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Floor Speech

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Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the brave men and women in North Carolina and across the Nation who serve in law enforcement.

This is a particularly emotional week for law enforcement. The law enforcement community has thousands of officers, and their families are in the Nation's Capital for National Police Week. They are paying a tribute to the brave officers who were killed in the line of duty while protecting our communities. I want to welcome all North Carolinians who are in Washington right now.

Unfortunately, our State is all too familiar with law enforcement officers having to make the ultimate sacrifice, losing their lives in the line of duty. Over the past year, North Carolina has lost three law enforcement officers who were killed by others in the line of duty, in addition to a number of other officers who died from other causes. I would like to take a moment to honor the service of those North Carolina law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty.

In late August, we lost Sergeant Matthew Ryan Fishman--he was 38 years old--of Wayne County Sheriff's Office. He was one of three deputies shot after attempting to serve a warrant. They were met with gunfire, and the incident caused a 10-hour standoff. Sergeant Fishman died a day later.

He had been a deputy since 2010. Before that, he was an officer in the Mount Olive Police Department. Officer Fishman is survived by his wife Sarah, two children, his parents, and two brothers.

That same August, we also saw the death of Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd of Wake County. Deputy Byrd was with his K-9 when he heard six gunshots and drove past a vehicle on the side of the road. Deputy Byrd stopped and backed up his vehicle. He was shot several times by two criminals.

Unfortunately, the killing of Deputy Byrd revealed numerous failures. The criminals who killed him were not in the United States legally. One of them had been previously deported but was able to illegally reenter the country.

When we talk about ``got-aways,'' this is a very important point because it happened just a couple of weeks ago in Texas. Someone who was illegally present in this country--was deported four times--got back into this country a fifth time and murdered a family in Texas, including an 8-year-old child. That is another face of a ``got-away.'' And it was a ``got-away'' who killed this officer.

Following their arrest for the murder of Deputy Byrd, one of these criminals managed to escape prison for several days, and we had to apprehend him again in Mexico.

Part of seeking justice must be looking at these failures and making sure they don't happen again.

Deputy Byrd was an Air Force veteran and served Wake County Sheriff's Department for 13 years. He is survived by his sister, brother-in-law, four nephews, as well as his beloved K-9 Sasha.

Last December, less than 2 weeks before Christmas, we lost Deputy Sheriff Bolanos-Anavisca of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. He was 23 years old and served the office for 2 years. He was struck and killed by a car while investigating a robbery at 3 a.m. The driver ran through a red light and struck him and then fled the scene. They eventually located the driver, and he was highly intoxicated.

In the wake of these tragic losses in North Carolina, I am proud to say that we saw the very best of our local communities. While we have some communities calling for defunding the police and making contributions to a website supported by ActBlue--I looked it up today, Mr. President. I am shocked that it is still there. During Police Week, there is a website out there called ACAB. Send your money. What does ``ACAB'' stand for? ``All Cops Are Bastards.''

You would think that at least in a week when we are looking at the sacrifice these officers made, they could take the website down, but they are still proudly raising money. If you don't believe me, just Google ``ActBlue,'' ``All Cops Are Bastards.'' Donate today. Harass the police. Look past the sacrifice they are making every single day.

On the other hand, our communities had an outpouring of love and support for the families and colleagues of those fallen officers. Most Americans proudly support men and women in blue. But there are some who feel emboldened by the disgusting anti-police rhetoric.

Disrespect and denigration of law enforcement officers only contribute to an environment that makes our officers and communities less safe and far fewer people willing to even sign up to do the job. If you don't believe me, ask local law enforcement. We have historic lows for people signing up to go to academies and historic highs for people retiring early, as soon as they are eligible. This is happening across the Nation.

In 2021, the intentional killings of law enforcement officers reached a 20-year high. While the number went down in 2022, it is still well above what we have seen in years past. We need to take threats and acts of violence against law enforcement seriously. That is why I will reintroduce the Protect and Serve Act in this Congress. This legislation will make it a Federal crime to intentionally assault a law enforcement officer. It is amazing that it is not on the books already today. It sends a strong message to criminals that targeting and assaulting law enforcement officers is inexcusable, and you will be punished. I will continue to work across the aisle to get this legislation enacted into law.

And I am committed to supporting our brave men and women in blue. This bill has earned broad support and has the full support of the Fraternal Order of Police and many of the Nation's leading law enforcement groups.

Each year, we take this week to celebrate those who serve us and protect us in public safety. This would be a great year to come back next year's Police Week and say that we got this bill passed.

Law enforcement has our backs every time and every day they put on a uniform. The least Congress can do is to support the Protect and Serve Act. They need your support more than ever, and you need their support more than ever.

To the men and women in blue in North Carolina and across the country, I want to say thank you for what you do and the sacrifice you make.

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