The
following is a transcript of a speech by Ken Myers, deputy sheriff, Carroll County, IA at the Democratic National Convention.
My
name is Ken Myers. I'm a father. I'm a teamster, and a deputy sheriff from
Carroll County, Iowa—God's country. I'm lucky to walk a pretty "quiet
beat," as they say. But one evening last spring, two other officers and I
answered a routine call to check in on an individual. As one of my partners
knocked on the front door of the house, I went around back. That's when,
through a window, I saw a man with a gun and he saw us. He started firing. We
took cover.
Backup
arrived, and we spent the night trying to convince the suspect to surrender. By
morning, he walked out the door with his hands in the air. Thankfully, no one
was hurt. First responders like me put our lives on the line. We're proud to do
it. It's the job we signed up for, to protect and serve, but we need a leader
who will do the same for us. And that leader is President Barack Obama.
Governor
Romney has said, "It's time for us to cut back" on public employees
like teachers, firefighters and cops. And that's exactly what his plan would
do. When the Republican governor of Ohio attacked the collective bargaining
rights of police officers, Romney supported him. The Romney-Ryan budget could
cut federal funding for first responders by nearly 20 percent. That funding, it
helps pay for the officers who heeded my call for backup last spring—and for
their training. It helps pay for the fire and EMS vehicles that responded to
the scene and it helps pay for the bulletproof vest that—if, God forbid, I was
shot that night—could have saved my life.
But
this isn't just about me or about my partners in the sheriff's office. It's
about all Americans. In his big speech last week, Mitt Romney talked about
helping families. I help families every day. And let me tell you, what Mitt
Romney doesn't understand is that there's nothing helpful about undermining
public safety. When you cut funding for first responders, that means there will
be fewer of them, and that means help may take longer to get there or may get
there too late. President Obama understands that. That's why he's helped keep
tens of thousands of cops on the job and helped create hundreds of new law
enforcement positions across the country.
He's
made sure we're outfitted with the best equipment, the most advanced technology
to keep us safe. In New York City on 9/11, and on the Gulf Coast after Katrina,
first responders saw our communications network break down, making it harder to
get to the people we were trying to help. President Obama is working to create
a national safety communications system so that never happens again.
In
places like Carroll County, we do things for ourselves. We're not strangers to
hard work. But part of that work is looking out for our neighbors. That's why
we need police. That's why we need firefighters and teachers. And that's why we
need a president who fights for us, a president who stands up for middle class
jobs and middle class communities. President Obama has our backs. And in this
election, we have his.
