Honoring Deputy Sheriff Colt Eugene Allery

Senator John Hoeven
Congressional Record: 115th Congress
24 January 2017

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the service and 
sacrifice of Colt Eugene Allery, a sheriff's deputy in Rolette County, 
ND, who was killed in the line of duty on January 18. Deputy Allery was 
just 29 years old and leaves behind his fiance, Alexandria, his four 
children and stepdaughter, along with many family and many friends.
  Deputy Allery was dedicated to serving the public and spent the last 
5 years working in law enforcement. He started his career as a 
corrections officer, serving as a police officer in Rolla, ND, and as a 
tribal police officer for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, 
a tribe of which he was a member.
  He became a deputy with the Rolette County Sheriff's Office just 3 
months ago. His colleagues remember him for his friendly and positive 
disposition and his commitment to making his community and our State 
safer. He was also well known in St. John, the tight-knit community 
where he was raised by his grandparents. He was known for always 
serving his friends and his family. They say Colt was happiest when he 
was doing things for others, which is why he chose law enforcement as 
his career.
  Deputy Allery's life is a reminder to each of us of the enormous debt 
we owe to all of the men and women in law enforcement who leave home 
every day and go to work to protect us and help make our communities 
and our States safer places--places that we are proud to call home.
  My wife Mikey and I extend our deepest condolences to Deputy Allery's 
family and friends during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers 
are with his loved ones and his law enforcement colleagues, in the 
coming days and months and especially today, as Deputy Allery is laid 
to rest. May God bless him and his family.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and turn to my colleague from North 
Dakota.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I come here again today on what is a sad 
day and really a sad week for law enforcement in North Dakota, for the 
community of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, and certainly for 
the family of Colt Eugene Allery.
  Colt was a deputy in the Rolette County Sheriff's Office who 
tragically lost his life in the line of duty last Wednesday night near 
Belcourt, ND. Colt joined in a high-speed chase with several fellow 
officers Wednesday evening after a report and identification of a 
stolen vehicle. As the stolen vehicle was coming to a forced stop, 
shots were fired, and the call came over the radio that shakes all of 
North Dakota law enforcement and our entire State to the core: 
``Officer down.''
  Colt never got back up that evening, succumbing to his injuries not 
very far from the small community where he grew up. He leaves behind 
five beautiful young children, including a stepdaughter; his fiance, 
Alexandria; his grandparents, Gene and Rita Allery, who raised him; his 
family, his friends, and a community that will miss his constant smile 
and playful attitude.
  He also leaves behind his fellow deputies and colleagues in the 
Rolette County Sheriff's Office. I know this is an incredibly tough 
time right now for Rolette County Sheriff Medrud and his deputies as 
well. I know that the people across the State of North Dakota and I 
have your back during this difficult time.
  This is now the second time in less than a year that I have come to 
the floor of the U.S. Senate to talk about the heroism and service of 
one of North Dakota's peace officers--one of those peace officers who 
made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
  It is heartbreaking to have to stand here yet again to make one of 
these speeches in recognition of a North Dakota peace officer. In fact, 
during my 8 years as North Dakota's attorney general, I saw two deaths, 
two violent deaths of peace officers in my State. In less than a year, 
we have two.

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  Talking to many of my friends in law enforcement in my State, they 
will tell you that the business of law enforcement and the work of law 
enforcement in our State have become more and more dangerous and more 
and more challenging. As I have said many times--and I will say it 
again here today--North Dakota has the finest peace officers in the 
entire country. Colt Allery personified that dedication of our peace 
officers to protect and serve their communities.
  Losing an officer in the line of duty is always devastating, but in 
States like North Dakota, where we often say we know everyone, Colt's 
loss is being felt in communities across the State. Colt and his family 
will know that the entire State mourns his loss and that we had his 
back in this life and we will have theirs as they struggle with this 
incredible and unimaginable loss.
  Growing up in St. John, ND, and as an enrolled member of the Turtle 
Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Colt never strayed far from home. 
And he made a commitment to do more than just be part of his community, 
he made a commitment to protect his community as a peace officer.
  Colt started out as a corrections officer for Rolette County. After 
graduating from law enforcement training academy, he started work in 
the Rolla Police Department. He then went to serve his fellow tribal 
members as a tribal police officer of Turtle Mountain before recently 
moving to the Rolette County Sheriff's Office.
  In North Dakota, we have a proud history of peace officers like Colt 
serving their State and local communities with distinction. I have had 
the privilege over my years in public service to work with law 
enforcement officials, from highway patrol, to State and local 
officers, to various Federal officers and our tribal police, and I will 
tell you again that these are some of the finest men and women I have 
ever worked with. These are the men and women--just like Colt--who 
could have chosen a different path. Instead, they chose to take the 
oath to protect and serve. They chose to selflessly put themselves in 
harm's way so they could make North Dakota a safer place for each and 
every person who lives there or who may by chance be passing through. 
They chose to put the needs of others before their own needs and, in 
fact, before their own families' needs. They chose a more difficult 
path to tread than most of us would be willing to follow.
  Putting that uniform on each and every day places you in a unique and 
special group, a tight-knit community that very few people could 
understand what it takes to get the job done. All too often, it takes a 
tragedy like this one outside of Belcourt, ND, last week to recognize 
and appreciate our peace officers and the sacrifice they and their 
families make every day so that we can feel safe and secure in our 
daily lives.
  I stand here this morning not only to celebrate the life of Colt 
Allery but to celebrate each and every peace officer working in the 
State of North Dakota and across the country. I know that although 
Senator Hoeven and I cannot be at the ceremony and at the celebration 
of Colt's life today, we stand today with the community and with the 
State in appreciation, and we stand today in mourning for the loss of 
Colt Allery and for the terrible sacrifice his fiancee, his children, 
and his family have made in service to our country and our State and 
their community.
  Deputy Allery, I thank you for your service and your sacrifice on 
behalf of the people of North Dakota. May God bless you and welcome 
you, and may He bless your family.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, for all the people of North Dakota, we 
thank Colt for his service, and we ask that God bless Colt Allery and 
his entire family.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.