Metropolitan Police Department: Fighting Terrorism and Protecting Individual Rights: The Challenge of Our Time-Page 1

Fighting Terrorism and Protecting Individual Rights: The Challenge of Our Time (Cont.)

Charles H. Ramsey
Chief of Police
Metropolitan Police Department

Chief Charles H. Ramsey delivered the following speech to the Bar Association of the District of Columbia at its 131st Annual Banquet on December 6, 2002.

Thank you and good evening. It is indeed an honor to be with the leadership and members of the DC Bar. The fact that this is your 131st Annual Banquet is a testament to the strength of the DC Bar. In this town, for an entity to last 131 days – let alone, 131 years – is truly remarkable. And I want to congratulate all of you, not just on your longevity, but on your relevancy and your service to our community. I would like to publicly acknowledge Robert Weinberg, and all of the trustees of your Charitable Foundation, for your support of pro bono work and legal education efforts in our city. In our collective search for truth and justice under the rule of law, the services that you support are indispensable. So thank you very much. And finally, I want to congratulate tonight’s award winners. Speaking for all of the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department, we are grateful for your service to our community, and I am honored to share this podium with you this evening.

When Bill Lawler invited me to speak tonight, he indicated that I would be the first non-lawyer in a long, long time to address this banquet. So I guess that means I should probably not use any of those “lawyer jokes” that I have been saving up. Don't worry about it. After you have endured years of “cops-and-donut jokes, you learn to deal with just about anything. But when you stop and think about it, it really makes a lot of sense for the law enforcement and legal communities to come together this night – and every day and night of the year. As I alluded to earlier, all of us – judges, civil attorneys, prosecutors, members of the defense bar, police officers – all of us share the same fundamental mission, the same basic goal. And that is the search for truth and justice in our city.

Sometimes, we may end up on different sides of the courtroom – sometimes, we’re on the same side. But at all times, every one of us has made a commitment to uphold the Constitution, to provide justice, and to preserve freedom. And I am very proud to consider all of you as partners in this noble and enduring cause. Tonight, I would suggest that at no time in our nation’s history is our collective commitment to justice and freedom more crucial than it is right now. And I would also offer that at no place is this commitment more visible, more scrutinized and more essential than right here in the District of Columbia – our nation’s capital, and the cradle of democracy for the free world. We are at a truly unique and momentous time in our history. I don’t have to lecture any of you about that.

The threat of terrorism – to our city and to our nation – is very, very real. No one believes that the tragedy of September 11th was a “one-time event” – nor should we believe that. The threat we face is very real, and it is very dangerous. And the need to neutralize that threat – and to defeat those enemies who would brutally attack us, on our soil once again – must be the “Number One” priority of our government and our people. No one disputes that. But how do we wage the war on terrorism – and win the war on terrorism – while also managing to maintain and protect the individual rights of our people? How do we achieve that? How do we strike the balance between carrying out a vigorous war against a largely clandestine enemy, while being equally vigorous in preserving the very rights that define us as Americans?

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the unique – and the uniquely monumental – challenge of our time and of our professions.
Fifteen months after the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, it is interesting – and, I think, quite useful – to look back on our reaction and response to the crisis. No one can forget the tremendous pride and patriotism that immediately followed 9-11. I had the opportunity to visit “Ground Zero” several days after the attacks, and I was truly amazed by the outpouring of affection and support that everyday people showed for their police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. And I am pleased that much of that newly re-kindled appreciation for our first responders continues to this day.