Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces 211th Session Graduation from The State Police Basic School

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul joined Acting Superintendent Steven A. Nigrelli in honoring 218 new New York State Troopers as they graduated today from the 211th session of the Basic School of the New York State Police Academy. The ceremony was held at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Today's graduation increases the State Police ranks to 4,742 sworn members.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:

Good morning. What a spectacular day for all of you, but more so actually your families. And I'll speak about them in a minute, but I do want to thank Acting Superintendent Steve Nigrelli, someone I've known a very long time. My husband was a federal prosecutor for 30 years, working in partnership with local law enforcement and NYPD, and so we've gotten to know the caliber of the individual who is now our Acting Superintendent. So, I want to thank him. I look forward to working with him in years to come, Superintendent.

Also, your Training Director, Major Michael Eaton, Officer in Charge, Lieutenant John Duro, I thank you for teaching these individuals about what it means to be a member of this elite, unique family. And that is what this has become to all of you who now step into the ranks of the New York State Police. You're part of a family. So, thank you to all of you, the entraining instructors. Trooper Katrina Garrett, I thank you for blessing us with that beautiful rendition of our national anthem. It always makes my heart flip when I realize we're so blessed to live in a country with such freedoms that we'll never take for granted.

I also want to recognize Reverend Morrette for reminding us of the presence of God in our lives as a source of strength when times get tough, and indeed to our class, they will get tough. So, never forget that you're being watched and cared for by a higher power. You'll be hearing from Rabbi Michael Melnicke, and I know that he'll also remind us of our connection with God as we continue in our daily lives.

I'm honored to have the most extraordinary cabinet assembled in our state's history. When I became Governor just a little over a year ago, I knew I'd be defined by our accomplishments, but also by the people I surround myself with. I sought out the best and the brightest, the most dedicated public servants, and I'm proud that Anthony Annucci continues as our Acting Commissioner of Corrections and Community Supervision. A critically important role as we deal with the specter of crime, but also the reentry program, so people only have to go through once and that is our objective. So, thank you for all you do, Commissioner.

Elizabeth Cronin, the Director of the New York State Office of Victim Services. Our emphasis is on those individuals. We've increased just recently, money - monetary compensation for them, but our goal is to reduce the number of victims overall. We're not trying to put you out of a job, but that would actually be a very good. I'll find something else for you, so don't worry about it.

And Kelli Owens, we just did an event focusing on the fact that domestic violence is still very real and it's - you're going to be called to many homes, many homes. And you're going to see - experience something that is truly devastating when you see people in the comfort of their own homes with someone they chose as a partner subjected to violence. And Kelli Owens is the Executive Director of our Office of Prevention and Domestic Violence. I thank her as well.

I don't know if Senator Patrick Gallivan is here. I sometimes see him. I don't know that he's ever missed one, but he is a former member of the State Police family, went on to be a sheriff and now serves as a senator. So, we've worked closely together.

My remarks will not be long because I know you are excited about tossing the hats in the air, celebrating, and finally being done. But I want you to know the significance of this day, and first of all, to your families, I know what you sacrificed. I know what it was like to say goodbye to your partner, your spouse, members of your family, maybe your children, as they went off for a long journey. Six intense months. And I know about this because I spent a lot of time with my State Police detail, and I ask a lot of questions after long rides from Buffalo to Albany, sometimes in the middle of the night. When I was Lieutenant Governor, I'd say, "Tell me what it was like?" And I want you to know despite their outward exterior of how tough they all are, and they truly are, they really did miss all of you. It was hard for them to kiss you goodbye on a Sunday evening, but they were there for a higher calling, and I thank all of the parents who are here today and the spouses who support them, and the partners and siblings and aunts and uncles, because somewhere along their journey to adulthood, you inspired them.

You must have triggered some spark in them that brought them to this place today where they'd actually be one of the elite few who wear this uniform, and go out. They're literally putting their lives on the line to protect strangers. And I'm still in awe of this, having been to many of these graduations. I look out at their faces, and I say, the courage that it takes to say, "I want to be a professional law enforcement member, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect others." That is extraordinary. And I will never, as your Governor, ever take that for granted, what you're willing to do for all of us. So, on behalf of 20 million New Yorkers, I say, "We are grateful for that." But I'm also going to continue to call you to even more. What we saw, and I spoke in my first graduation six months ago, and I'm going to continue to up your ranks, because what I saw during this pandemic was something that we could not have anticipated, but almost immediately, the crime rate started going up all over our country, not just here in New York, all over our nation. And much of it was driven by access to illegal guns that were crossing state lines and coming to our cities and our rural areas.

And I thought, "How are we using the men and women who are out there on the highways and byways and in our cities and literally can see when a carload of illegal guns has crossed our lines and where they're heading, and how we can be more involved in the interdiction, taking guns out of the hands of criminals?" That's how we fight crime. That's how we save lives. And I'm absolutely staggered by the fact that in the last year alone across New York State, working with State Police and our local partners, we have confiscated over 8,000 illegal guns, taking them off the streets, literally since I've been Governor. No one could have expected that, but that's what it's all about. When you have a laser-focused purpose and say, "I have the most elite unit of dedicated individuals who know their jobs and I want them to be the face of fighting crime for our state. Who else but the New York State Police? We are second to no one else."

We have a responsibility to lead, and despite descriptions and perceptions that it's all about the local policing community, we have to step in and support them. We're doing that all over the state, and I thank all of you who've been willing to do that as well. And we do eventually drive the numbers down. And we do eventually drive the numbers down. And these are good statistics, but we're not done yet. The fact that across the State of New York, in one year, shootings and murders are down [13] percent, not up [13] percent, while they've only gone down 2 percent across the rest of the nation. And we have areas of great success. The City of Buffalo, I'm from Buffalo. I know there's a number of western New Yorkers here. I read all about all of you. Go Bills. Sorry, Jets, Giants, everybody. Let's get them all together. Yankees while we're at it.

But I know the City of Buffalo because I live in the City of Buffalo. I live literally 10 minutes from where there was that horrific massacre of 10 innocent people just simply shopping on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in a grocery store, 10 minutes from my home. The shooting and murder rate in Buffalo is down 35 percent since last year. It is down 14 percent in the City of New York. It is down 18 percent on Long Island. That is because we're doing things differently.

That's what you bring people. When you show up on the scene, whether it's a crime scene or you're there to prevent a crime or to help after an accident, whatever you do, because you show up in a uniform with the training and the reputation of this organization behind you — the nation's best — you bring our citizens hope that they're going to be okay. I'm a mom. When my kids started driving, there's fear in your heart. But also knowing that we also have our State Police out there, protecting people in every corner of the state, gives me a huge source of comfort for all the other parents out there as well.

So, we're going to continue doing what Superintendent Nigrelli referenced. I do want to see more women in the ranks. Gentlemen, you're doing a great job. But we need a few more sisters in the family. And to the fact that we have [15] percent of this class right now, the numbers are training in a wonderful direction. We're going to continue doing that. And to all of you, you are one family to me. And I'll have your back. You have the back of all of us. You have to know that as your Governor, I will have your back and give you the resources, the support, and do whatever I can to protect you while you're in uniform because you're protecting all of us. I'm grateful for you. I'm grateful for you, grateful for your families, and I'm humbled to be your Governor.

But at the end of the day, know that you're doing something that many others would not do. 16,000 people try to be sitting where you are today, narrowed down to [1,400]. There's 218 of you. That's my definition of an elite group. You've now entered those ranks and continue to honor not just your colleagues and the organization today, but honor the long history of those who came before you. And those who sacrificed their lives. You represent all of them every single day you put on your uniform and go to work. Never forget them either. So, I'm just here to say thank you, congratulations, may God bless every one of you and keep you safe, and may God bless the great State of New York and the United States of America.

Thank you.