On the recordDecember 5, 2017
Yesterday afternoon, 58-year-old San Marcos, Texas, Police Officer Kenneth Copeland was shot in an ambush- style attack while he was serving an arrest warrant for a violent crime. The 19-year veteran of the force was working on his day off doing what he loved: protecting and serving the community. This wasn't unusual for Officer Copeland. A father of four, he worked just about every day simply to provide for his family and help the shorthanded department out. As guns blazed around them, fellow officers sprang into action loading Copeland into a patrol car and rushed him to the hospital with their sirens blazing. But it was too late. Another member of the thin blue line murdered simply because he wore the badge. Mr. Speaker, this is the sixth peace officer in Texas murdered this year, the first in San Marcos history. We must do everything in our power to stand by our men and women in uniform who wear the badge. Peace officers like Copeland are the last strand of wire in the fence between the law and the outlaws. We mourn his sacrifice, but we thank the good Lord that such a man as Officer Copeland ever lived. And that is just the way it is. ____________________
