The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NATIONAL POLICE WEEK” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S2927 on May 14, 2015.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL POLICE WEEK
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this week we welcome thousands of law enforcement officers for National Police Week 2015. It is a time to pay tribute to all the men and women who serve in Federal, State, and local law enforcement all across America. It is a good time for those of us who benefit from the shield of protection they provide--and actually, that is all of us--to express our gratitude.
Police officers are here to rededicate themselves to the pursuit of justice and to honor fallen officers. We are proud to have them all here in Washington.
I want to recognize especially the many men and women who protect and serve as peace officers in Kentucky. Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with some of Kentucky's finest. I want to thank them personally for courageously risking their lives in the service of people across the Commonwealth.
honoring deputy sheriff ernest t. franklin
Sadly, the occasion of National Police Week is also the time when we pay tribute to the brave and honorable peace officers who have fallen in the line of duty over the last year. So I want to remember and say a few words about Kentucky's own Deputy Sheriff Ernest T. Franklin, of the Barren County Sheriff's Office, who died on April 2, 2014.
Deputy Sheriff Franklin was killed in an automobile crash on Kentucky Route 90, just west of Glasgow. He was 58 years old and had served with the sheriff's office for 7 years.
Friends and coworkers recall him as a friendly man who always had a kind word for everyone. He worshipped at Hopewell Baptist Church, volunteered at the local community center and soup kitchen, and was, by all accounts, an excellent chef.
Deputy Sheriff Franklin put his life on the line every day to protect his fellow Kentuckians. I want to extend my deepest condolences to his family and to all of those who knew and loved him.
As Deputy Sheriff Ernest T. Franklin is mourned in Barren County, in Frankfort, the Kentucky State Police have created their own unique way to memorialize their fallen fellow officers. This week they unveiled a new statue called The Trooper, a figure of a Kentucky State Trooper cast in bronze and 10 feet tall, at the Kentucky State Police Academy.
The statue is a tribute to members of the Kentucky State Police who have given their lives in the line of duty. That is 27 troopers and officers. It is quite an inspirational sight--a lone figure in uniform striding forward, ready to defend the property, dignity, and lives of his fellow Kentuckians.
I know my colleagues in the Senate join me in holding the deepest admiration and respect for the many brave law enforcement officers across Kentucky and across the Nation. Theirs is both an honorable profession and a dangerous one. It is also a necessary one because the peace and order of a civil society that we all take for granted would not exist without them. Kentucky is grateful for our law enforcement officers' service, and we are grateful for the service of Deputy Sheriff Ernest T. Franklin.
National Blue Alert Act
On a related note, I was proud to cosponsor and see to Senate passage this year of the National Blue Alert Act. The bill will establish a national Blue Alert system within the U.S. Department of Justice to help catch those criminals who kill, harm, or threaten law enforcement officers. The Blue Alert system will be similar to what the AMBER Alert system does for abducted children.
Should law enforcement officers be killed, seriously injured, threatened or go missing while in the line of duty, this system would be utilized to widely disseminate information to help identify and apprehend potential suspects.
Blue Alert will help bring to justice those who harm our police officers and hopefully help deter future violence. I was pleased to see that the House passed the bill earlier this week. With this bill, we will help protect those who put their lives on the line to protect us all.
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