On the recordSeptember 8, 2015
Last Friday, August 28, 2015, a deputy sheriff that protects my neighborhood in Houston, Texas, Harris County Deputy Sheriff Darren Goforth, was ambushed and brutally murdered at a gas station that my family and I use regularly and that I drive past every day. I knew this good man. He was well known to my neighbors and me as a model citizen and as a model officer. You could not ask for a kinder, gentler, better law enforcement officer than Darren Goforth. He was murdered in cold blood, assassinated by someone whose motives are not completely clear yet. In this atmosphere and this movement of extremist people calling on individuals to attack law enforcement, I wanted to call this Special Order. I want to thank my good friend, Judge Ted Poe, for organizing this Special Order today. We reserved this hour so that the Members of the House can come down here today and express our love and admiration and appreciation for every man and woman who wears the blue and defends our peace, our liberty, our property, and our safety on the streets of America. Deputy Goforth was a 10-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriffs Department. He was a loving husband and a father of two precious children, ages 5 and 12. He was murdered for one reason: Because he wore the uniform. Because he wore the blue to protect us all, to preserve our liberty, to protect our homes and our property, he was murdered in cold blood. I went to many of the prayer vigils in the neighborhood.…
