 Good morning. I am Technician Ziana Parrish with the Denver Police Recruiting Unit and on behalf of the Denver Police Department I welcome each of you to this graduation ceremony. More than six months ago, these 26 men and women entered this building as aspiring police officers. Over the course of 28 weeks, the dedicated staff here at the Denver Police Training Bureau have prepared them to now go out into the community for field training and begin their careers serving and protecting the people of Denver. Now, it's my honor to introduce Denver Police Recruit Class 22-4. At this time, will you please stand if you are able for the presentation of the colors by the Denver Police Honor Guard? Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing for the invocation delivered by Denver Police Chaplain Stephen Redden. Good morning. If you're a person who prays, I invite you to join me as we begin today with an invocation. Let's pray. Almighty God, it seems fitting to begin this day with gratitude. We have so much to be grateful for here today, Lord. Grateful for another day, a day of life. In truth, none of us did anything to make the sun come up this morning or to make the rainfall that nourishes the earth. None of us did anything to keep our heart beating or the air filling our lungs. Each day is a gift from you. And while every day is special and a gift, not every day is equally as memorable. And for the 26 men and women here today, we are grateful for this special day. This day of marking a moment in their lives and we know that they did not come here alone. We are grateful for their families and their friends and teachers and coaches, everyone who helped them along the way to this point. And so today we give great, we give gratitude to those who allowed this day to happen. And today, God, we direct that gratitude to you. The giver of life, the sustainer of life of all things. And we express that gratitude and we pray these things in your mighty name. Amen. Thank you, Chaplain Redden. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. Again, on behalf of the Denver Police Department and Recruit Class 22-4, welcome. This is a long-awaited moment for our 26 new officers. And we thank you for being here to celebrate this accomplishment with them. Operating an effective innovative police department requires the hard work, talent, and dedication of sworn and civilian personnel, along with the support of our public and private partners in the community. The department wishes to thank you, the families and friends of Recruit Class 22-4, who lent your love and unfailing support through this rigorous process. We recognize that this was a demanding period in your daily lives, and we appreciate your support. At this time, I'll invite Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety, Armando Sodate, to address our Recruit graduates and guests. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Beautiful day. Congratulations to you all. Love to start the day by hearing the bagpipes. I had some remarks prepared, but I was going through and prepared for today. I wanted to actually just talk about and talk from the heart about some of the things we've been through. But first, before I get started, I wanted to recognize someone that served our community for quite some time. He has been a zealous advocate for District 8, a council district 8 in our city, this area of town. And he's also been a tremendous partner to public safety, the police department, and all our safety departments. Councilman Chris Herndon, who's here today, is ending his term. It's winding down. And he's probably seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. But I wanted us all to have a special acknowledgement today for him because he's done so much work for us and with us. During some of the good times and the bad, Councilman Herndon has stood with us, and stood to support our public safety professionals, and stood to support all our men and women in blue. So, Councilman, we really appreciate your service to our city, but especially the partnership you had for us, and you're going to be missed. So, thank you. Unfortunately, Mayor Hancock cannot be with us this morning, but he definitely wanted me to extend some words to you all. First of all, and if you see him in person, and he'll probably say himself, is thank you. Thank you for answering the call. Thank you for coming to a job that isn't a popular one right now. Thank you for coming to the aid of our city, and to provide service and sacrifice that a lot of people aren't willing to do. So, he has a lot of gratitude for you. And most importantly, what he wanted me to share with you is to stay safe. Wear your vest. We know how critical that can be. We know how helpful it can be in life-saving. So, he shares with you his best wishes on a long, healthy career, and the encouragement of the city behind you all, and he wishes you good luck. Like I said, I was going through some of the thoughts about today, and first I want to talk to you, the family members and loved ones that are out in the audience. You all are so much part of where these graduates are here today. You helped them through just growing up and helping them form into the people that they are today, people that are willing to sacrifice and take on a job that is really difficult. And it's one of the most difficult times in public service that we're experiencing right now. We're reminded of it almost every day. We're reminded of the dangers that you all face, but we're reminded of the bravery and courage that men and women in blue exude every day when they put on that uniform and go out to serve the public. It's been busy. It's been a lot going on. We've had a lot of recent events that have happened that have highlighted some of the dangers of the job. We've seen our officers put in harm's way and near-death experiences having, you know, the vest and their tactics on their side and thankfully they're with us today. And I want to talk about that because the way that our police officers have been able to respond to some of the dangers that they've encountered recently doesn't just happen by happenstance. It isn't just luck. It's tactics. It's training and it's deliberate. The work that the Denver Police Department, the leaders seated here today and out in the audience and all the trainers, that they have put forth in training and providing the best training that throughout the country that you'll ever see for our police officers to prepare them for what they're going to face is just really, it's amazing. And we've seen that. We've seen them react amazingly and courageously and able to persevere and save lives, not only their own but other community members. I cannot be prouder than now than I am of seeing all the acts of bravery that we've seen. So to you graduates, have the confidence in your training, continue to work on your craft and continue to serve with honor. When you don that badge, it's going to feel a little heavier on your uniform, but nothing like the heaviness of the responsibility that you will bear. You'll never, once you become a police officer, things change. But know that and families know that you've joined the public safety family. And on the flip side of the things that have happened here recently, some of the tragedies that have gone on is you'll see that family. You'll see that we're there for you in good times and bad. And we're all here to support you. And we're going to get you through and you're going to have a great career and you're going to be safe and you're going to continue to go out there and serve with the pride and honor that is representative of the Denver Police Department. So I wish you luck. Stay safe. Know that the Department of Safety, all my staff, we're here to support you and provide you the tools you need to make sure that we continue to keep our city safe. So thank you. Thank you, Executive Director Saudate. And now Chief Thomas will like to share his words of encouragement to the graduating recruits. Thank you, Ziana. And not to be outdone by the Executive Director, I'd like to make a special acknowledgement myself. Deputy Chief Barb Archer is here with us, a 33-year veteran of the Denver Police Department. She was actually with me when we met this class their first day and she's here to support them at their graduation. So thank you for coming and I think she deserves a round of applause too for her continued support. Well, good morning. Wow, what a whirlwind week we've had here for the City of Denver. We began Monday with a championship win for the Nuggets, followed that with a celebratory parade through the city just yesterday, bookended by a number of regrettable incidents that involved beloved members of our Police Department. Culminating today with the graduation of 26 people from our Academy. And I think, again, that deserves a round of applause not just for our championship city, but for all of our Department of Safety services. Now this graduation is a celebration of all the hard work and true dedication not only for these officers that are seated here, but for the Academy staff and guest trainers who prepared them for this day. I'd also like to recognize the work and dedication of all the families and loved ones of these graduates who not only supported them through this process, but also shaped them into the individuals that they are today. I want to warn you though that your work is far from over. They're going to continue to need your love and support going forward. They're going to need someone to celebrate those times when they have amazing engagements with our community. And they're also going to need someone to support them when they have a challenging shift or a challenging call for service like we've experienced here in the recent past here. Now to Class 2020-2024, congratulations on your successful graduation from the Denver Police Academy. I want to first thank you for choosing the careers of Denver Police Officer and for dedicating yourself to overcoming the many challenges you've encountered thus far. But next I want to ask you to recall the conversation we had on our first day of the Academy. I asked you all to tell me who you were and why you were here. And I remember telling you who I was, a career public servant with a passion for making a positive difference in everyone's lives. And I remember you telling me who you were and why you were here. And I recall that not one of you said that you were here to enforce a law. Not one. Now some of you may think that that's strange with a room full of prospective police officers. But I wasn't surprised and I'll tell you why. You've all chosen this profession to simply serve your community and make a positive difference and I urge you to never forget your why. Along with your family and loved one it's your why that will get through you through the challenging times and recharge you for the next shift the next week. The other thing I urge you to do is engage with your community. It's the community that grants us our authority to service police officers and those relationships that we build that help us to do our jobs better. As you all leave here and continue your training you'll all go through our beyond the before the blue and beyond the badge program that I've that I've instituted. And you'll do that to better understand and appreciate the communities that you'll come across and you'll be serving. You know it's been ingrained in you to treat all people with dignity and respect but understanding communities and cultural differences is equally as important. So take all that you learned to heart and remember it well as you engage with your community. And lastly please remember to take care of yourselves you're no good to our community if you're not good to yourselves. So please lean on your support systems at home and all the resources we have here available to you including your supervisors and be well to yourself. Now closing I encourage you all to set the example and lead with integrity. Thank you and be safe. Thank you Chief Thomas. We have several awards for outstanding achievement to present today. Director of Training Lieutenant Michelle Fulmer and class supervisor Sergeant Virginia Cronones will now present the awards. Good morning I'm Michelle Fulmer director of training. First I want to acknowledge and thank all the family and friends who literally have gone through the academy with these recruits. Without your love and support they couldn't have done it. Some of the key principles we teach officers are to partner with the community and they'll be doing just that next week when they participate in the community partner led and focused beyond the badge program. Additionally beyond skills and tests we teach utilization of current technologies to think and just as importantly to ask the right questions. So practicing what we preach I utilize those technologies and ask the question what if Maya Angelou were to write a poem inspired by Rudy Kipling's If which by the way is one of our streets on our western border. Specifically tailored for police officers it might go something like this. If you can keep your calm when chaos reigns and face each danger that the job contains if you can hold your ground and never waiver and show compassion to those you endeavor if you can serve with honor and pride and put your duty first side by side if you can protect both the weak and strong and bring justice where it belongs if you can listen with an open heart and ease tensions tearing worlds apart and if you can build bridges not walls of strife and ease the tensions um excuse me and heal divisions that cut like a knife if you can be a guardian of the peace and treat all people with respect and release and and if you can hold the line it's still be fair and recognize the others that burdens that everybody bears if you can wear the badge with dignity and serve your community with unity then brave officers you'll be a guide a beacon of hope and strength deep inside so thank you to our esteemed guests to our command and to our leaders in our city and congratulations 22 for now i'd like to introduce class sergeant sergeant virginia canyons good morning to the family loved ones friends of our recruits thank you thank you for taking this journey with us it has been a long six months not only for them but for you all as well it is always so very cool to look out at the graduating class and remember those same faces and how they looked on day one to class 22 for i say thank you thank you for pursuing this career during a time that many may not be quite so eager to be one to put on a uniform and a badge i would like to say hold your head high be proud as you take the oath to protect and serve the citizens within your community you have developed bonds and friendships over the last six months with your fellow recruits cherish those time spent and those memories made it is always like i stated so nice to see you sitting here on graduation day the big eyes on that first day full of uncertainty the nervousness as well as the excitement well you've all made it so congrats go out and represent not only the denver police department but law enforcement officers everywhere to the very highest of standards and may you always have that same pride over the years that i have carried with me for the past many years be the officer that you would want showing up on that doorstep of your family and your loved ones so god bless and be safe always now to begin the academy awards at this time i'd like to introduce dimberg district attorney beth mccann and invite her to the stage to present the awards for the highest scores on our law test thank you and thank you to all of you who are here today to celebrate this wonderful occasion and thank you of course to our recruits who have dedicated the last several months to learning how to do all the things that a police officer has to do which are numerous and i just want to take a moment myself to acknowledge what both the director of public safety and the police chief have mentioned which is that it has been a difficult week well really a difficult few weeks for our denver police officers and i think it's important to recognize that we appreciate so much the sacrifices and the challenges of representing the department and keeping this city safe even in the midst of what i consider to be an alarming rise in the number of guns that are in the city and the access that people have to them and their their willingness to use them even with respect to police officers so it is something that i just want to publicly acknowledge and thank our command staff and our recruits and those other officers who are in the audience for the kind of work that they do every day it's hard it's challenging but it's also very rewarding and we rely on our denver police officers to keep the city safe and to keep us all safe so we do very much appreciate your willingness to take on this role and we look forward to working with you so my office has the responsibility of prosecuting the cases that you all develop both as out in the field and then as detectives as you solve crimes and help us put cases together and put them on in front of a jury or a court in order to hold people accountable so one of the things that we kind of expect our officers to do is to make legal calls we sort of expect them to have a little bit of lawyer in them as well because when they're out on the street they have to decide if they have enough probable cause to make an arrest do they have enough to search someone is it going to get thrown out in court if they don't do the proper procedures so it's very important that they learn about some of the legal constitutional guidelines that they have to operate under so we do enjoy coming out and teaching at the academy about the constitutional requirements and what kinds of laws govern what police officers can do on a day to day basis and it it's also challenging because it changes frequently because courts will rule different ways on cases so I'm always really proud to be able to present the award for the highest score in the legal testing that takes place during the academy it is an honor for me it's an honor for my office to participate in this training and we have an unusual situation this year because we have three recruits who have scored the same and the highest score on our legal test so I don't think I know since I've been here we've never had this happen before so that is really exciting so you got some some new lawyer new smart lawyers coming onto the force I think this year so with that I would ask Adam Maxwell Grant Clayman and Joshua Nelson to please come up let's give them a round of applause to stand here so I'm going to read the plaque for each one of them so Adam Maxwell basic recruit class 22 for rank number one in legal education in recognition of your outstanding performance in the district attorney's legal education course congratulations on a job very well done have a great career and assigned by me and my staff at my office congratulations and now a Grant Clayman basic recruit class 22 for number one rank legal education in recognition of your outstanding performance in the district attorney's legal education course congratulations on a job very well done have a great career thank you welcome thank you and last but not least Joshua Nelson basic recruit class 22 for number one rank legal education in recognition of your outstanding performance in the district attorney's legal education course congratulations on a job very well done have a great career good work now we'd like to present the academic overall academy achievement award and this award goes to the recruit that scored the highest in academic scores for class 22 for the academic award goes to grant Clayman come right on back up the second award is the overall skills award this award goes to the recruit that demonstrated top performance in arrest control driving scenarios and firearms for class 22 for the overall skills award goes to Jason Francis Cheney the third and final award is the most inspirational recruit award this is a special award because it is voted upon by their class the awardee is a person who motivates others emotionally physically and mentally this person inspires others to do their best and goes above and beyond for those who are struggling class 22 for has voted that the most inspirational recruit award goes to Mitch north scott congratulations class 22 for has also chosen a spokesperson to speak on their behalf min roe schribner police come up to the stage good morning i'm officer schribner of the denver police department and the reason i pulled you all over today is because sorry that's for next week i am honored to speak today on behalf of our recruit class 22-4 chief ron thomas executive director of department of public safety armando salate saldate and district attorney beth mccann other denver police department personnel academy staff can't thank you all enough for this opportunity and for your continued guidance going forward for us both personally and for the city of denver most importantly though thank you to our family friends and loved ones for everything you've done for us and will continue to do for us now i want to use this time to speak for a moment about heroism and to tell you a little bit about our journey here throughout the academy in his book the hero with a thousand faces author joseph cambell asserts that there is a single universal structure of heroism that persists throughout all of history he called this the monomyth but it is now commonly referred to as the hero's journey essentially cambell claims that every hero throughout mythology folklore and literature goes through certain recognizable rites of passage along their journey and this perfectly symbolizes our time spent here at the academy the hero's journey begins with a call to adventure frodo found the one ring neo took the red pill and we received an official offer letter from the denver police department it's not quite as dramatic we never were offered any red or blue pills at least that i can recall but for us it's still parallel that same feeling of uncertainty excitement and suspense for what laid ahead for each and every one of us and we all answered that call i should have practiced this with gloves on the next phase of our journey is outlined as a crossing of the threshold this is the moment that symbolizes the hero committing to their journey or going past a point of no return when dorthy found herself in the magical land of oz she had no choice but to continue on the yellow brick road when trek swamp was foreclosed on he made the commitment to tread onward with donkey he was past the point of no return for us we lined up in this room and we received a very warm welcome from the academy staff proceeded to answer every question wrong that they asked us and then bear crawler our way around this entire hanger um they continued to shower us with encouraging words as they as we did so we were certainly not in cancass anymore and at that time we were unaware but each of us began transforming in one way or another on that day the next few months of our time spent here continued to match this archetypal hero's path we were met with challenges of all types physical mental and spiritual so we fumbled our way through some challenges excelled at others and continued to nod yes sir yes ma'am probably with the most confused looks on our faces however at some point along the way at some indefinite moment we began to have more confidence in ourselves in each other and the things that at one point felt like ordeal started to feel more and more like routine burpees became child's play driving was such a breeze some of us chose to come here on the weekends just to do it again cartwheels no problem for 25 out of 26 of us remembering things verbatim that one is still pretty tough actually could use some work on that now of course every hero must overcome that one grand obstacle or villain that lays in their path and it marks the culmination of their journey david fell goliath samuel jackson fell all those snakes on that one plane and for many of us that obstacle was six minutes of really high intensity cardio followed up by a really fair fight against an angry person in a red outfit for others that climactic moment of achievement was passing our final test and for everybody else that arch nemesis and our adventure went by the name of olio resin capsicum otherwise known as pepper spray no matter what it was that marked the epitome of our trials here i can proudly say that we all overcame it each of us met these challenges on an individual level but we also shared in a collective journey leaning on one another for encouragement and support sometimes literally leaning on each other because we were blind and couldn't see where we were going ultimately the hero's journey ends with a return from their adventure where they are transformed and maybe with a new found boon or title bestowed upon them luke skywucker returned from his trials trials as a Jedi master and with resolved father issues as i mentioned before our transformation began on day one on this hanger throughout the entirety of the academy we became more knowledgeable decisive fit and prepared all while finding within us or sharpening our leadership capabilities we returned now from our own journey maybe not jedi masters but as sworn denver police officers and we do not just return to our families and friends with this title bestowed upon us but to the community at large to denver the community which we are now sworn to protect integrity courage and service they're not just words on a banner behind me they are guiding pillars for our continued journeys service in particular must guide everything we do going forward as robert peale said long ago our authority and our ability to carry out our duties are given to us by the very public we serve we will continue to build trust with the people of denver knowing that we are all one in the same the people are the police and the police are the people joseph cambell said the journey of the hero is about the courage to seek the depths the symbolic rebirth the eternal cycle of change within us our journey here at the academy is finished but really our journeys will never end not for any one of us as we embark on new adventures and take on new challenges we must always do so with those guiding pillars at heart integrity courage service if we do this we will return as we have done here more resilient compassionate and virtuous we will return as heroes time and time again class 224 be safe out there be good thank you thank you scrivener for those words now with the assistance of executive director saldate and chief thomas we will begin our graduation bad and certificate presentations grant alexander clayman munro david scribner mitch edward nord scott jason francesco francescini keegan michael grub brian jeffrey morgan adam maxwell jason andrew chavez jr joshua michael nelson francesco zarati and tran matt lundblad hannah jane weddington odi olson david anthony lopez conrad krisshoek jordan sky mariaz zaret norton leg sergayevitch burg ryan eskabel anthony michael valencia michael roach dante alexander jr brian anthony martinez juan carlos dias shontavia ribenae brigham let's give another round of applause to these outstanding officers now the presiding judge nicole redarte will administer the oath of office it is my honor to administer the oath please raise your right hand and repeat after me i state your name do solemnly swear by the ever living god that i will support the constitution of the united states and of the state of colorado and the charter and ordinances of the city and county of denver and that i will faithfully perform the duties of the office of police officer of the city and county of denver to which i have been appointed and upon which i'm about to enter congratulations sergeant canona's please stand if you are able for the benediction by chaplain redden as we close today i leave you with this blessing this benediction graduates as you go out today as you leave this ceremony to begin your service as dpd officers as you begin this new chapter of your life may you go with confidence knowing that god has brought you to this place to this time and this place for a reason he has placed you exactly where you are and goes with you into this new season go with the confidence of knowing that you've been trained and prepared for this day but also go with humility go with humility of knowing that as far as you've come and as much as you've learned there's more to learn for with the humility of knowing that this job this responsibility of serving and protecting the city of denver is a stewardship that has been entrusted to you there are no guarantees in life so serve with wisdom and humility that your work is a solemn trust from this department and from the city but also ultimately from god and as we all go we may we remember that we go nowhere by accident wherever you go god is sending you wherever you are god has put you there god has a purpose for you in where you are god lives in you and has something he wants to do through you right where you are may god deliver us from the service of self alone and give us the grace to believe this that we may do this work the work he has given us to do in truth and in beauty and for the common good amen thank you chaplain redden ladies and gentlemen please be seated please join us in congratulating these officers with a well-deserved round of applause