U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei delivers remarks to the Houston Police Officers Union

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you all for inviting me to address you today. It’s always an honor to speak with the men and of women of the Houston Police Department, who safeguard Texas’ biggest and best city.  The timing of your invitation is particularly meaningful to me, and for maybe some of you, as this week celebrates the feast day of St. Michael, the patron saint of law enforcement and the Archangel that provides protection and comfort to those, like you, that provide protection and comfort to others.

As you know, last November the American people voted in a new administration with a mandate to secure the border, annihilate the drug trade, and crack down on violent crime in their communities. At the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, we take those priorities very seriously, and you, and your fellow officers, are a major part of our efforts to fulfill these public safety objectives. While we often work with federal agents, we also make great cases on account of high-quality police work done by state and local law enforcement officers like yourselves.  The Southern District of Texas is proud of the work we’ve done so far, and we intend to unapologetically continue enforcing the law and protecting our people, no matter what our critics may say.

And while federal prosecutors are indeed sometimes criticized, we are not subjected to nearly the level of public scrutiny that you are. In recent years, police officers have been on the receiving end of unfair and ill-informed demonization, often driven by agitators and opportunists. Some misguided people view police officers as agents of oppression and believe that putting criminals behind bars is somehow unjust. Instead, they believe that we should try to “understand” violent gang members, not punish them, and the police should be defunded, if not outright abolished.

But as you know, and I know, this view of law enforcement is completely out of touch with reality. And the average American recognizes this. The average American supports and respects the police.  When regular, everyday people are threatened by criminals, when someone’s house is being broken into in the middle of the night, they don’t call social workers or community organizers. They don’t call therapists or life coaches. They call men and women like you, who wear the badge, carry a gun, and are ready, willing, and able put your lives on the line to protect the innocent.

At the Department of Justice, we understand the sacrifices you make when you sign up to be a police officer. In your line of work, unlike any other civilian profession, the public expects you to be willing to take a bullet for your fellow citizens. And many police officers have done so. You’re expected to run towards danger, not away from it. And many officers have done that too, and paid with their lives. You’re expected to work long, hard, stressful hours that take you from your families. And I’ll bet that more than a few of you have had to miss your kid’s baseball game or recital because duty called.

And, perhaps most unfairly, you’re also expected to be perfect. Everything you say and everything you write, are scrutinized by people who sit in comfortable, air-conditioned offices, far from danger. Your actions are nitpicked by people who’ve never had a gun pointed at them or a knife drawn on them. People who have never had to make a split-second decision when life and death are on the line, freely second-guess and judge you.

This lazy, armchair quarterbacking fails to recognize the harsh realities of policing.  The police must interact with the very ugliest aspects of our society.  Officers have to see the after-effects of shocking acts of violence, or make heartbreaking discoveries of neglect or abuse.  They interact with hostile or unstable people on a daily basis.  Police must remain stone-faced as those they are sworn to protect insult, denigrate, or deliberately try to provoke them.  And for that thankless service to our society, there are some that would still consider the police the bad guys.  It’s utterly ridiculous and, in my eyes, completely unacceptable.

Because the truth of the matter is society is safer when police feel empowered to do their job. Perhaps some of you know of fellow officers that, given the past few years, are less willing to make road stops or initiate citizen encounters, out of concern that they—not the criminal—will be the one put under the microscope and investigated.  And that reticence ultimately hurts society as a whole, since fewer criminals are caught, and more citizens are victimized as a result.  And so, if there is a single thing I want you to take away from today, it’s this: as far as the Southern District of Texas is concerned, the days of “blame the cops first” is over.  We here at the U.S. Attorney’s Office want to work with you, not against you.  We want to empower you, not stand in your way.  We recognize what you already know: that you are the front line in ensuring the safety and well-being of millions of Houstonians.  Without you, there is no law and order, and without law and order, there is no civil society.

So, thank you.  Thank you for working with us to make Houston safer, to make Texas safer, and to make America safer. Thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made on behalf of your fellow citizens, and thank you for the innumerable sacrifices that you will inevitably make in the future. We are lucky and proud to have you as a partner.

May God bless you, and be safe out there.

*Editor's note:

This event occurred on the date indicated but was not published at that time due to the government shutdown. Speech posted and made available following the return to normal operations.