good afternoon ladies and gentlemen i'm captain james mcgillis on behalf of the milwaukee police department and the police academy staff i'd like to welcome you to this afternoon's graduation ceremony for recruit class 1 of 2020. for those that could not physically attend thank you for your virtual attendance and support today this graduation ceremony is being live streamed via our mpdit department and thank you to sergeant brian damon for helping put that together if everybody at this time can please rise for the playing of our national anthem class 1 of 2020 attention present arms [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] please take your seats i'd like to say thank you to the milwaukee police band directed by retired mpd lieutenant karen dubus for providing us a recorded version for today's ceremony due to coveted restrictions the mpd band could not be here today but are here in spirit 2020 has had significant challenges for our city such as civil unrest a national pandemic uncertainty of public trust in the law enforcement profession the democratic national convention all while getting these men and women ready to become milwaukee police officers none of you faltered even when things were tough and your resolve is emblematic of your dedication to the community and your calling to serve the city and its citizens i would also like to publicly thank all the instructional staff and adjunct instructors and our community support personnel that brought you to this point our goal was to teach you the knowledge skills and abilities to be a milwaukee police officer i'd like to give a specific shout out to mr adam purcell and the members of the community warehouse and partners in hope who assisted in developing all of you and your human skills as guardians of our community let's give a round of applause as you prepare to embark on this journey i'd like to invite mr george papa christo to the podium our department chaplain to give the invocation george thank you sir let us pray almighty god we gather today in celebration of the successes and accomplishments of these outstanding individuals we are grateful for their dedication devotion and resolve we honor them for their willingness to commit their lives to promote and defend the many freedoms we treasure we recognize the sacrifices made to become members of the finest police department in the world the separation from family and loved ones the weeks of training the educational and physical demands everything that brought them here today proud professional and ready to serve the future looks just a bit brighter because these men and women stand ready to give their best to protect and serve the citizens of milwaukee grant them strength to carry on the watch in a manner that brings honor to the city of milwaukee the milwaukee police department and to you we extend our appreciation to their families and friends who provided them support and love along the way we offer our gratitude to the men and women of the police academy who invested countless hours into leading guiding training and mentoring them for these fine men and women as they graduate and for all the members of the milwaukee police department we ask that you bless them watch over them guide them and protect them for it's in your most powerful name we pray amen our speaker this afternoon is the chief of police for the city of milwaukee and our commanding officers for the milwaukee police department chief michael brunson will provide his remarks on behalf of the mayor and the city of milwaukee chief please all right thank you jim you know it's interesting being here for this momentous occasion today i can remember reflecting back 24 and a half years ago may of 1996 i was in the same location that you are today and interestingly enough jim was right there with me because we are classmates and so as i reflect back it's always good to think about what i was thinking when i was in you all shoes first of all let's talk about where we are today in this city in this nation frankly as it relates to law enforcement you know what let me stop right now because i did say that i was going to send some congratulatory offers out there for you for my command staff first of all the executive command staff also the command staff who normally would be sitting right here but as you know with covit we have to do things differently and what we wanted to do was maximize your family being here because this is such an important occasion and so that's why you don't see the mayor you don't see the command staff the executive command staff but i definitely wanted to convey their congratulations on you so they would have been mad at me if i wouldn't have done that so now i'll get back to what i was saying before this is a momentous time that we all face here and that you class 120 are going to face as you go out and do your jobs day to day on the streets of milwaukee you are becoming a police officer in one of the most challenging times that i've seen as i stated i'm coming to the end of my career 25 years and i've never seen the climate that you will be facing but that's a challenge to you as professionals as committed and dedicated men and women as you go out there i will say this there's 62 of you and none of you quit you continued may 29th i'll never forget that night that was the first night of civil unrest in this city in 2020. we went through the same thing in 2016 however that wasn't the only night this year there were other nights of that there's the total climate around policing and yet 62 of you persevered you did not quit you continued on and that's laudable that shows what type of character you have that shows what type of dedication that you have and commitment to this profession and yes policing is a noble profession and don't you forget that you're going to be challenged as you go out and you take assignments you're going to see the worst of the worst but you'll also see citizens community-based organizations and groups that support your efforts in trying to bring safety and security to this city and that is commendable but i want you to remember certain things first of all remember that you represent the milwaukee police department when you put on that uniform and when you put that badge on that's who you represent you also represent the loved ones that are sitting with you right now you represent your family so always remember that remember to treat people that you come into contact with the way that you want to be treated or the way that you would want your mother your father your brother your sister your cousin to be treated you're going to be challenged you're going to make mistakes that's normal you're human however you have to always remember that you represent this agency and your family because there are times when you're going to be angry you're going to be upset with what someone said to you you're going to have a situation where you're going to be tested potentially where you're going to see an officer do something that they shouldn't do and the question is what are you going to do when that time comes because it may come it came for me it may come for you i do want to say that i am happy with where i see policing right now this is a different climate this is a different era of policing than when i started 25 years ago there have been marked improvements over that period of time and that is a testament to many things to training to commitment to education and so law enforcement has come a very long way but we can continue to improve and you all who are starting are the key to that because i'm at the end of my journey and many people here many of your trainers they're at the end of their journeys also 25 30 years on the job you are the future of this agency so remember that 25 years from now one of you may be in this position i would have never imagined 25 years ago 24 and a half years ago that i would be here but some of you could be here some of you could be a trainer some of you are going to inhabit many of these positions and it'll be your turn to step up to lead so always remember who you represent every time you put on that badge every time you put on that uniform and every time that you look in the mirror so what i want to tell you is to be safe and ultimately this is a fun job don't you forget that this is a rewarding promising and fun job if you do things the right way you will have a successful long and joyous career so always remember that who you represent fundamentally and you'll be fine so i want you all to stay safe do the right thing listen to your field training officers and the sergeants and lieutenants at your work location they won't steer you wrong god bless you and stay safe thank you and now the one everybody's been waiting for this time chief i'd like to invite you to center stage to present the graduation certificate sergeant rupzik if you can please prepare the class officer salah good officer michael j orango officer donald m arndt iv military service army and the academic honors award recipient officer jacob f awalola officer brian j baker military service army officer randy a beaver officer morris k bennett iii officer devin b berg officer aljay j bakari officer xavier a body officer edgar l brooks officer brandon m bulow officer alina officer kiandre m clayton officer julio c cornejo officer brian j chopra officer christopher r de la vega military service army officer cesar et esparza officer jacqueline gonzalez officer joshua d graminsky officer d'andrea c johnson officer grant c johnson iv officer jeffrey kibler military service army officer jasmine d king officer kyle m cloudy military service navy officer anthony e lloyd officer chad j lovelace officer cesar martinez sanchez military service marine corps officer justin j merritt military service marine corps he's also recipient of the class leadership award officer talon a miller officer charles l morris officer ramulo ramulo muniz herrera officer brock c padley officer ashley m pesh gaywitz officer terrence l petty military service army officer brian m file officer daniel j piasecki officer kara c plasic officer justin m ravely military service navy officer claire a reed recipient of the class physical fitness award officer brandon j reek officer nicholas r sandoval military service marine corps physical fitness award recipient for his class as well officer nathan t scaloni officer austin schull officer deja sloane officer kareem sloanes officer constantine a spence officer amani k spruer officer andrew k stanton military service army officer travis t sykes officer arnesha b thomas officer dominique d thompson officer joseph p tibbetts officer edward j trench iii officer hunter j tuschall he is the class firearms award recipient officer aaron j tully officer misael vasquez officer fernando vences military service army officer dan g zhang military service marine corps officer harold c young iv officer vashon t young police officer tyler j zielinski class 1 2020 on your feet let's give them a round of applause [Applause] all right police officers of class 1 of 2020 please take your seats that is a nice ring to it doesn't it not being a recruit officer anymore so yesterday we had our family day and recruit officer now police officer vashawn young gave some class remarks and a reflection it was really heartfelt it was heartwarming i'm going to call an audible today and i'd like to wrap up our graduation ceremony police officer edgar book brooks can you please close with a final class reflection please come up here sorry for all my classmates they know i'm a little introvert and a little shy good afternoon family friends chief brunson any representatives from from the mayor's office and fire police commission respective members of our beloved milwaukee police department other emergency service guests in the media i stand in front of my classmates new family of 61 who've gone through a tough long competitive hiring process in a long academy to be here today i can remember march 22 orientation day our eyes were wide open thinking to ourselves what have i got myself into well the next day our first day those dive push-ups cleared that up right away we endured six months of stress inoculation training including hours of instructions power jumps hands-on scenarios power jumps tactical training did i mention power jumps this includes six fun months of physical readiness and wellness we needed to accomplish succeeding our most favorite test the prt ain't that right bennett six months that took time away from our family because we had a 175 question exam to study for or we're too sore and tired from the 2.2 mile run the days before thank you officer anderson six months of sacrifices six months of covet 19. six months of major criticism towards law enforcement and most importantly we made it through six months of me thank you thank you after all of this there was something in us that drove us in every day to fashion our duty belts and to suit every morning during recruit check-in to get ready for the start of another challenging day i want to thank the class of 120-20 for their upcoming unselfishness we have received some of the best training from some of the best skilled instructors in the country trust me i looked it up it's true we were challenged daily non-stop by instructors and command staff so that we could prepare for our careers ahead but most importantly so we can make it home to our families every night or every shift throughout training the instructors constantly drilled into our heads professionalism professional communication and empathy something that really resonated with me during this training during this academy came from the teachers of two instructors not taken from any of the other instructors during one of our classes in powerpoint presentations officer anderson stated to the class not to look at people as objects but look to them as people i know that sounds simple and cliche but just step back and think for a moment when you're judging someone in a situation and then officer dodd reminded us of a mike tyson quote everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face as humans we have to realize that some people don't know how to get back up from that punch some people know how to stay down for f for a five count catch their back their breath and get back up and some people stay lying down for the entire account but no matter the circumstances we are there to help and render services while upholding the laws both morally and ethically those who stand together sudden gave me this high definition picture of life it is imperative that we show empathy and give sympathy when required i want to make i want to thank all of the instructors the ones from off the streets the ones that are assigned here for making us better and making us a better us thank you [Applause] i would like to take a moment to speak on the core values of the milwaukee police department and it's extreme importance to our class of 1 2020 we are the new wave and like i said it these last six months i hate to put it this way but we are the experiment for community based policing our profession will be under the proverbial microscope like no times before this is why we must remember these basic core values of competence courage integrity leadership respect and the most important these days restraint class of 120 you know what this means we have forged brotherhood sisterhoods during some of the most violent and divisive times in our country's history we're taking time from our own families coming in early mornings and staying late to help fellow classmates academic and physical wise this is why i don't see you as my classmates but like i've been saying the last six months i see you as my family let us stay as tight as we are today let's not let district borders and eventually rank split us we are the class we are the family of one twenty twenty so here we are class one twenty twenty as we shift from civilians to police officers we must keep in our mindset our core values and constantly remind ourselves that the badge this badge this doesn't define you it only represents the public trust bestowed upon you to enforce and uphold laws morally and ethically we entered these doors to learn today we depart them to serve let's use what we learned to make us better every day i promise not to take up too much time so i would like to congratulate the class of 120 20 for this major's accomplishment thank our guests and visitors for making this occasion very special thanks god bless the class of 120 20. god bless our beloved city of milwaukee and once again god bless america thank you [Applause] thank you for that in addition i'd also again like to thank all the family members of all of our recruit officers they couldn't have gotten here without all of you your support your help to get them through their training and your support will be paramount to keep them grounded as they face 25 years plus as a milwaukee police officer policing our neighborhoods and communities so thank you for your support ongoing and that concludes this afternoon's graduation ceremonies we have two venues for photos after the event is over one in the chapel and one outside the two main doors behind you and thank you for your attendance and to all the new police officers in the room thank you and stay safe thank you everyone all right we're done folk you can leave yeah we're all good you