John Culberson: “It is my privilege now to yield to the gentleman from northern California (Mr. LaMalfa), representing the First…”

“It is my privilege now to yield to the gentleman from northern California (Mr. LaMalfa), representing the First District. Mr. LaMALFA. Thank you to my colleague, Mr. Culberson. It is really, really good and proper that you are having this time here tonight, and I am glad to be able to join you with that. Madam Speaker, it is amazing to me that we even have to have this conversation. It is always a good conversation to have to honor our officers that put their lives on the line in so many aspects of our lives, whether it is highway patrol or sheriff or city police, park rangers, fish and game. All of them out there have some level of risk in order to maintain what it is we want in a free society for our security. What is so tragic about what is happening lately is it is coming down to a racial issue, so much that the sides are becoming much sharper and sharper as to what America is or what Americans are about. We need to get together on this. The enforcement of the law, the upholding of the law, the protection of families, of homes, this cuts across all lines. Indeed, I just saw a bit on the news a few minutes ago here where a gentleman in Florida--his name is George Cooper, as I recall; he happens to be Black. He came to the defense of an officer who happens to be White who was being beaten in some type of an altercation there where he was trying to do his job.…”