WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) this week paid tribute on the Senate floor to three fallen Kansas police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in the last year: Detective Brad Lancaster of the Kansas City Kansas Police Department, Captain Robert “Dave” Melton of the Kansas City Kansas Police Department, and Master Deputy Sheriff Brandon Collins of the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.

Since 1962, May 15 of each year has been commemorated as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week of May 15 as National Police Week.

Highlights of Sen. Moran’s remarks can be found below, along with a link to the video:

(0:24): Mr. President, in 1962, Congress and then-President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 of each year to be Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week of May 15 to be National Police Week. Each spring, we take time to recall the men and women of law enforcement who were lost in the previous year. Unfortunately, this list has become far, far too long. Since our nation’s founding, more than 20,000 American law enforcement officers have sacrificed their lives in service to others.

(0:57): While I have paid many solemn visits to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. to honor, to respect, and to remember fallen officers, my visit this year was especially somber. In 2016, Kansans suffered the loss of three law enforcement officials. On the Senate floor today, I wish to recognize and honor our fallen heroes: Detective Brad Lancaster of the Kansas City Kansas Police Department, Captain Robert “Dave” Melton of the Kansas City Kansas Police Department, and Master Deputy Sheriff Brandon Collins of the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.

(1:39): Their untimely deaths shook their families, the agencies where these men served, the neighborhoods they protected and the communities they lived in. Brandon, Robert and Brad were not only law enforcement officers, but were also sons, brothers, fathers, neighbors, mentors and friends.

(1:58): Robert Melton, Brad Lancaster and Brandon Collins, and the 140 other officers killed in the line of duty in 2016, are being honored this week in our nation’s capital. The names of these fallen heroes will be physically inscribed into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, set in stone as an eternal reminder to the nation of the service of these men and the debt we owe for their sacrifice on our behalf. That debt, of course, can never be repaid, but it is certainly our duty to try.

(2:32): As Americans honor these men during National Police Week, we must also remember their families, friends, their fellow officers and the loved ones they left behind. May God comfort them in their time of grief and be a source of strength for them. May He also protect all those who continue to serve today and to stand in harm’s way to protect our communities.

(2:56): An inscription at the memorial reads, “In valor there is hope.” The losses of Brad Lancaster, Robert Melton and Brandon Collins have imposed tremendous hurt and sorrow, but our memory of their service to others and acts of valor offer Americans hope and inspiration to carry on their missions: to better our communities, to protect the vulnerable and to stand for what is right. As we remember, let us tirelessly pursue those ends, and do all we can do to honor the fallen.

Click here to watch Sen. Moran’s remarks on YouTube.

###