News Room November 2, 2001 Police Chief Ramsey Welcomes 20 New "Lateral Hire" Officers to the MPDC (Cont.) Charles H. Ramsey Chief of Police Metropolitan Police Department Chief Charles H. Ramsey delivered the following remarks during graduation ceremonies for Metropolitan Police Department Recruit Class 2001-2, held at the US Department of Commerce, on November 9, 2001. Twenty new lateral hire officers were sworn in during the event. To the members of Lateral Class 2001-2. I say welcome to the Metropolitan Police Department. I realize that none of you is new to the profession of policing. But all of you are new to the M-P-D - the finest and proudest police force in the nation, a Department with a rich history and tradition dating back some 150 years, but also, a Department that is moving forward into the 21st Century, with a higher profile, more responsibility and greater confidence than ever before. Welcome to the most unique and exciting law enforcement experience in America today! A lot has obviously been written and said about the horrific events of September 11 - and their impact on our society. A theme we hear over and over again is that "everything has changed" with 9-11. There is no doubt that the attacks did change many things. They shattered our sense of innocence, and stole some of our feelings of security and safety at home and where we work and travel. They certainly forced police department to rethink some of our priorities and strategies - and to redouble our efforts around domestic preparedness and terrorism. The attacks also reminded us that we live in a world where some people do not share in our democratic values … our standards of decency and respect for others - who do not share our abiding devotion to a society governed and protected by the "rule of law." And, of course, the attacks showed that some of these people will go to almost unimaginable lengths to undermine and destroy those bedrock principles that we, as a nation, stand for. So, yes, a lot has changed since September 11th. But in other important respects, things have not changed at all- especially for the profession of policing. If there were another attack today, here in our Nation's Capital or in any other city, you would see police officers and firefighters and emergency medical personnel do just what they did at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9-11. As others would run away from the danger, we would rush headlong into it, trying to protect and save others. That ethic of service to others has not changed, or if it has, it has only been strengthened over the past two months. Page 1 of 2        1   2