 Good morning. I'm Technician Jacob Sears with the Denver Police Meteor Relations Unit and on behalf of the Denver Police Department I welcome each of you to this graduation ceremony More than six months ago these 36 men and women entered this building aspiring to become police officers The Narcissus investigator with the Denver Fire Department has also joined this group to train alongside these recruits and 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 is my honor to introduce Denver Police Recruit Class 22-3 Sergeant Kenyones 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 Dr. Jeffrey Grimley As we begin this invocation If you please close your eyes and Pause in the quiet silence be still and notice your breathing As we stand for a moment in reflective gratitude. We take a moment before this occasion To be aware of the precious gift of life To honor our personal beliefs and faith traditions We know our spiritual and religious lives Can bring our best selves To our personal and professional self We give thanks for this occasion To honor these recruits soon-to-be officers Who will serve all the citizens of Denver? We are thankful for their families Who give their love and support? We're thankful for the training. They've received and the dedication that they exhibited And we respect and value their sworn duty To protect and serve our community We give thanks for each of them as they assume their responsibilities of their new roles May they be mindful of their behaviors as role models To the people and citizens of Denver Their high standards will reflect the mission and values of the Denver Police Department We recognize them as the law enforcement authorities to the public Protecting our safety and our democratic principles of society May they inspire others to serve our community through their law enforcement careers And may the community respect them for their leadership to serve and protect all the people of Denver Amen Again on behalf of the Denver Police Department and recruit class 223 Welcome This is a long-awaited moment for our 36 new officers and one arson investigator And we thank you for being here to celebrate this accomplishment with them We recognize 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 safety our mono salate to address our recruit graduates and guests Well, good morning everyone This is a fantastic day to end a A couple of rough weeks that we've had I've really looked forward to this date I look forward to seeing all you in uniform and soon to See you all with your badges You know having a class of this size graduating today That will be soon out serving our streets and patrolling and providing safety to our community Is really comforting as you all know it's been a it's been sometimes Only you know smaller academy classes and things like that and and to see this this class get through And and be ready to serve is is really a good good thing to celebrate I want to start by by conveying a message from my boss, uh, mayor hancock Mayor hancock regrets that he couldn't be here. He's uh been on the on some international travel and he's uh You know regretful that he couldn't make it But um one thing that the mayor wanted me to convey to you all is first his congratulations Um, he he recognizes the journey you've been on How hard it is to even get selected to be in the academy and then to graduate the academy He is thankful for your commitment your commitment to serve our community the sacrifice that you will do And and and what he'll say and I knew he'd say it if he was here today is be safe um See the mayor has has served our city As mayor for 12 years, but before that as a council person And as we're winding down and we're getting to his last 100 years of his administration We're all getting we're all getting to a point of Reflection right we're looking at legacy. We're looking at looking back and and people ask me What what is mayor hancock's legacy when it comes to public safety? And one of the things that when I when I took this appointment and one of the reasons I was so proud to serve Was that his legacy is one of unwavering support for our our men and women in blue Our first responders He has he has provided his support His care his concern His support around budgeting his support around Prioritizations and his support and just my everyday conversations with him I you know, unfortunately I have to deliver a lot of bad news to him You know around tragedies or around big things that are happening in our city And the first thing he asked no matter what the news is How are our responders? How are the cops on scene? How are the folks that are out there serving? In fact on last week when we had the tragedy at east high school After receiving some of the first calls and briefings and and and as i'm responding to the scene After talking to chief thomas and chief sanchez and getting kind of a lay of the land and what was happening My first call is to mayor hancock I conveyed the the message of the news and and what was happening after telling me he's he said armando i'm on my way The second thing he said was how are our responders our cops okay? Um, i'll tell you that that's that's routine from him since i've been in this role and i've seen that You've seen that even when it's not been politically expedient to back to blue To be your supporter He's not wavered in that support. He's always been by our side And for that i really want to take time to to reflect upon that and to thank him for that But again, he wanted me to congratulate you all and and uh, he wishes you the best and whatever we can do to support You please know we will Um, my next message is to the family loved ones Friends that are in the audience today This is a celebration about you as well You were part of their success You helped them You've provided them love and support to where they're at Probably for the parents out there and loved ones you've provided financial support education all those things You took them to practices. You took them to all those things And today I I hope you're you're very proud of them, but you're part of that accomplishment. So congratulations to you Um, I thank you for sharing them with us and then I got to apologize because they're going to miss birthdays They're going to miss special occasions. They're going to miss holidays Um, because they're going to be out there sacrificing and serving our community Um, but I know that that they will be with you and you will be with them in spirit Um, and I also ask that you continue to support them now more than ever You know, you've been with them through this through this journey of them getting into the police academy The the difficulty the that it's not easy to get through a police academy the stress that they've endured You've been there to support them and encourage them But they're going to need your support and encouragement every day They're going to see things and tragedies and and see, you know, humanity at its worst They're going to see things they're not going to want to repeat when they come home or even talk about You're going to see some of that Trauma and baggage accumulate on them. Please please check on their welfare Please be there to support them in those difficult times It won't be easy, but this career will be the most rewarding career you will ever have I I really thank you for that support and and really congratulate you all again for for what you've done for these for these young men and women and and for what they're about to Get involved in in a career of like I said going to be very A lot of reward for you You know, I was I was trying to to think about my My speech today and gathering my thoughts last night I thought I was all good to go and then I realized I'm a little nervous now because I was taking my daughter to school this morning and you know as teenagers or do they give you advice And uh, first when she saw me putting on a suit today, she asked me if I was in trouble and I second thing was was Was I going to see the mayor because usually when I'm seeing the mayor I'm in a suit and then When I said no to that and I said I'm going to a police graduation She said oh boy She said she rolled her eyes and she said did not tell one of your corny dad jokes um And don't embarrass yourself. So I think that might be So so now I'm a little thrown off because I did have a joke to start the day off with But um, so I'll I'll he'd her advice But to the the class today, you know, I I know the what you what what has brought you here today Your commitment to serve It's not easy to to make that commitment in today's day and age It's not easy to don the uniform. We're the badge Our police officers are asked to do more and more every day When there's been conversations around defunding the police or they should have their lane or we should be only limiting them To certain types of responses. That's not the reality of what we see every day In fact, I'm sure these commanders and our command staff here can share to you that we receive calls We talk to community and they want us to solve everything. They think you all are going to solve not only Crime problems, but that you're going to solve mental health Issues substance misuse homelessness All that people look to you all to fix We know that those are unreasonable expectations and we are You know working to to do other things other than our traditional responses in policing But it tells it says a lot about where we're at as a society Our cops are still looked upon to serve and provide help and support for our community When we had the tragedy last week, what was the immediate response? We need police We need police back we need them there. We need the help Now we all know that police aren't going to solve the issues of youth violence or what's happening in our schools But they're a critical component to that I want to remind you that that you know that that commitment and that feeling you have today of pride exuberance to serve I hope you have that throughout your career and every day you come in through the good and the bad I think you will I think that because based on my own experience when I graduated a police academy in 1993 I can which is a long long time ago now that I say it Um, I think back that day and I remember it vividly One of the things I remember that day is when the badge was pinned on me And the when that badge is pinned on you you get this enormous weight upon you and it's not the ounces that the badges weigh It's the weight of responsibility It's a weight of responsibility that is life changing You're never going to walk into a store again. You're never going to go anywhere again without the The knowledge that you're a cop if something bad happens people are looking to you. You're the one that is going to help Um, but also I want to remind you that that badge is significant and signifies more than you know Just your accomplishment of graduating a police academy that badge and the authority it represents is earned It's earned by trust from our community You earn that every day you earn that on every call how you treat people how you serve So continue to serve with integrity with dignity And doing the right thing By answering the call in one of the most difficult times in our society and in in recent history You've already shown a strong courage and commitment to serve I'm proud to be here and and and help lead you through this Please let me know how if there's anything I can do to support you Your safety and well-being is my number one priority And lastly, I want to I want to you know, really really emphasize that You know part of this transition that we're going through this mayor transition You know administratively those of us that are in leadership. We're preparing a transition documentation for the new New leadership that's going to be coming in And and I've been asked each one of the executive directors of our departments have been asked to share some words of wisdom And I was typing up those words of wisdom last night And I started to get into multiple pages And I found that my first three pages were talking about the importance of caring for our people Our staff we can't help people in crisis if we're in crisis So please be be be mindful of that Please be mindful of not only your physical health, but your mental health It's a difficult time, but know that we're all here to support you You have newfound brothers and sisters You're now part of a bigger family not only the law enforcement family, but the public safety family So despite other than that support system out there You have every other person that dons the uniform that you're now part of their family And we're all here to support you. So congratulations Good luck. I'll pray for your safety every night And do good work. Thank you Thank you executive director saw that team And now chief thomas would like to share his words of encouragement with the graduating recruit officers Good morning I feel a little bit like i'm standing in the way of people getting ready to eat and actually what i'm standing in the way of Is folks getting their badges and and and really having that proud moment to today So I want to say thank you all for being here today And I really want to offer a special thank you to the families and loved ones that are that are gathered here today To celebrate the accomplishments of these folks that are seated here today They have endured a very difficult and arduous process because of your support And more importantly, I think that they are here today representing the department of safety Because of the people that you have helped to shape them to become and so I really believe that That our our department our city is better and safer because of the people that you have helped them to become So I thank you for that I must forewarn you though that that there are more difficult days to come You know the the more challenging part of their training is coming Soon and once they complete that journey, they will continue to need Your support they will continue to to need someone to share Their joys and their pain. So I hope that you will continue to be there for them for that And to our our new officers and our new fire investigator, I want to say thank you to you as well. Thank you for having the heart and the desire To to serve and put others before yourself I remember asking each of you The first day of the academy Why you were here why you chose to serve and I was heartened by each of your responses And my advice to you is to always remember your why There will be difficult days and challenging times that we've talked about ahead And you may even You know struggle to to understand and remember your purpose You know, I've always been driven by my why and I think that your why will continue to be a beacon for you as well And lastly, you know, we're getting to the point where we're going to be pinning badges to each of your chests And I suspect that there will be a couple of times where blood is drawn In that process, but I don't I don't know if that qualifies as a dad joke or not It's actually true. It's gonna it's gonna happen. I'm sure Anyway, I want you to remember two things First of all that that badge is evidence of your training and your commitment to serve The citizens of Denver and the other thing is that badge is A symbol of the authority that is granted to you by the public that we serve And so I will just close by saying Be the example and leave with integrity. Thank you. Thank you chief thomas We have several awards for outstanding achievement to present today And director of training lieutenant michelle fulmer and class supervisor sergeant virginia kinyones will now present those awards Well, good morning, and thank you all for being here today to share in this extremely Special and happy day. My name is michelle fulmer, and I'm the director of training here at the dember police academy First, I want to acknowledge all the outstanding work that our academy staff has performed I also want to thank you the family and friends For all the love support and encouragement you have given these recruit officers over the last six months In just a few short minutes these recruits will be sworn in as officers And receive their badge behind me on this wall Is that same badge? And every point on it has meaning honesty temperance faith charity hope integrity and fortitude In the last six months this class has learned just that fortitude Fortitude is defined as strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger Or bear pain or adversity with courage And to successfully come through it to the other side Every day they looked at this badge internalized his meaning and now they will go forth with those same principles Which are woven into the dember police badge as they serve and protect our community Thank you to you all our esteemed guests And congratulations 22-3 Before we present the awards for our top recruits. I want to introduce our recruit class sergeant sergeant virginia canyonis Thank you lt Good morning To the family Loved ones and friends of our recruits. Thank you Thank you for taking this journey with us and with them It has been a long six months not only for them, but for you all as well I say thank you to the class of 22-3 For pursuing this career during a time that some may not be quite so eager to be the 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 in your community You have developed bonds Friendships over the last six months with your fellow recruits Cherish those times spent Go out and represent not only the denver police department But law enforcement officers everywhere to the highest of standards And may you always have that same pride over the years that I have carried with me for the past 34 Be the officer that you want showing up on the doorstep Of your family and your loved ones. God bless you all and be safe always And at this time I'd like to introduce demver district attorney beth mccann and invited to the stage To present the award for highest score on the law test Good morning, and I join with all the folks up here in thanking family members and loved ones for being here and supporting this new class of recruits for the demver police department and congratulations To each and every one of you. I know it's an arduous long journey And we very much appreciate your willingness to serve the community of denver and help keep us safe So one of the things you may not know is that Well, we know these officers learn how to drive cars how to do a successful search Pat downs and how to make a successful arrest how to deescalate situations But you may not know that we sort of ask them to be lawyers also They have to make some split second decisions On the street involving things like patting down a suspect or search and seizure issues Or when do they have probable cause to make an arrest? When can they go into a house without a search warrant? These are all issues that come up in my world In the courts and they're based on decisions that officers make every day in the field And it's hard. There are often aren't the often the answers are not that clear cut and that's why we're there to help Make sure that evidence that is seized and Identifications that are made are admitted into court so we can hold people accountable And so that's a really important part of their training And we are honored in my office to be able to come into the academy and instruct Our new officers on those legal issues that will come up as they do their daily duties So it is a very much an honor for me to present the award for The number one rank in the legal education that they learned during their Academy classes that they do have to take tests And so it's my honor to ask brian schoonmaker to come to the stage So brian is our number one ranked Recruit in legal education. So i'm going to read the plaque that he's going to receive from my office 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 very much And I thank you Now we'd like to present the dember police academy awards The first award is the academic award this award goes to the recruit that scored the highest of the academic scores For class 22-3 the the academic award goes to Samuel lass Congratulations 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 22-3 the overall skills award goes to ted royal Congratulations, I think he brought some people The third and final award is the most inspirational award This is a special award because it's voted upon by their class The awardee is a person who motivates others emotionally physically and mentally The person inspires others to do their best and goes above and beyond for those who are struggling Class 22-3 has voted that the most inspirational recruit award goes to vincent roll down. Congratulations Class 22-3 has also chosen a spokesperson to speak on their behalf. Samuel lass, please come to the stage Thank you My name is sam lass and i'm a member of class 22-3 and on behalf of class 22-3 I'd like to thank chief thomas deputy chief archer and all of the distinguished guests who took the time out Of their busy schedules to be here today I would like to also thank and congratulate class 22-3 for making it to this day and letting me be a part of it I would like to thank the family and friends in attendance for putting up with the long hours and late nights of the academy And while congratulations is in order for each person here today I'd like to caution you that the real test is just beginning Once we leave here, we start training in an environment where there are no timeouts No do-overs and many of the people you'll be contacting have no rules I say this not to scare or intimidate anyone but to make you aware and conscious of the job you have signed up to do I say this because in 2018 when I got out of the military and joined a police department in Utah I didn't know exactly what I was getting into What I discovered during the hard days and long hours of being a police officer was I did not have a good why I had not defined exactly why I had wanted to be a police officer And what being a good police officer meant to me After learning this I forced myself to define my why I reminded myself that I had gotten into law enforcement to serve my community With dedication commitment in order to help people into a better safer life Once I defined my why I was able to use that as motivation forcing myself to be better each day The 37 of us in class 22 three that are here today come from a variety of backgrounds From military veterans investment bankers fitness trainers store managers business owners college students To parents looking to create a better life for their families and countless others We left those careers behind and look to join a profession that focuses on service to others Others among us come from family legacies in policing with three of our class having family members who currently work for the Denver police department While still others will be the first police officers in their families histories While we all joined denver police department for different reasons There is a common thread throughout our decisions to become officers and that is service While each of our exact whys will be a little different We all joined to serve and make a difference within our community We all wanted to help people So I challenge everyone in class 22 three to remember your why Recite it in your head before you start your shift or write it down so you can look back at it Do something to remember why you signed up to be a police officer? So on hard days when you question your decision or don't think you can continue You can look back at those words or call them back for memory and remember why you wanted to take that oath to serve Something greater than yourself Six months ago the 37 of us showed up to this hangar as strangers today. We leave his brothers and sisters But we haven't only gained 37 brothers and sisters, but a family of around 800 000 law enforcement officers throughout this nation We all share a common calling of service and the desire to help those that cannot help themselves We are all connected in our aspiration to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and live a life of service And strive every day to treat people with dignity and respect And lastly to class 22 three I would like to say that leaving here today I want each and every one of you to know that I will protect you fight for you and defend you And I'm confident you would do the same for me. Thank you Now with the assistance of executive director saldate and chief thomas We will begin our graduation badge and certificate presentations Samuel robert lass badge 22059 anthony montoya jr. Badge 22060 Ted fernando arroyo badge 22061 Preston scott reilly badge 22062 Ivan macias lopez badge 22063 Duhan badge 22064 Emily steiner badge 22065 Matt Jorgensen badge 22066 Caleb matthew connor badge 22067 joseph andrew herkimer badge 22068 timothy christopher haze badge 22069 ashley bravo badge 21083 michael anthony barrios badge 22070 pink thomas badge 22071 jason lee right badge 22072 parker anderson badge 22073 ian john schoonmaker badge 22074 our arson investigator from the fire department jacob andrew mills badge 16030 jason lee fairbanks badge 22075 erin farance badge 22076 kassandra blanchard badge 22077 kenneth james spicer badge 22078 lindsey and marcus badge 22079 alex keeler badge 22080 james laurence girly badge 22081 zachary bascus badge 22082 mark anthony cornejo badge 22083 urney jovani medellin badge 22080 22084 vinson rodan badge 22085 connor james miller badge 22042 jennifer garcia badge 22086 matthew andrew fechina badge 22087 james walker badge 22088 sergio acosta badge 22089 ramon lennard sharden the fourth badge 22090 sergio adrian sanchez badge 22091 jennifer vigah badge 22092 let's give them all a round of applause while we wait for her to finish now the presiding judge carry lombardi will administer the oath of office please raise your right hand and repeat after me i state your name do solemnly swear you solemnly swear 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 please stand if you're able for the benediction by chaplain grumley the name of god we close the celebratory occasion grateful for the opportunity to gather together to commend these officers and their roles and responsibilities of their new positions we promise to support them in ways that we can as they provide leadership in the highest standards of the denver police department amen