Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at New York State Police Officers Memorial Remembrance Ceremony

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul honored 68 police officers from seven departments who sacrificed their lives in service to their fellow New Yorkers. The officers’ names have been added to the New York State Police Officers Memorial at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, and Governor Hochul spoke this afternoon at the Remembrance Ceremony. The black granite walls of the memorial now include the names of 1,840 police officers from 152 agencies across the state, and six federal agencies. The Governor also issued a proclamation designating May 7 as Police Memorial Day and directed state landmarks to be illuminated blue tonight to remember the fallen and recognize the service of police officers across the state.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

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

Good afternoon. On behalf of myself and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, we welcome you to a place that you never had hoped to find yourselves. So, it's a little bit hard to go through this and look in the faces of so many who perhaps knew tangentially that this is a place that existed. But from this day forward, this is your place.

I walk through here sometimes when there's far fewer people just to reflect on those of us who are fortunate to not have lost a loved one the way you have. But this is also a place to hopefully draw strength from the strength of the granite behind us. And this is your place, forevermore.

So welcome also to our Attorney General Tish James, our Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, my outstanding Commissioners: Rossana Rosado, Commissioner Jeanette Moy, who is the keeper of this hallowed place, Commissioner Jackie Bray, whose responsibility is to keep us safe as well. Senator Scarcella-Spanton and Assemblymember Pheffer Amato, and all of our State Representatives, our Senators, Assemblymembers who've joined us. And of course, the men and women in blue and gray who've joined us here today.

You heard a lot of numbers. You heard 1,840 is the number of names etched on this wall. You heard that there are 68 individuals that we're remembering today, 64 of whom, their families thought they walked away a survivor of 9/11 and never dreamed that their bravery that day would catch up with them literally a decade or two later.

Those aren't just numbers to us. They all represent the flesh and blood of a live human being that God put on earth and brought into your lives and our lives. That's why we talk about them today as if they're still with us, because that is the only way to remember them.

Those of you who are parents here, the loss of a child is not natural. The expectation is that they are there to care for you in your older years, to say goodbye to you and to live on for themselves and their families. You have a love story with your child. I have children, I have a grandchild. It's a love story. There's a bond that's so tight from the second that baby comes into this world, and you count on that child to outlive you. That's what life is supposed to be about.

So, the pain is particularly intense for parents, the moms and dads and the grandparents here today because your world is literally turned upside down. It wasn't supposed to be this way. But I hope that you're feeling your hearts filled with a sense of pride. Pride is the emotion that must carry you forward, because, as you heard from one of our speakers, everyone has the opportunity to serve their nation either in the armed services or in a uniform – firefighters, our fire marshals who are being remembered here today, police officers, all the levels from county to city to state to federal.

There are thousands of opportunities for people to step up and serve. But such a small percentage answers that call and says, “No, I will do it. I will stand up. Yes, I know the risks. I've been trained.” I know that every day can bring uncertainty, but I hope as parents and families, you feel the pride that you created a child who had the courage, who says, “I care enough about my fellow citizens in this great country that I'll be one of those counted who stood up and said, I will do this.” Carry that with you because so many other families don't have that same story to cherish.

Those of you who are spouses, you chose well in selecting your partner, your husband, your wife. You could have married anyone, but there was something special about this individual. Perhaps it was that selfless nature, that outward goodness that anyone who puts on a uniform must have in order to subject themselves to what they must do. You saw something special, and yes, you thought you had more time together and you were robbed of that. You truly were. But I pray that those years were special for you as well. I know there's a lot of nights when you waited for your loved one to come home and they're working extra hours. You were fearful. You watch the news. Listen to the radio, pray they come home. And for the majority of you here, you thought they were going to live much longer, but they were struck down by a sinister illness that took hold 23 years ago.

You must've had great conversations around the dinner table talking about life's challenges, how you can raise the family together. And all I can say is perhaps you raised children together. There’s some young people here. Your parents are gone. They have left you a legacy that is precious and you must preserve, because they instilled in you a sense of responsibilities to others as well. That is the gift you've been given as being the son or daughter of someone who answered the call for others. It's hard to see it that way. You say, “I want them back. I still wish they were here. I'd give anything just have one more hug.” So, the pain is immense. But those of you who showed up today, a day that you're going to relive those memories, you knew the wounds would be really opened again. You could have stayed home, stay in bed, put the pillow over your head and say, “I'll get up tomorrow. I can't do this.” Because it's so hard to have gotten up and traveled here today and sit with others in this holy unity of others who've suffered similar experiences, but you got up and showed the courage that your loved one had as well.

You are stronger because of this now. You don't know it, you don't feel it now, but you're drawing on an inner strength that's going to be with you forever because you are a survivor, you endured and you had courage. That's what I see when I look at the people here today – nothing but that.

I think the members of the clergy remind us of the presence of God is in our daily lives. And a resource, a rock that we can lean on through prayers of our own faiths. But we're united in the belief that God put us here for a purpose. Your loved one's purpose has been served and they've been called home to rejoice in eternal life awaiting you and your families. That's the cycle of life that we must understand.

And yes, grief is the price you pay for love. If you didn't love them so well, you wouldn't be grieving every single day. But the love was surely worth it. The love is worth it. That love is with you forever.

I also want to say something to the men and women who are here in uniform. Some of you are friends and colleagues of someone lost. You miss them. In the squad car, the police car, joking around, went out for a drink after work – you lost a friend, you lost a colleague, you lost someone that you cared about as well. I acknowledge that pain from so many of you as well. But those of you who stood and came out here today, representing all these great police departments and the PBA and the Commissioners, everybody who's in a leadership position, despite what you hear sometimes out there in the rest of the world, you are appreciated. You are respected. And we honor your service day in and day out because this is what you are willing to do. The sacrifice that is witnessed here, you do that and nobody else does and we respect you for that.

Just as you've been there for us, we as a nation, as a state, must be there for you. And on behalf of 20 million grateful New Yorkers, I say we are there for you. May God help you heal. You're part of a family, our family. This is your place. Come back. And over the years, more love will break through that grief. You don't feel it now, but that is my guarantee to all of you. May God bless every single one of you. The families – may God bless the men and women in uniform. And may God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much.