WASHINGTON, DC -- In recognition of National Police Week, U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) gave the following remarks on the House Floor to honor the memory of the five fallen officers in Eastern Kentucky who died in the line of duty last year. Their names will be engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, along with the names of other fallen heroes who we have lost in Kentucky and across the country. 

"Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate National Police Week across the country, I rise on the House Floor this afternoon to honor the memory of the five fallen police officers who we lost last year in Eastern Kentucky.

"Three police officers in Prestonsburg, Kentucky paid the ultimate sacrifice when they were tragically shot in the line of duty on June 30th, 2022:

• Ralph Harlow Frasure, a 39-year law enforcement veteran, who served as Captain of the Prestonsburg City Police Department for nearly four decades and a beloved School Resource Officer at Prestonsburg High School.

• William Edward Petrey, a 31-year law enforcement veteran who served the Kentucky State Police, the Prestonsburg Police Department, and finally the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.

• Jacob Russell Chaffins, a young 28-year-old law enforcement officer, who courageously served the Kentucky Army National Guard, the Prestonsburg Police Department, the Prestonsburg Fire Department, and became a U.S. Marshall.

"Their heroic deaths were the greatest display of love described in John 15:13, “Greater love has no man than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” It was with great courage of conviction that those three officers lived to protect the people of the United States, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and especially those in Floyd County.

"Two hours west in my district, the London Police Department also grieves the loss of two of their brave officers last year:

• Logan Medlock, a young 26-year-old officer with the London City Police Department, a volunteer firefighter for the Keavy Fire Department, and former correctional officer, was struck and killed by a drunk driver on October 30th 2022. Officer Medlock worked in lockstep with his father, Randy Medlock, on the police force and together, they strived to make the City of London a safer place to live.

• And finally, Travis Hurley, a beloved 21-year veteran of the London Police Department lost a long battle with COVID-19 early last year.

"The names of those five brave men will be engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington, along with the names of two other officers from my district:

• Oliver Little, a Floyd County Sheriff’s Deputy who died from complications after contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty in 2021;

• And finally, Dixon Allen Sasser, a veteran of the Harlan Police Department who was shot and killed in the line of duty back in 1918.

"President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a former commissioner of the New York City Police Department once said, “No man is worth his salt, who is not ready at all times to risk his body, to risk his well-being, to risk his life in a great cause.”

"In a nation where police forces have been vilified in recent years by the actions of a few bad actors, may the lives of these fallen officers be a reminder of the outstanding integrity and sacrifice that the thin blue line represents. We must continue to support our law enforcement officers across the United States, ensuring they are fully equipped, adequately prepared, and never at the mercy of evildoers.

"This nation owes a great debt of gratitude for the valiant service of our fallen heroes. May their loved ones find peace and confidence in God’s promise in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

"Thank you and I yield back."

For more information about Congressman Rogers' work in Washington and at home in Kentucky, visit halrogers.house.gov and follow him on social media. 

Click here for a video link to Congressman Rogers' remarks.