AG Holder Speaks At Chief of Police Conference

DOJ Website Speech

Chief Whitman, thank you for hosting the IACP in your home city.
And IACP Executive Director Dan Rosenblatt, thank you for your strong leadership of this outstanding organization.

Officers and Members of the Board of Directors, friends, and colleagues. It is my great pleasure to be able to join you today for the first time as Attorney General.

Eight months ago, Vice-President Biden administered to me the Oath of Office – an oath not dissimilar to the one sworn by each of you – to defend this country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Since that time, it has been my solemn privilege to stand with you as you work tirelessly and selflessly to animate the meaning of those words, and to do honor to the uniforms you so proudly wear.

Together we have walked the Pathways of Remembrance and silently lighted candles at the Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in honor of your 133 brothers and sisters who lost their lives in the line of duty last year.
Together we have grieved with the husbands and wives, daughters and sons, for whom the steady march of time will never ease the burden of the loss they suffered on September 11^th, 2001.

And together we have commemorated feats of heroism performed by your fellow law enforcement officers, who acted for no other reason than the noble realization that "duty called."

As Attorney General, I have traveled our country and watched many of you in action, and I have personally witnessed the dramatic results of your daunting tasks. I have seen your efforts manifested in children who are learning in safer schools; in teenagers who now have a park or a project or a basketball court to help them stay on course; in senior citizens who are unafraid to sit on their porch or to walk to the grocery store; and in neighborhoods that have been reclaimed from drugs, violence, and despair.