National Police Week

NATIONAL POLICE WEEK 2005
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Shortly after noon on Wednesday May 11, I was presiding over the Senate when the entire Capitol complex was evacuated in response to the threat of an airplane in restricted airspace. The officers of the United States Capitol Police reacted quickly and evacuated the Capitol in record time, moving my colleagues, our staffs, the press corps and our visitors to safe locations.

I cannot say enough about the men and women of our United States Capitol Police. One of their slogans, ``You elect them ..... we protect them,'' accurately describes the mission of this highly professional force which was formed in 1828. That mission, simply stated, is to protect democracy's greatest symbol, the United States Capitol, the people who work here, and its owners, the American people, who visit our offices.

When the Senate returned to its work, our leaders took the floor to express our collective appreciation to the U.S. Capitol Police. Senator Reid closed his statement with these touching words, ``Every day, we see them standing around doors, and they don't appear to be working real hard, but it is on days such as this that they earn their pay over and over again.'' Senator Reid would know something about this because of all of the things on his rather impressive resume, I understand that he is proudest of his service as a member of the U.S. Capitol Police.

It is no small irony that the skills of our U.S. Capitol Police Officers would be put to the test at the very moment that surviving family members of fallen police officers from around the Nation were arriving in Washington, DC, for the annual candlelight vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and then for Peace Officers Memorial Day services at the west front of the Capitol.

At this time of year, it is appropriate not only to reflect on the professionalism of today's U.S. Capitol Police Officers, but also on three who have fallen in the line of duty. I am referring to Jacob John Chestnut, who was fatally shot while tending one of those checkpoints that Senator Reid referred to, by an armed assailant intent upon entering the Capitol. I am also referring to John M. Gibson who was fatally shot by the same individual while protecting the life of one of our colleagues from that assailant.

And let us also not forget Christopher Eney, a U.S. Capitol Police Officer who gave his life while participating in a training exercise in 1984. I understand that he was participating in the type of intense training that would have proven very helpful on Wednesday, May 11. Their names are all inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial on Judiciary Square. The headquarters of the U.S. Capitol Police is named in the honor of each of them.

This is the third consecutive year that I have spoken in honor of the men and women in law enforcement who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This year, the names of 415 law enforcement officers have been inscribed on the memorial; 153 of these brave men and women lost their lives in 2004. The remainder lost their lives in other years--some generations before the memorial was created.

In 2004 Alaska did not lose a law enforcement officer in the line of duty. This year, no Alaskans have been added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and for this we are grateful.

During National Police Week we are reminded that the 17,000 people whose names are engraved on the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial were heroes not for the way they died but for the way they lived. It was Vivian Eney, the surviving spouse of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Christopher Eney, who coined that phrase.

For 51 weeks a year the stories behind those 17,000 names are known to family members and law enforcement colleagues. But during National Police Week the memorial comes alive as surviving family members and department colleagues decorate the memorial with shoulder patches, photographs, stories and poems. Ultimately this material will be available to the public 365 days a year at a museum that the Congress authorized to be constructed on Federal land in 2000.

The museum will be developed, constructed, owned and operated by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund--the same nonprofit organization that built and now oversees the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Construction is expected to commence in 2007 and the opening is slated for 2009.

The museum will replace a one room memorial visitor center in the storefront of a downtown office building and will educate millions of visitors about the tremendous

contributions our law enforcement officers have made throughout our Nation's history. It is a worthy addition to the memorial and a project worthy of support by our colleagues and the Nation.

During the annual Police Week observance thousands of survivors of fallen law enforcement officers return to Washington, D.C., for the annual conference of the support group Concerns of Police Survivors. I was proud to welcome to my office the surviving family members of Kenai Police Department Officer John Patrick Watson whose name was inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2004.

Laurie Heck Huckeba, the widow of fallen Alaska State Trooper Bruce Heck, who gave his life on January 10, 1997, has returned to our Nation's Capital in her role as Pacific Region Trustee of Concerns of Police Survivors. She could not come to Capitol Hill to visit with me because she was busy conducting orientation sessions for the survivors of fallen law enforcement officers who are attending the Concerns of Police Survivors meetings in Alexandria, VA for the first time. It was not so long ago that Laurie was attending her first survivors' conference and now she is helping other survivors rebuild their lives. Laurie was raised in Glennallen, AK. Although Laurie has relocated from Alaska to the Bakersfield, CA area, it is clear to me that the Alaskan spirit of giving and sharing still burns strong within her. Thank you, Laurie.

Mayor Steve Thompson of the City of Fairbanks has sent a wreath to be displayed at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in memory of Patrol Officer John Kevin Lamm who gave his life on January 1, 1998. Thank you, Mayor Thompson.

The names of 42 Alaskans appear on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. During National Police Week, which officially begins on May 15 and concludes on May 21 we will reflect on the contributions of each of these heroes here in Washington and in ceremonies in my State of Alaska.

To their colleagues in law enforcement and to the surviving members of these 41 Alaskans and to the family, friends and colleagues of the 17,000 men and women whose names appear on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, let us remember during this National Police Week that ``Heroes Live Forever.''

In valor there is hope.

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