October 16, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 163 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H8150-H8151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COMMEMORATING THE LEGACY OF ATATIANA JEFFERSON

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, one of my favorite pastimes is playing video 
games with my 13-year-old son, just as Atatiana Jefferson was doing 
with her 8-year-old nephew when she was murdered by a police officer in 
front of him in Fort Worth, Texas, this past weekend.
  I rise today to commemorate the legacy of Atatiana, also known as 
``Aunt Tay'' by her 8-year-old nephew, and call on our law enforcement 
to stop these killings now.
  It only took 3 seconds before a police officer fatally shot this 
woman in front of her 8-year-old nephew while they were playing video 
games. She didn't even have a chance to show her hands.
  The reality for many Black and Brown people in this country is that 
this is our America, this is the America that we live in every day. It 
doesn't matter what neighborhood we live in or how much money we make. 
This is what we face.
  Until law enforcement reforms their culture of rogue policing that 
has led

[[Page H8151]]

to the slaughtering of so many people in this country, justice cannot 
fully be served.
  Nothing is going to bring Atatiana or all of those who have been 
unjustly killed back, but we have to do better. We have to hold our law 
enforcement accountable and fix the systematic failures that have 
brought us here today. Until then, our communities cannot have full 
confidence in those who are tasked in protecting all of us.

                          ____________________