Expressing Support for Local Law Enforcement Officers and Condemning Efforts to Defund Local Law Enforcement Agencies

Floor Speech

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Mr. EZELL. Madam Speaker, my resolution expresses our support for the men and women who serve our communities in local law enforcement. These brave officers work tirelessly to protect and serve, putting their lives on the line regularly to uphold the rule of law.

As a former sheriff and a 42-year career law enforcement officer, I have seen what these men and women go through. I know the toll taken by the long hours, the sleepless nights, and the time spent away from family. I know what it is like to console the grieving families of victims after horrendous crimes and tragic accidents. I have seen things most Americans will, thankfully, never have to experience.

When others run away, our law enforcement officers are trained to run toward danger, to fight crime, and to protect the innocent. Far too often they don't make it back. Mississippi has not been spared from these tragedies.

In December of 2022, Bay St. Louis Police Sergeant Steven Robin and Officer Branden Estorffe were shot and killed while conducting a welfare check on a woman and a child sitting in a parked vehicle. Last June, Madison Police Officer Randy Tyler was shot and killed while responding to a hostage situation.

Moreover, this January, George County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Malone was shot and killed during a traffic stop on a rural highway.

These men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice represent the best of our State and our Nation. Fallen heroes like these officers are being honored this week during National Police Week.

Madam Speaker, there is no better time for us to pass this resolution and make it clear we stand with law enforcement than this week, while thousands of local law enforcement officers and their families are gathering here in our Nation's Capital.

My resolution does just that. It expresses our gratitude for the selfless service of local law enforcement and the importance of a healthy relationship between law enforcement and the communities they protect.

It also condemns attempts to undermine that relationship through rhetoric about defunding and abolishing the police. These narratives demonize local law enforcement officers and encourage hostility toward law enforcement. Ultimately, they put both officers and the general public at greater risk.

We have seen targeted, ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers, including one as recently as this Sunday. Agencies across the country are struggling to hire and keep talented officers as they are vilified for deciding to serve their communities.

At the same time, we have seen disturbing increases in crime, especially in cities like Washington, D.C., and Americans' fear of crime is at its highest level in 30 years.

Madam Speaker, it is time for this body to lead. It is time for us to make it abundantly clear that we stand with our law enforcement against lawlessness. It is time for a strong, bipartisan majority to say, once again, that we will not defund, disband, dismantle, or abolish the police.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this resolution.

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