Police chief addresses fallen officers ceremony

Here are remarks made by Biloxi Police Chief John Miller at the outset of the Biloxi Police Department’s Fallen Officers ceremony, held this morning outside the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center.

Good morning, thank you for being here today to honor Biloxi Police Officers who gave their lives while protecting our community and also to show your gratitude to Law Enforcement Officers throughout the country who have also paid the ultimate price.

It’s truly an honor to stand before you today and pay respect to those remarkable men and women who on a particular day went to work with the goal of making their community a little safer but never returned to their families –  forsaking everything for the greater good.

It’s difficult to imagine the pain, suffering, and hardship the families of these brave men and women must endure. Children forced to grow up without those influences that normally shape who we are and who we ultimately will become. Spouses whose lives are forever changed, and must become both mother and father. And grandmothers and grandfathers who will forever be known to their grandkids only by a photo on the mantel or stories told at bedtime.

We should never allow ourselves the luxury of forgetting the sacrifices they made, and their names should always be spoken with reverence and admiration. Not because they sought such attention and praise – because they earned it. They were, and are, part of a noble profession.

How do we show gratitude to our fallen comrades and the profession they, and we, chose? How do we make sure their sacrifices weren’t in vain? We go forth and uphold the founding principles that comprise the “Blue Line” of our profession – Honor, Ethics, and Integrity. We hold ourselves and our colleagues to a higher standard than those we serve.

We refuse to make room for complacency in our actions; and we stand steady in the pervasive storm of criticism. According to Abraham Lincoln, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

When we stand on the blue line, we honor our profession and by doing so our actions, not our words, honor those we remember today.

Thanks so much to the families of our fallen Biloxi Officers for being here and allowing us to honor them. To our community members and partners, our City Leaders, our brothers and sister from other jurisdictions and the military and members of the Clergy. Thank You for honoring us with your presence today.