[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[May 15, 2004]
[Pages 889-891]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



 Remarks at the Peace Officers Memorial Service
 May 15, 2004

     Thank you all very much. I'm so very honored to join all of you in 
paying respects--our respects to our Nation's fallen law enforcement 
officers. Every year on this day, we pause to remember the sacrifice and 
faithful services of officers lost in the line of duty throughout our 
Nation's history. And we add to the National Law Enforcement Officers 
Memorial the names of men and women lost in the past year as well as 
some who fell in the line of duty in other times. They accepted the hard 
responsibilities of a great and essential calling.

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     Our fallen officers died in service to justice and in defense of 
the innocent. They will never be forgotten by their comrades. They will 
never be forgotten by their country. And today, in the presence of so 
many families and friends they loved, our Nation pays tribute in pride 
and in gratitude.
     I appreciate Chuck Canterbury's leadership and his friendship. I also want to thank Aliza 
Clark. I appreciate Jim Pasco as the executive director of the Fraternal Order of the 
Police, who has worked hard to make this a special event for those who 
grieve.
     I want to thank my friend the Attorney General, John 
Ashcroft. He's doing a great job on behalf of 
the American people. I appreciate FBI Director Mueller, other members of my administration. I want to thank 
Duke Cunningham and other Members 
of Congress who have joined us.
     I also thank all the family members who have come to Washington for 
this service. For each of you, there is a name on the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial that will always stand apart. You feel the 
hurt and loss and separation, but I hope you don't feel alone. A lot of 
people are praying for you, and you can know today that our Nation will 
always remember the one you loved.
     They were among the more than 800,000 men and women who serve as 
officers of the law in the United States. On the wall are the names of 
U.S. marshals and county sheriffs, deputies, State patrolmen, municipal 
police, Federal agents, Coast Guard officials and others who are in the 
business of protecting their fellow citizens. America's men and women in 
law enforcement carry different responsibilities and serve different 
jurisdictions. Yet in all of those jobs, we look for the same basic 
qualities of character, for personal discipline, alertness of mind, and 
courage. Our country and our neighborhoods depend on such people, and 
fortunately for us all, they keep coming forward.
     We look for people like Sergeant Jason Pratt of the Omaha Police Department. He was shot last 
September at the age of 30, while helping a fellow officer pursue a 
suspect. A colleague said of Sergeant Pratt, ``He was always willing to 
step up and take the point.'' And when he died, more than 20 police 
officers were at the hospital with him. As the mayor of the city put it, 
``Omaha lost one of its protectors, but his family lost much more.'' 
These same words are true in every community, every time an officer of 
the law is taken from us.
     When the innocent need defending, we look for people like Trooper 
Nik Green of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, who 
was shot and killed by a drug dealer resisting arrest. He died on the 
morning after Christmas on a stretch of highway just over a mile from 
his home, where he left behind a wife and three young daughters. This 
good man was also a youth pastor at First Baptist Church, where hundreds 
of his fellow State troopers came to pay their final respects. The 
pastor said of Trooper Green, ``He set a standard that we're left 
challenged by. We're going to hurt for a long, long time.''
     To bring help in desperate hours, we look for people like Patrick 
Hardesty of the Tucson Police 
Department. He was shot and killed by a fleeing suspect in a hit and 
run. Officer Hardesty had seen danger before, during his 20 years as a 
United States marine. He is survived by his wife, their three children, 
and comrades who say they thought of him more as a brother than a 
friend. A colleague said of Officer Hardesty, ``Even before he became a 
good cop, he was a really good man.''
     These are the characteristics we honor today, really good men. 
These officers and the others we recognize at this service reported to 
work not knowing that the day would bring the end of their watch. In the 
words of a colleague of one fallen officer, ``We all take it for granted 
that they will come back home safe and sound after their shift. Then one 
day, they don't.'' That is

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a part of the heroism of law enforcement, knowing that the most routine 
calls can turn suddenly violent. In the worst of moments, that is the 
heroism that faces danger and risks all for the safety of strangers. And 
in every moment, our country is in debt to the men and women in patrol 
cars, on bikes, and on foot, and standing post, and we must never take 
them for granted.
     The nearness to danger inspires a special loyalty among those who 
carry a shield and enforce the law. And when one is lost, the family 
left behind is cared for and held close by the brotherhood of law 
enforcement. In the memorial and in countless acts of love and kindness, 
the fallen are remembered and honored. And this afternoon, on behalf of 
all Americans, I offer the respect of a grateful nation. Their calling 
in life was to keep the peace, and we pray they have found the peace in 
the Almighty God.
     May God bless you all.

  Note:  The President spoke at 12:46 p.m. on the West Grounds at the 
U.S. Capitol. In his remarks, he referred to Chuck Canterbury, national 
president, and James O. Pasco, Jr., executive director, National 
Fraternal Order of Police; and Aliza Clark, president, National 
Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary. The Peace Officers Memorial Day and 
Police Week proclamation of May 7 is listed in Appendix D at the end of 
this volume.