Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Graduation of 238 New Troopers From the 217th Session of the State Police Basic School

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul today joined New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James in honoring 238 new State Troopers as they graduated today from the 217th session of the Basic School of the New York State Police Academy. The ceremony was held at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Today’s graduation increases the State Police ranks to approximately 5,110 sworn members.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will have photos of the event available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

 Good morning and thank you, Superintendent.

One of my responsibilities as Governor is to select an outstanding team around me, and one of the smartest moves I ever made was asking Steven James to come back from retirement. He had served many, many years to lead this elite force. And I've never looked back. The confidence I have in his leadership and the leadership team he has assembled is extraordinary. And I want to thank him for everything he does to keep New Yorkers safe.

Also a special recognition to our class representative. You must have done a lot to inspire the respect of your classmates. Trooper Richard A. Lagano, let's give him a round of applause as well. Thank you. Officer in Charge, Lieutenant Phillip Hurst, would not be here without getting past his inspection. And of course, those who remind us of the presence of God here with us today and going forth in our lives. Rabbi Michael Melnicke. Thank you, Rabbi Melnicke and Pastor David Traynham. And all of our agencies and partners in public safety. And our trooper who sang the National Anthem, Trooper Madison D. Sciera, I'm not sure how we took you off of Broadway to be here. But please stay with us. We don't want you to go anywhere else, but what extraordinary talent we have within us.

So, the day has finally arrived. I can see it in the faces of really proud moms and dads, particularly siblings, spouses, and even little children who are here today might not quite understand the significance of what this day is all about, but someday they will. Someday they'll know that someone they care about is in a place that many others can only dream about because today has to be known as a culmination of all your dreams and whether it started as a dream to do this when you were a young child, perhaps you had a parent in the State Police or law enforcement, or a neighbor or relative, or it came to you a little bit later in life, but hopefully this is a day you'll never forget. I don't think it will be. I don't think it will be because I spent a lot of time with State Police Officers and my protective service unit and we speak about the relationships that you have deepened through this entire academy.

Because you're starting out full of promise and opportunity. I want you to remind yourselves of this: Law enforcement is often called there when things are not going well, and it takes a special kind of human being willing to be there for the depths of tragedy, pain, fear, stress — there's a lot of emotions that are out there among the people that you're going to encounter over your long career. Or also it's just maintaining civility in our communities. This is the bedrock of how we enshrine security and safety, our law enforcement. But I want you to know, as Governor, I appreciate the toll it takes on all of you, not just the training — and it was rigorous, I know, emotionally, physically, mentally. But that is training for your next days going forward, because you're being called to draw upon those experiences and that training constantly, but also call upon yourself as a human being to rise up to circumstances that most New Yorkers, most Americans will never encounter.

As your Governor, I can't tell you how proud I am that there are those of you who sit out here today. And I'll tell you this: I don't underestimate what it took to get here. Over 4,000 individuals — 4,000 New Yorkers took the trooper test. 1,324 were processed, hoping that perhaps they'd be one of the ones sitting here today, and yet only 238 men and women made it to this place. By that alone, the word elite is not thrown around lightly. It is the reality. That's less than six percent of those who wanted to be sitting in your seats. Embrace that.

But focusing on it is not to just praise yourself, but focus on the weight of responsibility that's now on your shoulders to always ensure that this privilege throughout the rest of your career is something that you never take for granted. You worked hard, you wanted this, you had overcome a lot of sadness, separation from your families. But if you — something that I never do, never take for granted the extraordinary privilege of public service, it makes us all better human beings to know that we're there in a position by choice and hard work. We're serving other human beings, especially those in their time of need. Carry that with you.

And to your families, who had to say goodbye often on Sunday nights. I spoke to members of my detail of what that experience is like. They said Sunday nights were like a kid having to go back to school on a Monday. You just thought about it and knew it was going to be a while before you came back to your family. So, there's that natural sadness of separation, those of you who have kids or parents, or siblings, spouses, but then you come here. All that training, the early wake up calls, the grueling physical exercise, the late night legal studies, what you know about law is more than most people in law school. And I can say that as a law school graduate. That's going to come in handy many times over your careers. But all this is paying off.

I also want to do a special recognition to the parents because you've done something rather special, whether it was the rides back and forth from softball practice or baseball practice or to school, or all the times that you spend with your kids — you imparted in them, whether it's in the car, at the dinner table, holiday, celebrations — you imparted something in them that I wish all families had, which is a love of country, a spirit of patriotism. Love of service. Love of the military, many of you have served in the military. And love of our law enforcement institutions. So, it's because of that, and I'm going to say this to the parents — if your kids mess up, sometimes they blame the parents. I'm a mom. You should be just beaming with pride that your kids, your family members, your loved ones are sitting out here today. This is so extraordinary.

And the sacrifice that they have made that you have all made does one thing that I'm really happy about. It makes our state stronger. I sleep better at night knowing I have this elite force and 5,000 others who've dedicated their lives, went and put themselves in harm's way. Perhaps to save the life of another, or to be that face of calm on a late night on a highway when it's snowing or raining, and there's a car pulled over on the side of the road. And the window rolls down. It's a mom with a couple little kids who are terrified because they didn't know if they're going to make it.

And you are the face that shows up. You give them that hope, that calm, that security. That's a powerful feeling. Don't ever lose that sense of awe about what you've been entrusted with, and that is to relieve the pain and stress of others, protect people, because I'll never take it for granted.

And sometimes, you're in situations that are so deeply painful. Comforting a family who lost a teenager to an overdose, as my family did. Or telling someone that their loved one didn't make it in a car accident. You're going to need the courage and the depth of your faith to get you through those times. You're going to have to be superhuman. But at the end of that experience, remember that you are still a mere mortal. And if you ever need the emotional help you need to get through something, look to each other. Look to this family, because we're with you for the rest of your career. That is a commitment we make to you because you commit to us. So we want to help you get through some of the tough days, and there's no judgment. Again, you are human beings.

But I'm going to continue making investments — Superintendent James spoke about this — because I became Governor and I saw more possibilities to use the talent that we've assembled in our State Police. Since 1917, you've been called upon to do many things, but in this era, fighting drug traffickers, human traffickers, gun runners coming across our borders, whether it's from Canada or up from Pennsylvania. That means that if we can get guns off the streets or drugs off the street where you find them, they're never going to get to one of our cities and perhaps result in the death of someone else.

So, I'll be there. I'm going to continue to be there. And know that your communities are counting on you. Whether you came from small towns or a big city, and I look at where you all come from, I think there's one person from my hometown of Hamburg. You don't have to shout out because I know you're very disciplined. But I also check to see how many people are going to respond if I say “Go Bills.” See these guys, they're so serious. But I look at this because I'm so in awe of people from every corner of our State, every nook and cranny of our State, places that some of you have never heard of, or our biggest boroughs, biggest part of our State. You come together with a sense of purpose and mission: different backgrounds, different life stories, but at the end of this rigorous training, you become one. You become a cohesive force — a voice at a time when it seems there's not a lot of sanity out there.

That's what we call upon our law enforcement to do, just calm everything down in our communities. And your presence does that. When you show up in your uniform, your vehicle, it has that effect. And that's the gratitude I feel for all of you here today and your families.

And I just leave with one wish, that God does keep you in his hands, protect you every single day, bestow upon you his blessings and love for you and your families. And know that as your Governor, you make me so proud.

This is one of my favorite days of the year, when I can come out and see this next generation of leaders, people I know are making the 20 million people who call New York State home so much safer because you are willing to be a person of character and integrity and compassion because that's what I'm looking for in my fighting forces and you have all delivered.

So, may God bless you, may God bless the great State of New York, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much everyone.