Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of National Police Week to honor and thank the men and women in uniform, law enforcement officers in our great State of New Hampshire who do a phenomenal job every single day keeping us safe.

When I worked as attorney general, I was honored to work directly with our law enforcement officers at every level in our State. We have the very finest law enforcement officers in the State of New Hampshire. During this week, I want to thank them for every single thing they have done under the difficult circumstances they face every day in order to make sure our communities are safe in the State of New Hampshire.

Tragically, just last week we had an example of the dangers our police officers face every single day when two Manchester police officers were shot in the line of duty early Friday morning.

Early Friday morning, Officer Ryan Hardy encountered a situation on Second Street, where he noticed the description of someone who had robbed a gas station the night before. As he was approaching this individual, Officer Hardy was shot multiple times at close range. The individual fled, and then this suspect fired into a group of police officers, and when he did that, he unfortunately also shot Officer Matthew O'Connor in the leg. Both of these police officers acted with great heroism, tenacity, and courage in the work they do every single day on the streets of Manchester. All of the police officers who responded that day did a phenomenal job, but that is an example of what our police officers are facing on a daily basis. They don't know whether the next stop they make of someone is going to go bad. Unfortunately, early on Friday morning, it did go bad.

We are so grateful for their service, for the service of Officer Hardy and the service of Officer O'Connor. We are grateful and blessed that despite significant injuries, they are doing OK and they did not get killed in the line of duty.

I just want to say to them, I want to say to the Manchester Police Department, and I want to say to their wives, Amanda and Elise--because families serve too. We worry about our police officers, but I know from having served as attorney general of New Hampshire that every time we are home on Thanksgiving or we are home on Christmas or we are home on some other holiday or great occasion, guess what our police officers are out doing. They are out patrolling our streets and our highways, keeping us safe, making sure we can enjoy that moment with our families. But their families worry. They worry when they are out: Is my loved one going to come home?

So I say to the families of our law enforcement officers as we stand here during National Police Week: Thank you. Thank you for what you do in allowing your loved ones to serve and for supporting our law enforcement officers because families serve too.

We are so grateful for what Officer Hardy and Officer O'Connor did on that early Friday morning, and we are grateful to all of the officers who responded to that call. I am grateful they are doing well in their recovery. We wish them the very best. They continue to be in my prayers and in my family's prayers for a speedy recovery. All of the police officers in our State are in my prayers.

When I was attorney general, two of the most difficult moments I had were giving a eulogy at the funerals of two police officers who were killed in the line of duty during my time as Attorney General. One of them, Officer Bruce McKay, had served the Franconia Police Department for 12 years, and he was brutally murdered in 2007 during a traffic stop. The other police officer was Officer Michael Briggs. In fact, on Sunday I am going to the dedication of a community center in Manchester in honor of Officer Michael Briggs.

It is hard to believe it has been 10 years since he was killed in the line of duty, but the fact that they are naming a community center in his honor there in the center of Manchester, where he helped so many young people and so many people in how he served the people of Manchester, is a testament to the kind of person he was.

I got to know the family of Officer Michael Briggs very closely, including his parents Lee and Maryann and his wife Laura and his sons, Brian and Mitchell. I want them to know today--I know it has been almost 10 years, but I will never forget--and we will never forget-- their sacrifice and certainly what Officer Michael Briggs did for the State of New Hampshire, his heroism.

In fact, before he served as a Manchester police officer--as I think about coming toward the 10th anniversary of his death--before he served as a police officer, he served as a marine, serving our country in the line of duty. He served as a corrections officer also and did an incredible job. In fact, he received awards for saving people's lives, running into burning buildings to save people in the line of duty. I will never forget that he saved the life of the individual who murdered him. He had saved his life before. Unfortunately, he was murdered by a career criminal in the line of duty. That is a true example of the heroism of our police officers, the service and sacrifice they make, as well as their families. Unfortunately, that says it all right there.

So today as I stand on the Senate floor, I think about my time as attorney general, I certainly think about the families of the police officers who have been killed in the line of duty in New Hampshire and the sacrifices that every single day our men and women in uniform make on our behalf.

On Friday in New Hampshire there will be a law enforcement memorial ceremony. It is a ceremony I plan to attend. It is a ceremony where each year we read the names that are etched into the memorial of those law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty in New Hampshire. There have been far too many--far too many--who have made the ultimate sacrifice so the rest of us could live our lives in safety and in happiness. One of the privileges I had as attorney general was to read the names of our law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty, to recognize their service and their sacrifice, with often many of their family members there--family members who would offer a flower or a beautiful wreath to recognize the sacrifice of their family so we could remember their family member, the law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty.

Today on the Senate floor I would like to read the names of these police officers who were killed in the line of duty in New Hampshire. I know we will recognize them in New Hampshire on Friday, but I want to recognize them on the Senate floor. They are, from Cheshire County, Deputy Sheriff John Walker, Sr.; from Dover, Officer George Pray; from Laconia, Police Officer Charles H. Dolloff; from Strafford County, Deputy Sheriff Charles E. Smith; from Manchester, Sergeant Henry McAllister; from Manchester, Inspector William M. Moher; from Exeter, Officer Albert L. Colson; from Nashua, Patrolman James H. Roche; from Carroll County, Sheriff Harry M. Leavitt; from New Hampshire State Police, Raymond Elliott; from Lancaster, Chief Andrew T. Malloy; from New Hampshire State Police, Trooper Harold B. Johnson; from Colebrook, Chief Fred T. Towle; from Nashua, Patrolman Michael Latvis; from New Hampshire State Police, Lieutenant Ivan H. Hayes; from Northumberland, Officer Joseph H. Platt; from Nashua, Patrolman Edward C. Graziano; from New Hampshire Fish and Game, Conservation Officer William Mooney; from New Hampshire Fish and Game, Conservation Officer Gary Waterhouse; from Farmington, Assistant Chief Louis A. Sheets; from Berlin, Officer Robert Devoid; from Berlin, Officer Dorman Wheelock; from Gorham, Officer Jerome O. Piet; from Rockingham County, Department of Corrections Officer Robert Charles Prescott; from New Hampshire Fish and Game, Conservation Officer James Clark II; from Nashua, Acting Chief Armand J. Roussel; from Seabrook, Chief Charles S. Knowles; from Durham, Lieutenant Robert Hollis, Jr.; from Berlin, Sergeant Paul G. Brodeur; from Manchester, Officer Ralph W. Miller; from New Hampshire State Police, Trooper Richard F. Champy; from Somersworth, Patrolman Donald R. Kowalski; from Jaffrey, Police Supervisor William E. O'Neil, Sr.; from Hanover, Chief James H. Collins; from Derry, Sergeant Thomas C. Kelly; from New Hampshire State Police, Trooper Gary P. Parker; from New Hampshire State Police, Trooper Joseph Edward Gearty; from Antrim, Chief of Police Ralph C. Brooks; from New Hampshire State Police, Sergeant James Stanwood Noyes; from East Kingston, Officer Melvin Alan Keddy; from Auburn, Lieutenant Donald Eaton; from New Hampshire State Police, Trooper Leslie George Lord; from New Hampshire State Police, Trooper Scott Edward Phillips; from Epsom, Patrolman Jeremy T. Charron; from Manchester, Officer Michael Leland Briggs; from Franconia, Corporal N. Bruce McKay; from Greenland, Chief of Police Michael P. Maloney; and from Brentwood, Patrolman Stephen Arkell.

As I read those names, it obviously strikes me--it is shocking how many names are on that wall in our State. Having met and worked with so many of our law enforcement officers--they are incredibly brave. The sacrifices of their families are tremendous.

Most recently, I went to two community events to recognize--really memorialize--these fallen heroes. The Maloney family and the Arkell family have started foundations to help other police families, to help have scholarships in the names of these two decorated officers. Unfortunately, those are the two most recent additions to this wall.

Chief Maloney embodied the values of service, integrity, and honor. His leadership in the Greenland Police Department will never be forgotten. He was admired by everyone in the community. This is another example of the sacrifice our police officers make. He was only a few days before his retirement. He could have stayed in the station, but he went out to the call with his fellow officers and, when the situation escalated, Chief Maloney did what he always did. He put his life before his fellow officers, and because of his sacrifices that day, other lives were saved. Unfortunately, we lost Chief Maloney in the line of duty just days before his retirement. If that is not a hero, I don't know what is and who is.

When I think about his family, and having gotten to know his family, I know today, as we think about the importance of this week, I just want to say thank you to them and just let them know they continue to be in our prayers, and we will not forget Chief Maloney's service and his sacrifice and his heroism.

Likewise, just like Chief Maloney, Officer Stephen Arkell was taken from us far too soon. He was an unsung hero. He went about his extraordinary work as a police officer very quietly and humbly, going above and beyond the call of duty not only as a police officer but as a coach in his community, as someone who has helped so many other people and made a difference in people's lives. During his 15-year career as a police officer, he made a difference for the people of Brentwood. He made us proud, and he was another true hero in his community.

Today, during National Police Week, I want to say to his family, who recently had a 5K in his honor to provide scholarships for others in the Brentwood community, thank you for your sacrifice. We will never forget the sacrifice of Officer Stephen Arkell.

During National Police Week, as I stand on the Senate floor, one of the things that has bothered me is, too often the rhetoric we have been hearing about our police and our law enforcement officers out in the public discussion has been negative. It has been negative. It has been sweeping. It has been basically stereotyping our police, and it has been wrong. So, today, during this important week, I want to say to our law enforcement officers in New Hampshire, I want to say to the law enforcement officers across this country who keep us safe: Thank you. We stand with you. We are proud of you. We have your back because we know you have our backs every single day, because we would not be a free and safe society but for the sacrifices our law enforcement officers make every single day in New Hampshire and in every State in this country. They are the thin blue line between us and those who want to do us harm and threaten our way of life.

So when we hear people who are making sweeping generalizations about our police that are negative, I want the people of this country to think about what it would be like if we didn't have the courageous law enforcement officers who patrol our streets every single day, who go out on nights and weekends and holidays when we are safely home sleeping, who are out making sure we are safe. We should stand up for our law enforcement officers.

This week, of all weeks, as we are here for National Police Week, we need to honor our law enforcement officers. We need to thank our men and women in uniform who patrol our streets and our highways and in every way protect us, whether as corrections officers or Fish and Game officers or as State police--at every single level in the State of New Hampshire, we say thank you. We stand with you. I thank you. I hope that as we stand here this week, all of us will make sure that we thank also the Capitol Police for the incredible work they do here keeping us safe and defending this Capitol.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source