McConnell Honors Fallen Kentucky Officer and U.S. Capitol Police
‘Their sacrifices are a sharp reminder: Standing with law enforcement isn’t something we can only do one week every year. We need to back the blue all year round.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor honoring National Police Week:
“I’ll begin this morning where I began on Monday: Talking about National Police Week.
“Yesterday I got to welcome members of Kentucky’s Fraternal Order of Police here to my office. I was glad for the chance to share my gratitude for their service and hear what’s on their mind.
“Tragically, the past year’s fallen officers whom we’re memorializing this week includes one of Kentucky’s own.
“In early 2020, Detective James Kirk of the Stanton Police Department suddenly passed away from a heart attack in the wake of struggling with an armed subject. He was only 40 years old.
“By all accounts, during James’s nearly 20 years of service, he became a model officer. He’d even served as police chief of a nearby department. His colleagues remembered his easygoing, friendly nature and his total professionalism.
“As our nation honors this brave Kentuckian, we continue to hold his wife, Brandy, their family, and the entire Stanton Police Department in our prayers. Later today, Detective Kirk will join the ranks of heroes enshrined on the National Law Enforcement Memorial.
“We’re also honoring our colleagues here in the Capitol this week, the U.S. Capitol Police. On Peace Officers Memorial Day this Saturday, we’ll especially remember Officers Evans, Sicknick, and Liebengood, all taken too soon.
“Their sacrifices are a sharp reminder: Standing with law enforcement isn’t something we can only do one week every year. We need to back the blue all year round.”
Related Issues: Law Enforcement
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