Remarks by the Vice President at a National Police Week Breakfast

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, okay. Let's -- let me say a few words of welcome here. Please take your seats, and let -- let me just say a few things here.

First of all, this is a -- you know, National Police Week is a big thing, as I learned in the United States Senate. It's, in a lot of ways, a very celebratory occasion, because you guys get to come to town and -- and spend some time with your legislators. But it's also very good for the legislators and even vice presidents to be able to get to spend some time with the law enforcement officers that keep us safe, to understand what issues you care about.

And -- and let me just say that, you know, the president is in the Middle East right now. I believe he just landed in Qatar just a few hours ago. But we love you guys, and we're grateful for the job that you do, and our administration has made a very proud commitment to stand by American law enforcement.

Paul, good to see you, man. We got the whole crew here. This is a -- this is really the all-star crew.

But if you think about what -- what that means, there's a policy component to it, and I think there's just a moral leadership component to it.

You know, the policy component is we want to make it easier for police officers to do their jobs. We want to make it harder for people to sue police officers when they're acting appropriately in the line of duty. We want to make it sure -- so that when you guys are out there keeping us safe and you're, of course, worried about all the bad guys, you're not also worried about bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., preventing you from doing the job that the American people need you to do.

That is the -- the -- that's the substance of the executive order the president signed just a few weeks ago. That's the substance of a lot of our commitments to our law enforcement.

But there's also, you know, less about policy and more about moral leadership. And, you know, I -- I -- as I said earlier, this is a very celebratory occasion. We love to have you guys here. This is a big week on Capitol Hill, as I remember from my time in the Senate.

But this is also, for me, and I imagine for a lot of you -- I know for Dan -- a very solemn moment, because just a few days ago, we lost an officer in Cincinnati, and the story there is actually worth telling in full because it's worth appreciating exactly what happened.

I actually first heard about this from -- from my wife, our lovely second lady, who -- who told me that, you know, a few weeks ago, I guess, a man was killed by a police officer. The police officer, the body cam footage showed, was totally justified. He was doing his job and keeping the people of Cincinnati safe.

And the gentleman who was killed, his father started to hate police because of it. And maybe he already hated police before then, but he decided he wanted to take revenge on police -- not even on the officer who took the life of his son, but on a totally different police officer, just to exact revenge against the police in that area of the country, which, of course, is my hometown.

And what happened is a police officer who had just actually retired but returned to special duty in the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, he was helping people at the University of Cincinnati when he was mowed down by a bloodthirsty criminal, who exacted revenge for something a police officer was actually legally entitled to do. And that, of course, is -- and I want to make sure I get his name right -- that's Deputy Henderson. Larry Henderson, who lost --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Larry Henderson, who lost his life because he was doing his job and keeping people safe.

And when I think about why that senseless crime happened, obviously, you've got to place blame on the guy who committed the crime, but I also think a lot of the blame falls on American leadership who, for too long, have made our police officers out to be enemies, instead of the great public servants that all of us know that they are.

So, know, from the president on down, this administration stands behind you guys. We love you guys. We know that you're out there doing a good job for us, and I think that moral leadership matters just as much as the public policy. But from this administration, you're, of course, going to get both.

So, thank you all, and I'm looking forward to the conversation.

I want to give a couple of shout-outs here, because this is a very special day for me for -- for me for a couple of reasons. Number one, we've got the great Mac here, who today becomes -- right? -- it's very -- it's today --

MR. MACAULEY: Yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- becomes the leader of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service, which is a very, very big deal. Congratulations, Mac. (Applause.) Thank you, Mac.

And -- and your guys and gals do a great job for us, and we're grateful to them, but obviously for -- for your leadership as well.

We've got the great Paul Perez here, who represents our Border Patrol and Border Patrol officers. Thank you, Paul. (Applause.)

I -- I thought we had -- somebody told me about Jeff Simpson, but I don't see Jeff. Is Jeff here?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: He wasn't able to make it.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Okay. He wasn't able to make it. Okay. Well, maybe he's watching on TV. Jeff, I'm sorry you couldn't make it -- (laughter) -- but we're -- we're thrilled to have you here.

And then Dan Hils from my hometown of Cincinnati. Dan, it's good to see you, man. And -- and please give Deputy Henderson's family our best.

MR. HILS: Yes, sir.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And then a couple of other folks I want to shout out. So, I believe we have Lieutenants Hudson and Jarboe. Lieutenant Hudson, where are you? Okay. Great. And, Jarboe, there you are. So, these guys actually -- think about the trade that these guys make. So, they are the most active participants, I believe, in the motorcades that we do all around Washington, D.C. And if you think about it, every single day, rain or shine, in freezing-cold weather, they get out there, they keep us safe, they clear traffic, they make it possible for me to do the job that I do. Again, they're on duty every day helping us.

And it -- that's what I get out of this relationship. And out of this relationship, you guys get free breakfast one day at the VPR. (Laughter.) So, I think that I'm the winner in the grand scheme of things, but we appreciate your service.

And to all of you guys -- I can't give everybody a shout-out, but we're really thrilled to have you and really grateful for the work that you do.

So, before we eat, I want to do this proper here. I want to introduce -- let me get the name here right. Where do we have -- Lieutenant Joe Gamaldi. Where's Lieutenant Gamaldi?

MR. GAMALDI: Right here.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Joe, thank you. Come on up here and give us a blessing before we eat.

And, everybody, enjoy your breakfast, and thanks for joining us at our home this morning. God bless you all. (Applause.)