Memorializing Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty
Floor Speech
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Mr. KNOTT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1252) resolution memorializing law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1252
Whereas Federal, State, local, and Tribal police officers, sheriffs, and other law enforcement officers across the United States serve with valor, dignity, and integrity;
Whereas law enforcement officers are charged with--
(1) pursuing justice for all individuals; and
(2) performing the duties of a law enforcement officer with fidelity to the constitutional and civil rights of the public the officers serve;
Whereas law enforcement officers swear an oath to uphold the public trust even though, through the performance of the duties of a law enforcement officer, the officers may become targets for senseless acts of violence;
Whereas, in 1962, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 (36 U.S.C. 136) (referred to in this preamble as the ``Joint Resolution''), which authorizes the President to proclaim May 15 of every year as ``Peace Officers Memorial Day'' in honor of the Federal, State, and local officers who have been killed, disabled, or otherwise injured in the line of duty;
Whereas the Joint Resolution also authorizes the President to designate the week in which Peace Officers Memorial Day falls as ``National Police Week'';
Whereas the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, dedicated on October 15, 1991, is the national monument to honor those law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty; and
Whereas Peace Officers Memorial Day, 2026, honors the 363 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty and whose stories were recovered during 2025, including--
(1) Shawn Nixon;
(2) Joe Keith;
(3) Mark A Meadows;
(4) James Phillips;
(5) Gabriel M Facio;
(6) Shawn A Braaten;
(7) Alec J Sanders;
(8) Samuel S Riveros;
(9) Joshua L Byrd;
(10) Terry D Long;
(11) Lauren A Craven;
(12) Charles Crow;
(13) Shiou L Deng;
(14) Osmar E Rodarte-Paez;
(15) Dennis Haley;
(16) Joshua R Kelley-Eklund;
(17) Victor M Lemus;
(18) William C Osborn;
(19) Noah H Rader;
(20) Timothy B Corlew;
(21) Hector A Cuevas Jr;
(22) Andrew Nunez;
(23) Frank T Linehan;
(24) Dennis F Kelly;
(25) Matthew T Snook;
(26) Andres J Lahera;
(27) Jeremy H Cassady;
(28) Craig A Gaines;
(29) Terri J Sweeting-Mashkow;
(30) David A Cajuso;
(31) Devin M Jaramillo;
(32) Alton D Berrian;
(33) Alan I Reffsin;
(34) William P T May;
(35) Luther T Howard;
(36) Charles A Vick;
(37) Brandon R Sikes;
(38) David R Rose;
(39) Patrick J Lappin;
(40) Jeremy R Labonte;
(41) Earnest L Hall;
(42) Helio A Garcia III;
(43) James A Carter;
(44) Suzanne O;
(45) John F Abt;
(46) Kazmer Andrushis;
(47) Walter Bermingham;
(48) Charles C Bishop;
(49) James P Clarke;
(50) William Clifford;
(51) Cornelius Cominskey;
(52) Daniel Coughlin;
(53) William E Eimstad;
(54) Benjamin F Devlin;
(55) John J Fetscher;
(56) Henry E Gorman;
(57) Oscar Hallen;
(58) Timothy L Haynes;
(59) Clarence Hofheinz;
(60) Alex Johnson;
(61) Lars M Larson;
(62) Edward J Madden;
(63) Thomas A Mahoney;
(64) John Malone;
(65) Michael J Mooney;
(66) James Wilson;
(67) Patrick Forde;
(68) George A Gall;
(69) Frank Tatousek;
(70) Maurice F Kain;
(71) Jaroslav J Janecek;
(72) Jeremiah O'dwyer;
(73) Krystal Rivera;
(74) Charles G Schuler;
(75) John H Singleman;
(76) Andrew Sullivan;
(77) Richard Thompson;
(78) Rudolph Tuerk;
(79) John Joseph Walsh;
(80) Glenn T Whallon;
(81) Timothy M Jones;
(82) George Fries;
(83) Charles Chandler;
(84) William Otis Peebles;
(85) Roy James Tipton;
(86) Blake A Reynolds;
(87) John C Stahl III;
(88) Charles Lodine;
(89) Augustus C Becker;
(90) Reuben Fenstermaker;
(91) Robert W Coulter;
(92) Samuel S Cronk;
(93) Samuel H Hamilton;
(94) James W Busby;
(95) Elmer J Lennon;
(96) John Kerr Myers;
(97) Charles Loucks;
(98) Scott W Heimann;
(99) Hunter L Simoncic;
(100) Frank L Stone;
(101) Brandon P Gaede;
(102) Elijah L Ming;
(103) George Ramirez;
(104) Frank Beard Bell;
(105) James Duncan Stevens;
(106) Millard Brock;
(107) Fred Cole;
(108) Caleb M Eisworth;
(109) Charles W Riley;
(110) Joseph J Lyons;
(111) Allen J Credeur Jr;
(112) Grant J Candies;
(113) Marc T Brock;
(114) Brenda J Lowery;
(115) Edward E Ivey Jr;
(116) Joshua T Kingsley;
(117) Kelvin O Patrick;
(118) Rhonda E Morris;
(119) Shannon A Wright;
(120) John Craig;
(121) Richard E Legler;
(122) Felicia D Reilly;
(123) Martin L Shields Jr;
(124) Bryan A Pippin;
(125) Joshua A Brashears;
(126) Eddie A Mays;
(127) Horry M Fish;
(128) Henry J R Franklin;
(129) Robert George Fitzpatrick;
(130) James Arthur Meeks;
(131) James Harvey Ray;
(132) Kyle J McAacy;
(133) Jason P Roscow;
(134) Augustus B Farmer;
(135) Allen Palmer;
(136) Thomas J Ennis;
(137) Andrew Carlson;
(138) Joseph H Riedl;
(139) Joseph Peto;
(140) Lee E Hendrickson;
(141) Steven C Tiboni;
(142) Peter F Bruncati;
(143) William A Casey;
(144) Joseph A Azcona;
(145) John P Patrick;
(146) Timothy S Ontiveros;
(147) Cipriano Bustamante;
(148) Antonio D Aleman;
(149) John Jones;
(150) Patrick W Franzone;
(151) Kathleen M Radziunas;
(152) William G Krupa;
(153) Kevin D Nuckel;
(154) Abraham Cruz III;
(155) Albert Morabito;
(156) Alfredo Varela;
(157) Annmarie Smith;
(158) Clarence E Word III;
(159) David Portalatin;
(160) David E LaJoie;
(161) David P Miller Jr;
(162) Denise A Jones;
(163) Dennis Vitelli;
(164) Dennis P Gallagher;
(165) Didarul Islam;
(166) Ercan Aydin;
(167) Frank J Debenedetto;
(168) Gerard Connors;
(169) James G Becker;
(170) James J Motto Sr;
(171) James R Vanacore;
(172) Jeffrey I Montenegro;
(173) Joseph J Esposito;
(174) Joseph J Panarese;
(175) Kevin G Hanley;
(176) Marc F Lotter;
(177) Maruja Clark;
(178) Michael A Pisano;
(179) Michael O McEntee;
(180) Norman J Kunze;
(181) Philip A Cammarata;
(182) Raymond R Newcomb;
(183) Richard Teemsma;
(184) Richard T Handibode Jr;
(185) Robert A Nobile;
(186) Robert G Porfert;
(187) Robert S Fawcett;
(188) Robert T Ranno;
(189) Sandro J Rizzotti;
(190) Steven Ringe;
(191) Timothy J Keane;
(192) Vincent J Caruana;
(193) Vincent N Carney;
(194) William T McCabe;
(195) Bret W Martin;
(196) Frederick W Scheidt Jr;
(197) Mark A Ondus;
(198) Michael E Snell;
(199) Steven W Greene;
(200) Thomas K Herrick;
(201) Joseph F Murray Jr;
(202) Arthur D Ramsey;
(203) Frank J Hagan;
(204) Francisco P Flattes II;
(205) Mark D Laskowski;
(206) Roger L Smith;
(207) John W Fogwell;
(208) Larry R Henderson Jr;
(209) Phillip C Wagner;
(210) D Weston Sherrer;
(211) John C Wagner;
(212) Thomas H Bayless;
(213) Peter D Andre;
(214) Lon W Boring;
(215) William J Minyoung;
(216) Lorin B James;
(217) Grover C Sanderson;
(218) Nicholas P Cayton;
(219) Thomas A Duran;
(220) Clint D Lawrence;
(221) Meagan Rose Burke;
(222) Kenneth W Stump;
(223) Ronald K Jackson;
(224) Steven D Rozell;
(225) David Claude Hines;
(226) Arthur S Hubbard;
(227) Domenico A Natale;
(228) George Krouch;
(229) Isaiah D Emenheiser;
(230) Mark E Baker;
(231) Cody M Becker;
(232) Benjamin Kauffman;
(233) Benjamin Kine;
(234) Charles Barnes;
(235) Charles H Kelley;
(236) Charles R Weber;
(237) Dorland Midgett;
(238) Edward Donnelly;
(239) Edward J McCaffrey;
(240) Francis J Robinson;
(241) Frederick Hofmann Jr;
(242) Frederick Winters;
(243) George E Garnett;
(244) George M Storey;
(245) Harry H Morton Sr;
(246) Herman J Spreng;
(247) Howard H Jolly;
(248) James Orr;
(249) John McManus;
(250) John E B Robinson;
(251) Mary Cannon;
(252) Michael E Shortall;
(253) Michael J Coleman;
(254) Patrick J Whalen;
(255) Robert H Elliott;
(256) Robert John Bell;
(257) Thomas McAnally;
(258) Thomas Wiley;
(259) Thomas J Ferguson;
(260) William Culbertson;
(261) William E Lacy;
(262) William F McMenamin;
(263) Alexander R McCloskey;
(264) Charles B Morrison;
(265) James A Dorsey;
(266) James Ambrose McCormick;
(267) John D Richey;
(268) John Henry Schneider;
(269) Ralph T Harper;
(270) Robert Sinclair;
(271) Thomas F McVerry;
(272) Andrew J Hedrick;
(273) Charles R Shipe;
(274) Edward S Mauger;
(275) Edwin Mondeau;
(276) Elmer P Anthony;
(277) George Albert;
(278) George S Anderson;
(279) Harry F Bierer;
(280) James Corcoran;
(281) John H Harenski;
(282) John P Weitzel;
(283) Martin R Pluter;
(284) Moses Leininger;
(285) Peter B Hoarty;
(286) Robert W Mason Jr;
(287) Samuel Norman;
(288) Walter H Gant;
(289) William A O Cratty;
(290) Andrew W Duarte;
(291) Richard Carchia;
(292) F Devin Mason;
(293) Nathaniel M Ansay;
(294) Will G Durant;
(295) Michael Charles Wood;
(296) Dennis D Ricks Jr;
(297) Mark S Reynolds;
(298) Justin B Mowery;
(299) James F Hood;
(300) Hugh W Carlen;
(301) Jonathan D White Jr;
(302) Jesus Vargas;
(303) Ruben Garcia;
(304) Jessie R Perez;
(305) John C Hamm;
(306) Alex D Roberts;
(307) Gary L Crawford;
(308) Mark A Butler;
(309) Jerry W Adamick Jr;
(310) Melissa L Pollard;
(311) Charles W Mair;
(312) Eric Estrada;
(313) Lee D Sorensen;
(314) Donald R Gotthardt Jr;
(315) Raymond Shacklock;
(316) Cameron R Girvin;
(317) Christopher M L Reese;
(318) Jeremy L Hall;
(319) Charles F Headley;
(320) John F Shank;
(321) C Ed Ray;
(322) Lewis H Jacobs;
(323) Kenneth B Salas;
(324) Tara-Marysa M Guting;
(325) Kendall I Corder;
(326) Joshua A LaForge;
(327) Daniel C Hansen;
(328) Sarah D Beckstrom;
(329) Dennis M Wagner Jr;
(330) Donald R Kleber;
(331) Marvin Risen;
(332) Todd L Spiker;
(333) Marc A Fischer;
(334) Eric Cespedes;
(335) David C Maland;
(336) Jonathan J Campos;
(337) Lavalle F Van Etten;
(338) Almon P Frederick;
(339) Michael Rice;
(340) Chastity M Budwig;
(341) Jerome A Ciereszewski;
(342) Frederick G Smith;
(343) William F Urban;
(344) Jesse A Branch;
(345) Edward H Fay;
(346) Alex Lang;
(347) Frank McCaskey;
(348) John F Burke;
(349) William P Price;
(350) John P Constantine;
(351) Anthony Hampel;
(352) Benjamin J Koles;
(353) Frank M Bolen;
(354) Jacob J Kucera;
(355) Jess Anderson;
(356) John B Merz;
(357) Louis E Baum;
(358) Richard Kelley;
(359) Victor C Benner;
(360) William U Sprous;
(361) James W Brown;
(362) Roy Hoyle; and
(363) Thomas C Logan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) acknowledges that police officers and other law enforcement personnel, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, should be remembered and honored;
(2) expresses unwavering support for law enforcement officers across the United States in the pursuit of preserving safe and secure communities;
(3) recognizes the need to ensure that law enforcement officers have the equipment, training, and resources that are necessary in order to protect the health and safety of the officers while the officers protect the public;
(4) recognizes the law enforcement community for continual unseen acts of sacrifice and heroism; and
(5) expresses condolences and solemn appreciation to the loved ones of each law enforcement officer who has made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1252 introduced by my colleagues, Representative Guest, Representative Letlow, and Representative Pappas.
It is National Police Week, and countless men and women who serve in law enforcement at every level of government have come here to our Nation's Capital, Washington, D.C. While we gather to recognize their courage, we must also confront a very troubling reality: Every day, law enforcement officers across this country are facing increased threats to their safety and well-being.
We know that law enforcement officers answer every call for help regardless of who the person is, what they believe, and regardless of the threat to their own lives.
Tragically, many of those brave men and women who answer the call of duty do not return home. As of April 26, there are nearly 25,000 names of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington. Each name represents a life lost in the line of duty, a family forever changed, and a sacrifice that can never be fully repaid.
According to the Fraternal Order of Police, 347 officers were shot in the line of duty in 2025 alone. This marks the sixth consecutive year in which over 300 law enforcement officers have been shot.
Mr. Speaker, words alone cannot capture the depth of our gratitude for the service and the sacrifice offered by these brave men and women.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) for his thoughtful remarks.
In the same spirit that he just articulated, we, as elected officials, must take a stand against these attacks and honor our fallen law enforcement officers.
This resolution takes an important first step, and we collectively will never forget those who made such high levels of sacrifice in the line of duty. It is up to us in Congress to honor their memory and to stand up to protect those who do so much each and every day to protect each of us here.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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