well good afternoon welcome to this graduation ceremony we're happy to have you all here first and foremost as I welcome the families I thank you I thank you for raising such fine young men and women with the value set to put themselves in service to the community and to the ethical rule of law shows you've done something right no matter what you thought when they were in Middle School to the recruits I say Savor this day be both proud that you've accomplished something in getting through the selection and education process be proud that you're entering an honorable be profession be humble that you still have much to learn and a community waiting to teach it to you also Savor this day for you'll never look so young or so thin again now it's been said many times that police work is a calling it's an honorable profession that's true but I think City police work is even additionally daunting and even more honorable and certainly more difficult for it's in the cities of America that the greatest challenges are faced there is the most crime there is the most fear there is where the greatest test of the ability of a democracy to live peacefully in an atmosphere of Tolerance and diversity is frequently most tested it is there that every single social crisis and political crisis of the 200 and some year history of this country have been played out there has never been a social or political crisis at which the police were not in the center of things for good or ill our profession has a history our police department has a history and that is hisory has not always been a positive one but it has never been short of courage and never been short of honor and never short of people who were willing to risk their lives on behalf of Those whom they did not know now you've spent 23 weeks of very hard work preparing for we don't know how many years of service you have learned many things you're probably in the best physical condition of your life you've learned how to safely fire a firearm you've learned the rules and laws of arrest search and seizure you've learned the Constitution and its guarantees you've learned many things you've been introduced to our code of conduct shortly you'll be taking our oath of honor and as I address you as your last time as students before I see you on the streets of our city I want to convey to you and to the broader audience here the nature of and importance of what you learned about something very specific and that's the values you bring to us and the values that we hopefully have enhanced and refined and the values that will be tested in your collision with reality first I thank your parents for instilling in you values that brought you to us we spent many hours here talking about values and talking about a code of conduct because here's what's important much is written about the nature of law in society much is written about the Constitution much is written about how our laws are developed and ped but more important than the law as written is the law as enforced because it's the enforcement and the application of laws that a society values are tested in action people will understand the government and the nature of democracy through your actions you are the reality of Law and government to the vast majority of people whom you were encounter and you will encounter them in crisis you will find that we are the social agency of First Resort for the poor and we the agency of First Resort for everybody who sees something happening that shouldn't be happening about which somebody should do something now and that ends up you and you are going to be faced with an extraordinary array of decisions to make few of which which will actually involve the application of criminal law every day your values will be tested every day you will be asked to decide very difficult questions of Freedom or imprisonment honor or dishonor literally life and death and you will make these decisions under pressure in ambiguous circumstances with insufficient information and in those moments it will be your values that guide you the values you brought to us and the values we hope to have refined and burnished while you were here we'll talk more and you've talked already about courage and competence about leadership and integrity about respect and restraint but those are not mere words they must Define your behaviors and your actions and if they don't then we are not what we represent ourselves to be in a free Society the forces of law can only effectively operate with community support and respect we must above all be seen as legitimate and that legitimacy will derive directly from the fairness and lawfulness of our actions now there is much pressure p placed upon us to make things safe to do something about bad things and we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves organizationally as we monitor our data and constantly find out ways to be more effective and more efficient and try to reduce crime more and make neighborhoods safe but we must do all of those things lawfully we must do all of those things properly because we're the good guys and the good guys have to follow the rules we have to do the right thing for the right reasons regardless of the pressure and circumstances easily said in this setting tested in your collision with reality I've got great confidence in your training I'm grateful for the work your parents have done and I assure your parents that you have consigned your son or daughter to an ethical honorable profession and an e ethical honorable Police Department we will take care to see that our organization is worthy of the idealism that brought your sons and daughters to us we will create a climate in which Excellence can be achieved in which their safety is as assured as we can make it their training up to dat and that they are supported in their actions I thank you for their bringing them to us I'm honored to have them in our company and I eagerly await the effect they will have on making Milwaukee a safe and secure place to live and raise a family [Music]