New York State Police Officers Memorial Remembrance Ceremony Held Today at the Memorial on the Empire State Plaza in Albany
The Names of the 55 Officers Have Been Added to the Memorial, Which Now Recognizes 1,772 Men and Women From 150 Police Departments, Sheriffs' Offices, and Federal Agencies
Governor Hochul: "So, as your Governor, I'm acknowledging we lost the good ones. We lost the brave ones, the selfless ones. And I want you to know we'll never take for granted the life they chose, how that life ended. But how countless others carry on. Look around you, all these men and women willing to do the same thing because my God, what a great country we are. What a great state we are, to have people willing to do exactly what is going on here today."
Hochul: "I thank you. I honor you. I ask God to look upon you. And to lift you up in your darkest hour. But if you need more, know that you have the enduring love and appreciation of not just one governor, not just the people here today, but 20 million New Yorkers who sleep under the security blanket every single night of knowing that all of you and your loved one were willing to be there to help them in their time of need as well."
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul honored the lives of 55 police officers from eight police departments who were remembered at the New York State Police Officers Memorial Remembrance Ceremony in Albany.
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:
Thank you, Joe, for pinch hitting today. Appreciate all the work you do. And to all the individuals who traveled here from all across the State; men and women in uniform who are here to show that sense of camaraderie. Also, to my partners in government starting with my Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, our Attorney General Tish James, our Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, thank you for being here and for representing the Senate and Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer-Amato for representing Speaker Carl Heastie in the Assembly. Also, take note of our local representatives who never miss a single event, and that is our County Executive Dan McCoy and our Mayor Kathy Sheehan.
And to our faith leaders who are here today, I thank each of them for reminding us of the presence of God in our lives, in the good times and in the most difficult times, which today is one. So, thank you Father D'Angelo. I think this is your 32nd year doing this. Thirty-two years of coming here to give his words to help heal a grieving community.
Rabbi Heschel, probably about to break the record as well. You have been here many times and I thank you for your presence. Iman Tahir Kukiqi, I want to thank you for being here and also Pastor David Traynham for all of your words of inspiration.
You've heard a lot of numbers here today. The numbers 45, 13, 10, 1,772 — they're numbers, but behind each number is a person, a child of God who started off life like all of us. And as a parent, I know for those who are moms and dads here, the first time you hold that child begins a lifelong love story.
And the expectation is that child will be there in your final days. So, the world is turned upside down when a parent loses a child, especially in such a horrific way. But, there also has to be this strong sense of pride. And I think about the lessons you must have taught at the dinner table because everybody has an option to pursue a career in law enforcement, to be a protector, to be willing to put themselves in harm's way every single day.
But, you must have taught them something even deeper because your child stepped up and said, I'm willing to do that because I love my family, I love my community and I love my country. So, the parents who've lost a loved one, my heart goes out to you particularly. And those who've lost a spouse or a partner, by God you chose well. You chose someone who is so selfless of spirit, so giving, so caring about others, complete strangers, and now they're gone. And perhaps you're raising children on your own. And I'm looking out and seeing your faces. Yes, it's a bright sunny day. Many of you're wearing sunglasses, but I have to believe behind the sunglasses are sad eyes and in some cases tears.
We can expect no less. You are human beings, whether you lost your loved one over the past year or endured them, witnessed them declining and succumbing to an illness that on 9/11, those who went home felt they were the lucky ones, but never foreseeing that over the next 20 years we'd lose even more people because of a sinister illness - many times cancer - that struck them down.
What I recall is — what you're feeling is a lot of grief. We've spoken to many of you but remember that grief is the price we pay for love. That means that you loved another person so deeply with your whole heart and soul. And yes, it's a searing pain, and it had to be so hard to get up this morning, so hard to get up and say, "I have to go out there and put on a good face and be courageous and listen to a lot of speeches, remarks." The point is you did show up. You made the journey. You came here and said, "I have to come here to honor my loved one." And for that, I give you all the credit in the world. Because you're displaying the same kind of courage that your loved one did. Not in exactly the same way, but to me, you're the living heroes.
So, as your Governor, I'm acknowledging we lost the good ones. We lost the brave ones, the selfless ones. And I want you to know we'll never take for granted the life they chose, how that life ended. But how countless others carry on. Look around you, all these men and women willing to do the same thing because my God, what a great country we are. What a great state we are, to have people willing to do exactly what is going on here today. I'm in awe of every one of you. As your Governor, I promised to keep you in my prayers to let you know that your loved one made a difference. You may never see the faces of those that they comforted in their time of need or even rescued, saved their own lives.
You are not going to know that but know it's real. And to all of those who lost a colleague, the empty seat in the squad car, the empty locker, the camaraderie that's lost, a friend that's lost, you also had an influence on each other. You are in the battle together, and that is something that you have to keep in your heart, that your colleague that you lost wants you to stay in the fight as we work together to protect the people of the great State of New York.
So, I thank you. I honor you. I ask God to look upon you. And to lift you up in your darkest hour. But if you need more, know that you have the enduring love and appreciation of not just one governor, not just the people here today, but 20 million New Yorkers who sleep under the security blanket every single night of knowing that all of you and your loved one were willing to be there to help them in their time of need as well.
Thank you very much, and may God bless every one of you.