Roy Blunt: “all across the country right now people are honoring the men and women who serve in law enforcement as we honor National…”

“all across the country right now people are honoring the men and women who serve in law enforcement as we honor National Police Week. I was the cochair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus. Senator Coons and I founded that caucus when we came to the Senate a little over 4 years ago. I am proud to be able to speak on behalf of those who serve and their families. I just had a meeting with the Federal Law Enforcement Association to talk about the challenge of these jobs and the challenge to families and the importance of understanding the moment you are in. One of the observations I made to them--going back to some legislation I worked on a few years ago to allow police officers to carry their weapons when they went from State to State--is that you may not remember everybody that you arrested, but everybody you arrested remembers you. The vulnerability of police and their families is sometimes equal to and sometimes exceeds the vulnerability of those of us whom the police, every day, step up to protect. This is a week when we really take a moment to recognize that. We take a moment to recognize those who serve. I want to pay tribute today particularly to two Missouri officers who were killed in the line of duty last year: Deputy Sheriff Matthew Chism of the Cedar County Sheriff's Office and Officer Eddie Johnson of the Alton Police Department. Deputy Sheriff Chism, of Stockton, MO, was tragically killed in November of last year. He was 25 years old.…”