America in Miniature, and as such, Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement officers across Maryland are expected to be able to respond 
to an incredibly diverse set of situations.
  Being on the front lines of upholding the rule of law and protecting 
Americans from harm is not easy work. There is hardly a law enforcement 
officer in the United States who will not

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face the threat of bodily harm during their career. Unfortunately, due 
to the dangerous nature of police work, law enforcement officers across 
the country are killed on the job every year.
  Thus far in 2016, 35 law enforcement officers have been killed in the 
line of duty. Every one of those men and women left a family and 
grieving law enforcement agency. California, Colorado, and Maryland 
share the painful distinction of leading the Nation in law enforcement 
deaths in the line of duty. Three officers from each one of the 
aforementioned States were killed in the line of duty; in Maryland, all 
three were killed by gunfire.
  Senior Deputies Patrick Dailey and Mark Logsdon of the Harford County 
Sheriff's office and Officer Jacai Colson of the Prince George's County 
Police Department were all model officers who were tragically killed 
while protecting colleagues and civilians. All three of these men 
served communities in Maryland with distinction and contributed greatly 
to not only public safety but also to helping build strong and lasting 
relationships among law enforcement and the people they protect.
  Senior Deputies Dailey and Logsdon were both fathers and military 
veterans. Both served honorably with the Harford County Sheriff's 
Office.
  On Christmas Eve 2002, Deputy Dailey saved the life of a teenager 
traveling in an SUV that collided head-on with a cement mixing truck. 
Deputy Dailey, a number of fellow sheriffs, and two civilians emptied 
six fire extinguishers in an attempt to quell a fire that threatened to 
engulf the vehicle and the unresponsive driver. Using only their bare 
hands and batons, the group managed to free the driver seconds before 
the fire consumed the passenger compartment. The teen was able to thank 
his rescuers 3 months later at the Harford County Sheriff's Office 
Awards Banquet.
  Exactly 11 years before his death, Deputy Logsdon confronted a 
suicidal man who was armed with a loaded shotgun. In a display of great 
bravery and at great risk to himself, Deputy Logsdon managed to talk 
the man into surrendering his weapon. After the man was disarmed, 
Deputy Logsdon continued to help the man by transporting him to the 
hospital, where he received medical care.
  Officer Colson was an undercover narcotics agent. He had a dangerous 
job with zero margin for error. Officer Colson did not make errors. He 
was a 4-year veteran of the Prince George's Police Department. The 
commander of the Prince George's County Police Department's Narcotic 
Enforcement Division said of Colson, ``Not only is he good at his job, 
he's that guy that you wanted on your team.''
  The President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 89 described 
Officer Colson as ``. . . always the first person here in the morning, 
ready to work and put in a full day's work.''
  All three of these men could have done anything with their lives, and 
they chose to uphold the law. I am thankful that, for the many people 
they interacted with on a daily basis, these men embodied justice. I 
join Marylanders in mourning their loss.
  It is my hope that this National Police Week serves as a catalyst to 
communities and governments across the country to evaluate ways to 
better serve those who are sworn to protect and serve.
  Ms. HEITKAMP. Madam President, this evening, I want to honor our 
Nation's peace officers and to remember those who we have lost in the 
line of duty over the last year.
  Sunday was Peace Officers Memorial Day, a day set aside by President 
Kennedy in 1962 to honor those law enforcement officers who we have 
lost in the line of duty, a day that unfortunately has touched me 
personally, both in the past while serving as attorney general for 
North Dakota and tragically again earlier this year when the city of 
Fargo, ND, lost one of its finest in the line of duty.
  On the evening of Wednesday, February 10, 2016, Fargo Police Officer 
Jason Moszer answered the call to serve and protect for what would turn 
out to be the last time. He knew when he answered that call that he 
would confront an active-shooter situation, and he never hesitated in 
taking up a position to put himself between the shooter and the 
community he so very much loved.
  Officer Moszer was struck down that evening, and his name will 
forever be etched in stone on the North Dakota's Peace Officer's 
Memorial that sits on the grounds of the State capitol in Bismarck. 
Through rain, sleet, and snow--extreme heat and cold--he will now stand 
alongside those other North Dakota officers who gave the ultimate 
sacrifice. They provide an unwavering example that, regardless of what 
conditions they face, our peace officers will stand steadfast 
regardless of what challenges they may face.
  National Police Week is very special to me. When I served as attorney 
general of North Dakota in the 1990s, I had the privilege to work 
directly with many of our State's law enforcement officers, from the 
highway patrol, to State and local officers, various Federal officers, 
and our tribal police. It was in that job that I truly began to 
appreciate the hard work and dedication of those officers who serve the 
people of North Dakota. These are some of the finest men and women I 
have ever met.
  During my time as a U.S. Senator, I have been able to see many old 
friends that continue their service and have met an entire new 
generation of law enforcement officers at the beginning of their 
careers. I can tell you that this new generation of law enforcement 
officers are not only up to the task, but will most certainly meet the 
same standards of excellence as their predecessors.
  I want to give special recognition to the Grand Forks Country Drug 
Task Force, a collection of State, local, and Federal law enforcement 
members who were honored earlier this year by the HIDTA program with an 
Outstanding Cooperative Effort award. This award came was the result of 
Operation Denial, a multiagency investigation into the international 
trafficking of fentanyl and other lethal drugs that led to multiple 
arrests and convictions in various States and countries. As we talk 
about the opioid abuse epidemic in the Senate and look to address this 
scourge on our communities, law enforcement officers are on the front 
lines tackling this challenge head-on.
  When honoring the service and sacrifice of our Nation's law 
enforcement officers, all too often there is a group of officers that 
don't garner the attention and praise that they deserve, our tribal law 
enforcement officers. Tribal officers work in some of the most 
challenging conditions, with incredible jurisdictional challenges and 
an embarrassing lack of resources, but they do not let that stand in 
the way of their dedication and passion to protect Indian Country. This 
evening, I want to extend special recognition and a personal thank you 
to all of our tribal law enforcement officers.
  I continue to work on behalf of our men and women in law enforcement, 
and all of us in Congress must continue to support our law enforcement 
officers with the resources and protections necessary for them to 
perform their duties.
  Last year, I was proud see a bill that I cosponsored, the Rafael 
Ramos and Wenjian Liu [Wen-Gin Lew] National Blue Alert Act, enacted 
into law. This bipartisan legislation established a national Blue Alert 
communications network to disseminate information about threats to 
officers. The law seeks to make sure that appropriate steps can be 
taken as quickly as possible to provide for an officer's safety.
  Just yesterday, the President signed two more bills into law that I 
supported and that will give law enforcement additional and sorely 
needed resources, the Transnational Drug Trafficking Act that will 
provide increased tools to go after foreign manufacturers or 
distributors of chemicals that will eventually end up in the U.S. as 
illicit drugs, and the Bulletproof Vest Reauthorization Act will extend 
for 5 years the matching grant program that helps law enforcement 
purchase lifesaving bulletproof vests.
  Just last week, another bill, the POLICE Act, passed out of the 
Judiciary

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Committee. This bill would make Federal grants available for law 
enforcement officers and medical personnel to help them better prepare 
for active-shooter situations, including training civilians on how to 
respond if confronted by an active shooter. Congress needs to swiftly 
pass this bill.
  And I am a proud cosponsor of Senator Leahy and Senator Grassley's 
resolution recognizing among other things, the dedication and sacrifice 
of all of our law enforcement officers and our debt of gratitude to 
each and every one of them.
  Thank you to all of our Nation's law enforcement officers for the 
jobs you do every day. I want to especially thank the law enforcement 
officers in my home State of North Dakota. I believe they are the 
finest collection of officers in the Nation. They are out there working 
day and night to keep our families safe, and just as they do for us, I 
will keep fighting for them every day. This Nation, our State, and our 
local communities owe our law enforcement officers a continuing debt of 
gratitude for their selfless actions to meet their sworn duty to 
protect and serve.

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