Metropolitan Police Department: Chief Ramsey Addresses New Members of the MPDC - June 16, 2000

To the members of Class 99-5, I say "congratulations" and welcome to the finest profession there is and to the best police department there is—the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. To the family members and friends, thank you also for being here today, and welcome to the MPDC family as well.

Today is a day filled with a lot of emotions for you, the members of Class 99-5. There is joy, a good measure of relief, excitement and a tremendous sense of personal achievement.

Through your hard work, your persistence, your dedication to duty—each of you has demonstrated that you have what it takes to be a member of this profession and this Department. That is a tremendous accomplishment that very few people can ever claim.

Remember that accomplishment—treasure it—every day of your career. And remember the look of pride and joy on the face of the loved one who will pin your badge on in just a few minutes. Remember that, and you will never, ever, do anything to tarnish that badge or bring discredit upon yourself or your Department.

Yes, this is a day of joy and hope and satisfaction for all of you. But I ask you to also remember that for many of the communities you will serve, today is a day of sorrow, a day of fear, a day of hoping for a better and safer day tomorrow.

Nowhere is that sense of fear and sorrow and hope stronger than on the 3400 block of 10th Place, SE, in the 7th District. That block, of course, is where 76-year-old Grace Edwards was shot and killed early Monday morning as she was taking her daily walk. A grandmother, a fixture in her community, a strong supporter and friend of 7D officers, Ms. Edwards was caught in the crossfire of some people—some mad-men—who somehow thought it appropriate to settle a dispute with gunfire on one of our streets on Grace Edwards' street.

When inexplicable tragedies such as these occur, people sometimes comment that the victim was "in the wrong place, at the wrong time." Well, Grace Edwards was not in the "wrong place." She was in the "right place" - her own block, her own street, in her community. And she was not there at the "wrong time;" 6:30 in the morning should be the "right time" to enjoy some exercise, some peace and tranquility.

It was the gunmen who were in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They are the ones who had no business being there. And they certainly had no business exchanging gunfire on Grace Edwards's street. It is this "culture of violence" which these individuals have bought into—like so many others—that has robbed the residents of 10th Place, SE, and so many other communities of their sense of safety and security.

So the question is what do we, as a Police Department and as a society, do about this culture of violence - a culture that has been developing for a number of years now, and which is now ingrained in far too many of our communities? What do we do to ensure that no more Grace Edwards or Helen Foster-Els or other innocent victims must die? What do we do to stop our young people from killing one another - to ensure that the Natasha Marshes and the Andre Wallaces and all the other school-aged children who have been gunned down this year can graduate high school and lead healthy and productive lives? What do we do? These are complex questions that, unfortunately, defy easy answers.