Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to honor. and I also rise to challenge. My honoring is to acknowledge the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and to honor those who have fallen in battle. and to acknowledge the fact that an officer is killed somewhere in the United States every 60 hours. and there are also 58.930 assaults and 15.404 injuries. So I salute those who have fallen and offer my sympathy to their families. but I recognize that it is important to honor them. and we do honor them. That is why I rise today with sadness on what we did on the floor of the House. where we actually said to the LGBT community that serve in the United States military or by contracting work serve the United States Government. that you are not equal. How sad that is. I am looking forward to this House. next week. overturning that dastardly provision that says that one American who comes under the Constitution is not equal. Finally. let me say that we are suffering from the possibility of the Zika virus. and this House must fully fund for the Zika virus epidemic that is coming. Mr. Speaker. this week the nation observes National Police Week. as we have since President John F. Kennedy first proclaimed National Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15. 1962. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is the nations monument to law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. Dedicated on October 15. 1991. the Memorial honors federal. state and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and protection of our nation and its people. Carved on its walls are the names of 20.789 officers who have been killed in the line of duty throughout U.S. history. dating back to the first known death in 1791. Added to the Wall this year will be the names of the 123 police officers killed in the line of duty in 2015. Mr. Speaker. enshrined on the Memorial Wall of Honor also are the names of 1.695 fallen peace officers from the state of Texas. the most of any state. including 114 members of the Houston Police Department who gave their lives to keep their city safe. I include a list of these fallen heroes from Houston. Texas. Mr. Speaker. today there are more than 900.000 law enforcement personnel serving the people of our country. the highest amount eve r. About 12 percent of them are female. These brave men and women risk their lives to keep the peace and keep us safe but they are too often taken by the violence they are working to prevent. Every year. a law enforcement officer is killed somewhere in the United States every 60 hours. and there are also 58.930 assaults against our law officers each year. resulting in 15.404 injuries. Mr. Speaker. as a member of the Law Enforcement Caucus I am proud to represent the people of the 18th Congressional District of Texas in paying tribute to the 123 fallen heroes who will be joining the 20.789 gallant men and women who gave the last full measure of devotion to the communities they took an oath to protect and serve. In closing. Mr. Speaker. let me pay tribute to one of the finest public servants America has produced. Lee Patrick Brown. who is perhaps best known to the law enforcement community as the "The Father of Community Policing." Lee Brown was appointed in 1982 as the first AfricanAmerican Chief of Police of the Houston Police Department. where he pioneered techniques in community policing to reduce crime that still used throughout the country today. Lee Brown enjoyed a long and distinguished career leading several of the nations most important and largest police departments. including those of Atlanta. Georgia. and New York City. before becoming the first African American Mayor of Houston. Texas in 1997. Following Lee Brown as Chief of the Houston Police Department were the following good and true public servants: Elizabeth Watson (19901992). Sam Nuchia (19921997). Clarence Bradford (19972004). Harold Hunt (20042009). and Charles McClelland (20102016). Mr. Speaker. I ask for a moment of silence in memory of the officers whose names will be added to the National Peace Officers Memorial Wall of Honor.