{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-pays-tribute-to-former-rapides-parish-sheriff-william-hilton/", "Cassidy\u00a0Pays Tribute to Former Rapides Parish Sheriff William Hilton", "2026-03-27", "2026", "2026-03", "Republican", "Senate", "LA", "Bill Cassidy", "C001075", "www.cassidy.senate.gov", "cassidy", "https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor honoring former Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton who was tragically killed on Monday. Sheriff Hilton\u2019s sense of duty and service to his community are reflected in his 50-year career in law enforcement.\n\n\u201cSheriff Hilton was a sheriff in every positive, meaningful sense of the word,\u201d said Dr. Cassidy.\n\n\u201cHe was steady. He was committed. He was there to answer the call when the community needed him,\u201d continued Dr. Cassidy.\n\nCassidy\u2019s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:\n\nMr. President, I rise today to honor my good friend William Hilton, who was tragically killed on Monday.\n\nWilliam was a great Sheriff. Safe, steady, committed, always there when his community needed him. That kind of service is more than just a job\u2014it\u2019s a calling.\n\nWilliam lived that calling every single day.\n\nHe was also a devoted husband to his wife Billie, a loving father to Shane and Christy, and a proud grandfather to Slade.\n\nBehind a man who carried such a heavy responsibility was a strong family\u2014one who loved him, supported him, and stood by him through long, difficult, often seven-day work weeks.\n\nHe was a true servant. A man others leaned on. As Sheriff Wood, his deputy and mentee, said: \u201cI talked to him almost every day. If I had any questions, who else could I ask but him?\u201d\n\nThat tells you everything you need to know about William. He just had a lot of wisdom.\n\nEven though he retired in 2008, he was asked to come back as sheriff, and he served two more terms.\n\nBy the time he retired for good in 2020, he had served in law enforcement for fifty years.\n\nHe could have lived comfortably in retirement, but he chose to come back because he had a sense of duty.\n\nIn 2016, there was a police ambush in Baton Rouge\u2014a gunman killed four officers and wounded two more.\n\nWilliam came to a ceremony for one of them, which I appreciated.\n\nIn fact, he and I rode down to that together from Alexandria to pay homage to a fallen lawman.\n\nAnd you know, there is something to be said for lawmen\u2019s realism. William certainly had it.\n\nHe told me: When you\u2019re fighting crime, it\u2019s like mowing the grass. You never stop, you just have to keep on going.\n\nNo anger, no bitterness, just a realism.\n\nThere\u2019s a quote about losing a friend that says, \u201cthe melody he played upon the lives of those around him will never be played quite the same way again.\u201d\n\nSo, while the melody may not be played quite the same way, it will be echoed by his family, by his community, by all of us.\n\nMr. President, I ask now that we take a moment of silence to honor the life of William Earl Hilton.Thank you.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-pays-tribute-to-former-rapides-parish-sheriff-william-hilton/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5755267813801765, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}