Volume 167, No. 92, covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress (2021 – 2022), was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO DEPUTY DAVID “OZ” OSBORNE” mentioning Rand Paul was published in the Senate section on page S3499 on May 26.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators’ salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO DEPUTY DAVID “OZ” OSBORNE
Mr. PAUL. Madam President, when a popular sheriff’s deputy from Daviess County, KY began what seemed to be a routine call in 1989, he had no reason to anticipate that his life would soon be hanging by a thread. He served a restraining order without incident and returned to his vehicle. But then, in the blink of an eye, he was shot multiple times, beaten severely, and was nearly run over by the assailant as he fled the scene.
Deputy David “Oz” Osborne was left to die on a driveway along a country road, but Clarence and Mary Hulsey had made an unplanned–and for them, unusual–decision to go to town to get ice cream on that May evening. First spotting Osborne’s hat, they quickly found him, summoned help, and remained with him until first responders could take over.
This assault nearly ended Osborne’s life 30 years ago, but although he was badly wounded and temporarily paralyzed, he recovered completely, returned to duty, raised his family, and was later elected Daviess County clerk.
More impressive than this narrative is the fact that the convicted assailant later contacted Osborne from prison, seeking his forgiveness, and Osborne agreed. Citing his Christian faith as his motivation, he said that forgiveness “did not happen overnight, but it did happen.”
It is clear why the citizens of Daviess County have so much respect for Oz Osborne to this very day. His story reminds us of the risks that our law enforcement officers and first responders face in the line of duty, but it teaches all of us an indelible and rare lesson about forgiveness and mercy.
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