[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[May 8, 1992]
[Pages 728-729]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to Military and Law Enforcement Personnel in Los Angeles

May 8, 1992
    Thank you all. Thank you very, very much, and I'm just delighted to 
be here. I first would salute all that participated in keeping the 
peace, guaranteeing the peace, fighting against those who wanted to 
break the peace. And the events of the past 10 days, not just for the 
people in Los Angeles but people in the rest of the country, have been 
packed with emotion, raw and intense.
    And in my time out here I've heard the shouts of anger and heard 
some whispered prayers yesterday in a lovely ecumenical church service. 
We've seen utter devastation, all of you have that have looked around 
the streets at all. We've seen the beginnings of restoration. And we've 
seen the worst that human beings can do, and then we've seen some of the 
very best.
    So, I really wanted to come over here and thank all of you, the 
LAPD, the members of the military, the Guard and the regulars, both 
Marine--[applause]. And I think what this particular group and others 
that I just met with, the highway patrolmen, firefighters, are saying to 
the country is that we stand to defend decency and honor; we stand to 
defend and protect the honest men and women in this country. And that's 
the message that I think has gone out. And you did what's right, and you 
did what's demanded of you.
    And yesterday in this little church service I mentioned, I mentioned 
the police officers particularly, singled them out, and the place broke 
into spontaneous applause for those officers that are out there bringing 
civil tranquility to this country. And I salute--[applause]. And then I 
want to single out and salute also the Federal law enforcement officers 
who worked side by side with many of you who were on the streets. The 
special agents from the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons people, the marshals, 
the Border Patrol, all were out there assisting the police in stopping 
the terrible violence and the looting. And of course, again, the local 
police officials, the LAPD, the officers on the beat who have the 
toughest job in the world. And I came, really, just to thank each and 
every one of you who worked around the clock to restore order.
    I might say, I've just come from the hospital where I saw a young 
firefighter who

[[Page 729]]

was wantonly shot in the head. He's driving his fire truck, hook and 
ladder truck, to put out a fire, and some hoodlum comes alongside and 
shoots him. He's fighting right this minute for his very life. But it 
makes me grateful as a citizen of this country that you have courageous 
people like that willing to undergo the trauma that he is facing right 
now. So we can all maybe say a prayer for Scott and just hope that he 
makes it.
    The men and women of the Armed Forces were out minding your own 
business when the call came. But I really believe this: that when it 
became clear--and I've talked to the Governor who's with me here today 
about it, talked to the Mayor of this city--but when it became clear 
that not only the Guard but the regulars were willing to respond and 
would be there, I think the very fact that the military was here, 
prepared to do what was necessary, served as an enormously inhibiting 
factor from those hoodlums that wanted to disrupt the civil tranquility 
of Los Angeles, indeed, of our country.
    So, once again, I salute you for that. And even more fundamentally, 
I salute all of you who serve in uniform of the military for the United 
States of America. You have our profound thanks and gratitude.
    I will do my level-best as President to work to help solve the 
problems in the communities. I pledge that. I'm going to go back to 
Washington; have more to say about that next week. But I'll tell you 
this: I will remain the President who strongly supports the law 
enforcement community in this country and who strongly supports our 
military. Without you, we would not enjoy the peace and tranquility that 
a lot of the rest of the country is enjoying right now. So thank you 
very much to each and every one of you who participated in any way in 
helping this great city of Los Angeles.
    And the last point is this: I went around to a lot of the 
communities. And I have a genuine feeling in my heart that Los Angeles 
is going to bounce right on back and be this great city that it's always 
been.
    So may God bless everybody here from Los Angeles, and my profound 
thanks to the rest of you. God bless you all. Thank you so very, very 
much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 8:22 a.m. at the Los 
                        Angeles Coliseum. In his remarks, he referred to 
                        Scott Miller, a Los Angeles firefighter who was 
                        injured during the disturbances.