Bryan Steil: “Today, I rise during National Police Week to honor the men and women of the law enforcement community and to condemn the…”

“Today, I rise during National Police Week to honor the men and women of the law enforcement community and to condemn the ongoing attacks of those members of our law enforcement community. In particular, to Wisconsin's law enforcement community, I say: Thank you. The past year has been particularly tough on our law enforcement officers. Just outside the State Capitol of Wisconsin in Madison is the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial. Last year, this memorial was vandalized. A criminal took a sledgehammer to the granite, which is etched with the names of the men and women who died in the line of duty protecting our communities. Last week, six more heroes had their names added to the law enforcement memorial, but the ceremony was interrupted by antipolice protestors. During the prayer, protestors yelled that the deaths of these officers, whose names were being etched into the memorial, were not a sacrifice. Antipolice protestors held up signs with hateful words and disrupted a solemn ceremony with vile chants. It was disgusting to see the absolute lack of respect and the display of hatred and complete ignorance. Contrary to the antipolice protestors at the ceremony, these officers are heroes. They died protecting us. They died protecting our communities. Let me tell you about just one of them. Officer John Hetland was one of the names added to the Wisconsin memorial this year. He was a 24- year veteran of the Racine Police Department. Officer Hetland was a hero.…”