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Floor Speech
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Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, it has been a sad day--a set of sad days-- in my hometown of Kansas. I rise today to mourn the loss and honor the sacrifice of Hays Police Officer Sergeant Scott Heimann, who was shot and killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call. He passed away in the early morning hours of Sunday, September 28.
My hometown of Hays, with a population of about 21,000, is a tight- knit community, where people look out for their neighbors; they care for those in need; and they protect the vulnerable. Sergeant Heimann embodied the best of smalltown Kansas values in living a life of integrity and devotion and courage despite the dangers he faced each and every day.
He, too, from a young age, called Hays his home. He grew up there, and he graduated from Thomas More Prep-Marian High School, which is our hometown Catholic school. He attended the University of Kansas before returning home to the place he was raised. Sergeant Heimann first began his service with the Hays Police Department in 2016, and after 9 years with the department, his watch ended way too soon. He was an Eagle Scout and a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church. He was a son, a father, a husband. He was devoted to his wife, Beth, and was a loving dad to his children Patrick and Victoria.
My prayers--our prayers--are with his family and his parents Bill and Teresa Heimann.
It is such a difficult time. Every day, law enforcement officers risk their safety, putting their lives on the line to protect and serve both their neighbors and strangers. Kansas is a home to so many brave men and women who have answered the call to serve, and too many have given their lives to fulfill this mission.
In small towns across Kansas, law enforcement officers, as they are in Hays, are well-known in their communities, and they are well-loved by their communities. We see them in the grocery stores, at the football games on Friday nights, and in church on Sundays. They are members of our communities, and they are familiar faces.
This courageous young man died with honor while protecting his community and the people he had sworn to serve. In Hays and across Kansas, the sacrifice he made will not be forgotten, and we resolve to forever honor his service to the community he loved.
I ask the U.S. Senate to join me and my family and my hometown in expressing our sympathy and gratitude--our respect--for this officer, for a life served in service to others, and to a community that mourns his loss.
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