[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13445]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING FALLEN KISSIMMEE POLICE OFFICER MATTHEW BAXTER AND SERGEANT 
                         RICHARD ``SAM'' HOWARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Soto) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, it happened on a Friday night, August 18, that 
Sergeant Sam Howard and Police Officer Matthew Baxter responded to a 
report of three suspicious persons around Palmway Street and Cypress 
Street in Kissimmee. I remember hearing about it. It was unfortunate 
because a veteran, a marine who lived in our community, had a moment of 
post-traumatic stress disorder and ambushed these two Kissimmee police 
officers, killing one nearly instantly and the other only a little over 
a day later.
  Officer Matthew Baxter was 27 years old. He grew up in Baltimore and 
moved to central Florida after high school. He had been with the 
department for only 3 years. He met his wife, Sadia, a detective of the 
Kissimmee Police Department, on the job. He left behind his wife and 
four young children, the youngest under a year old.
  He was courageous and passionate in his devotion to public service, 
and he was known as a sharp dresser and as someone with overwhelming 
confidence.
  Sergeant Richard ``Sam'' Howard was 36 years old, born and raised in 
Kissimmee. He served in the Army and fought in Iraq. He was a 10-year 
veteran of the department and a member of our SWAT team. He left his 
wife, Billie Jo, and teenage daughter, Unique, behind.
  My wife and I got to visit his wife's classroom and brought supplies 
to her students, knowing how difficult it was.
  He was a family man, hardworking, very optimistic, and quite the fast 
talker, as we were reminded by everybody during his wake.
  There are moments like these that test our will, our strength, our 
compassion. There are moments like these that test our community and 
even our faith. And more than we can ever imagine, there are moments 
like these that test the families of Sergeant Sam Howard and Officer 
Matthew Baxter.
  We are here today and I am on the floor today to proclaim aloud what 
we already know in our hearts to be true. And make no mistake about it: 
these men were heroes, and we will never forget their sacrifices.
  They are heroes because they got up every day and put on the 
Kissimmee Police uniform. They went out in our community every day to 
protect us. And, yes, they put themselves in harm's way every day to 
keep us safe.
  These men are heroes because they were good family men. They were 
loving husbands, great fathers, and they were pillars of our community.

                              {time}  1115

  Yes, these men were heroes because when the moment came where they 
had to lay their lives on the line to protect our community, they did 
so without hesitation.
  For those reasons, we will never forget Sergeant Sam Howard and 
Officer Matthew Baxter.
  On August 21, 2017, an American flag was flown over our Capitol in 
honor of Sergeant Howard, and on that same day, an American flag was 
flown over our Capitol in honor of Officer Baxter.
  These flags cannot take away the pain caused to their families. They 
cannot take away the pain caused to our community, to their fellow 
officers, and to the police department in general. But they were flown 
over our Nation's Capitol for a very good reason--to show that their 
lives matter, their sacrifices matter, and that their families matter.
  For that, they remain in our hearts, they remain in our thoughts, and 
they will always be in our prayers.
  God bless Sergeant Sam Howard, Officer Matthew Baxter, and their 
families.
  God bless the city of Kissimmee, and God bless the United States of 
America.

                          ____________________