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Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAMER. Mr. President, in my 12 years in Congress, like you, I have been blessed to participate in lots of events--large ones, small ones, medium-sized ones--in my State, throughout our Nation, even around the world.

It is difficult to rank them. Some of them are more memorable than others. They are all special. They are all important. Some of them are great celebrations. Others are more somber. Some are even sad, occasionally. But when these events are done, we go to the next thing on our very busy schedule that is prepared for us by someone we hire who is looking out for us. We trust that person with the irrevocable asset of our time, often with little opportunity to process or think much about what we have just done and what we have just participated in.

As you know, it is Police Week in our Nation, and, of course, the evidence of that is all around us here in Washington, DC.

I began my Police Week on Sunday, surrounded by heroes with badges at the 31st Annual TOP COPS Banquet. TOP COPS is a program hosted by the National Association of Police Organizations, which recognizes 10 heroic acts by local, county, State, and Federal law enforcement Agencies and officers during the previous year.

The reason I attended this year's TOP COPS banquet was to join Fargo Police Officer Zachary Robinson and his wife Ashley--who are in the Chamber with us today in the Members' Gallery--as Zach received one of the 10 TOP COPS recognitions. Also attending were his parents, colleagues, and friends--including Governor Doug Burgum; our attorney general, Drew Wrigley; the chief of police from Fargo; and many, many others.

Zach is a 7-year veteran of the Fargo Police Department, where he serves as a member of the honor guard, the crowd management team, and the Red River Valley Regional Bomb Squad. Officer Robinson, like so many of our law enforcement officers, also serves in the North Dakota National Guard.

Mr. President, he epitomizes what it is to be a hero.

On July 14, 2023, nearly a year ago, Officer Robinson was one of four officers to respond to a routine fender bender. As the officers were wrapping up their handling of the accident, Officer Robinson moved his police vehicle out of the street. A shooter, who was not involved in the initial accident, ambushed the officers, firing on them and a bystander.

The shooter hit Zach's three fellow officers, killing Officer Jake Wallin and gravely injuring Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes, both of whom attended the TOP COPS banquet with their spouses.

Zach radioed to ``send everybody,'' as he engaged in a shootout with the assailant. Officer Robinson was literally the last man standing, but he did not hesitate as he moved toward--not away from, but toward-- the gunfire, putting himself between the shooter and the innocent-- finally, fatally wounding the assailant.

This senseless, premeditated attack targeted police officers who were simply doing what they do: their jobs protecting and taking care of citizens in need.

Evidence collected in the investigation revealed the shooter's fixation on mass shooting events and his likely intent to perpetrate an attack at a large event, like the Downtown Fargo Street Fair that was going on just a few blocks away or, in the next community over, the Red River Valley Fair. In his car alone, the shooter had more than 1,800 rounds of ammunition, multiple firearms, and several homemade explosive devices. This was a man intent on inflicting carnage on the community-- a community that had never seen anything like this before.

Despite this quote--``it was a bad, bad day''--when Officer Robinson was asked if he had considered leaving law enforcement, he did not hesitate. He said he ``wanted to come back right away. There was no question I wasn't going to not come back to work.''

We will likely never know how many lives he saved that day--that his heroism protected that day--but his actions will never be forgotten by the Fargo community or the State of North Dakota. In addition to the TOP COP award, Officer Robinson earned the Medal of Honor from the Fraternal Order of Police, was named the Fargo Police Department's 2023 Officer of the Year and the 2023 National Rifle Association Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

Several months after the shooting, he was asked what he thought of being called a hero and said he was ``grateful to be in the right place at the right time to do what needed to be done. I was just able to react and eliminate the shooter before he had the chance to hurt anybody else.''

It has been said that heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things, and while Zach's extraordinary act of heroism is what was celebrated Sunday night in Washington, DC, it is his humility that stands out the most to me. This is a characteristic, by the way, that is shared by his fellow officers who were involved in the horrific events of that day in Fargo. Officers Hawes and Dotas project this quiet strength and a noble concern for others, never shining the spotlight on themselves. And while it is not surprising, it is always encouraging.

Officer Robinson's story--his refusal to yield, his swift action in the face of grave danger--captured the essence of why we must back the blue, always supporting our officers not just in words but in actions and deeds, ensuring that they have all they need to carry out their duties safely and effectively.

During National Police Week, we honor Zach and his brothers and sisters in blue across the country who go to work every day to protect our communities, despite the dangers around the corner or across the street. This week is also a chance to remember the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.

At a time when police officers are all too often scoffed or defunded by the very people relying on them for public safety, we need to constantly remember the real-world impacts of their service. Every officer who is lost is a mother, father, sister, brother, a son, or a daughter taken too soon from a family who loves them and will miss them.

Mr. President, our officers and their families deserve to know we will always have their backs. The TOP COPS awards banquet at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Sunday was not just one of the many special events we all attend in these jobs. For me, it was the honor of a lifetime to be there to pay tribute to the most extraordinary of the ordinary.

Congratulations to Officer Robinson for the TOP COPS award, to Chief Dave Zibolski and the entire Fargo Police Department, and thank you to all law enforcement officers for their everyday heroism. We love you, and we pray for you always.

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