INTRODUCTION:
I would like to thank Rep. Ben Westlund and members of the committee for
inviting me to speak here today about the proposed bill to assist families of
public safety officers killed or injured in the line of duty.
I
have been a police officer for over 28 years and have seen my share of friends
and fellow officers loose their lives in the line of duty.
I have also seen the devastation it causes with the surviving families
left behind
...... several of which are seated in the audience behind me.
In
1976 I remember Pendleton Police Sgt. John Christensen who was stabbed in the
back by a motorist he had stopped to help.
He left a wife and 5 children behind.
I
remember the look on the face of that young wife and those small children.
And wondered, "How in the world she was going to be able to raise
those boys.?"
I
few years later Deputy David Sanchez was killed near
We
"passed the hat" again. His
killer served less than 5 years in jail and now lives just down the street
from me in
Then
in 1992, friend and fellow Oregon State Police Trooper Bret Clodfelter was
shot four times in the back of the head by a person he was giving a ride home.
Bret
had been married to Rene' for only 33 days.
He also left a devastated family behind.
Again we "passed the hat" to help a little, but the family's
nightmare was just beginning, as you will learn later.
After
Bret's death I decided to form a small non-profit foundation to assist
surviving families with the grieving process.
All members of the foundation are unpaid volunteers and some are
surviving family members themselves.
Last
year we were able to "pass the hat" and were able to help send 15
surviving family members to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial and
Grieving Seminars in
We
as private citizens can only do so much and that is why we are here today, to
ask for your help in passing this desperately needed bill.
I have attended many other funerals of police officers and other public safety officers and I know there are many more to come.
I
cannot forget the look on the faces of all the innocent young women with
children, grieving a lost husband or father suddenly taken, older couples, who
have unfortunately outlived their son or daughter, brothers, sisters.
And it saddens me greatly.
We
need to do more than "pass the hat" and build beautiful memorials
honoring heroic sacrifices. We
need to honor the families left behind with spiritual and financial support.
Approx.,
2 years ago I contacted Rep. Ben Westlund and asked for his help in drafting
the "Public Safety Memorial Fund Bill".
Without hesitation he took up the cause and has worked tirelessly on it
ever since.
I
would like to thank him for his efforts and support in this bill that does not
cost the taxpayer anything. The
cost of this bill would be paid by convicted criminals and those that put
officers at risk.
SOME
STATISTICS ON POLICE OFFICER KILLED AND INJURED:
¨
Approx., 155
police officer killed every year
(1
every 54 hours)
¨
1 out of 7 were
off duty (more
than a job)
¨
2 officers shot
everyday
¨
Almost 70,000
assaulted yearly (1 out of
officers)
IN
¨
152 killed in
¨
5 officers killed
in
From
¨
Trooper Scott
Lyons
¨
Sgt. Jim Rector
¨
Sgt. Dick
Schuening (all of them friends)
¨
Officer Tom
Jeffries
¨
Officer Colleen
Waibel
¨
Last year in
OREGON
FIREFIGHTERS :
101 killed (33 were volunteers)
13
Killed in the line of duty
The
loss of income to the family is approx., $850,000.
It is very hard to put a child through college or make house payments
with such a loss in income even with social security and other benefits.
Far
too many law enforcement officers, firefighters and other public safety
officers have given their lives on and off duty in service to their
communities. Leaving behind a
legacy of spouses, children, relatives, friends and co-workers.
TOO
OFTEN WE FORGET:
the
FIREFIGHTER who's life is lost
rescuing a victim from a fire or in the 1997 case of Gearhart Fire Dept. where
volunteer Bob Chisholm lost his life during a sea rescue or.......
the
CORRECTIONAL OFFICER who is stabbed
to death by a criminal, such as in the Michael Franke murder case or
..........
over
the suffering of the innocent families left behind.
For instance: Surviving families may be excluded from the department's
group medical coverage within days of the officer's death.
In such cases, a letter informing the family of this separation is sent
in the mail, forcing the survivor, still in a state of shock, to find health
coverage for the family. But the inmate receives free medical and dental
services at taxpayer expense.
The
genesis of this fund is not a "handout"
but a "helping hand."
¨
It's for funeral
expenses......
¨
It's therapy and
meetings with other survivors....
¨
It's scholarships
for the kids.....
¨
It's sending the
spouse back to school, if he or she wants to go.....
and much more.....
....it
sends a message of hope, that we as a society, really do care and acknowledge
their loved one's death, was not in vain."
"It
is our solemn responsibility to heighten awareness, not only of the risks and
the responsibilities that these public servants face each day, but also the
debt that we owe to their families left behind.
We
must be prepared to honor the sacrifice of those yet to come.....
it is the right thing to do.
VIDEO:
In closing I would like to show a short video I produced to honor
fellow Trooper Bret Clodfelter and others.
I am confident that if a law had been in effect to help surviving
families in 1992, the tragedy at the end of this tape could have been
prevented. At the conclusion of
the tape Rene' Clodfelter's mother, Anne Crockatt would like to offer some
comments about this proposed legislation.