Last week, upon receiving the award for policeman of the year, Officer Eddie Thornton began his remarks by giving thanks to God in front of the Chief of the US Capitol Police Department, Faith and Action Chief of Program Peggy Nienaber, and a host of others on Capitol Hill. The Capitol Hill Executive Service Club, for which Peggy serves as president, presented its annual award for policeman of the year to this year’s recipients: Officer Thornton (House Division) and Officer Michael Riley (Senate Division).

“This is a very important form of Christian outreach,” said Faith and Action president, Rev. Rob Schenck, who gave the opening prayer at the awards ceremony. “The Bible says that civil authorities are ministers of God. Recognizing their role reminds them they are accountable to God as well as man.”

While serving off duty, Officer Thornton was shot while intervening in a potentially life-threatening situation that involved a criminal firing a gun in a parking lot.

Officer Riley had the wherewithal to perform CPR on another officer who had experienced a massive heart attack causing him to cease breathing. Officer Riley’s CPR saved his colleague’s life.

Joined by their respective families, the two officers were drawn from the United States Capitol Police force. The US Capitol is but one branch of government among others that maintains its own police department. (The three branches of the federal government each have their own uniformed and plain-clothed divisions: The Executive has Secret Service, the Legislative has US Capitol Police and the Judicial has the Supreme Court Police Department.)

Point Man Ministries – led by Jack Crans – is an allied ministry to Faith and Action that ministers specifically to federal law enforcement throughout the DC area. As part of its outreach, Point Man serves federal correctional officers, to all law enforcement personnel on Capitol Hill, and to all levels of law enforcement in our nation’s capital.