Page 2 - French and Electric Blue November 2015

CMoelossnaegl’es
November 2015
The following is the text of Colonel McKeon’s speech given at the State airway of a passenger in a car who had stopped breathing. A
House Awards Friday, October 16, 2015.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Massachusetts
State Police Fall Awards Ceremony. It is humbling to have the
honor of saying a few words at this prestigious event.
Today we honor more than 50 people, including numerous
state troopers and local police officers who confronted violent
suspects. We also recognize police, firefighters, roadside
assistance personnel, medical professionals and other civilians
who, when the moment of crisis arrived, rose to meet that
moment and helped save the lives of others.
Some of the incidents for which we bestow these honors today
have been well-publicized and will come as no surprise to those
of you joining us today. Among those incidents is the response
by five Boston police officers and one state trooper – members
of a joint gang task force – who stopped a violent suspect in
Boston on the night of March 27. You will recall that as soon as
that car was stopped, a gunman immediately rush out of the car
and fired a point-blank gunshot into the face of Boston Officer
John Moynihan.
The other four officers and the trooper immediately returned fire
to end a violent situation and tended to Officer Moynihan. You
will hear of many happy outcomes today, and among them is
this fact, which brings us all joy – that Officer Moynihan survived
that night and is alive today.
There are many other incidents that you will probably hear about
for the first time today. A Mass General Hospital doctor who was
driving by the scene of a serious crash on the Pike and pulled
a badly injured man from the wreckage. A state Department
of Transportation worker who sprang into action to open the
Like us on Facebook: MassStatePolice
www.facebook.com/MassStatePolice
Follow us on Twitter:
@MassStatePolice
www.twitter.com/MassStatePolice
trooper and off-duty nurse who resuscitated a traveler who had
suffered a heart attack at Logan Airport. A trooper, school nurse,
teacher, and the trooper’s teenage daughter, who saved the
life of another teacher who had collapsed outside her school.
Troopers who entered an icy river in sub-zero temperatures to
render first aid to a driver who had just crashed into the water,
and the EMT who assisted them. The list goes on and on and on.
It is a pleasure to talk about these heroic acts, because too often
in our world the tendency is to focus on the negative acts of
a vast minority. Society looks for controversy, for scandal, for
places to put blame. There is no shortage of cynics around us.
But I challenge anyone to sit here for the next hour and hear the
stories of what these men and women did and not be moved,
and not come away with a true appreciation and thankfulness
that people like these exist.
We in the law enforcement community could not be prouder of
each of these men and women for their remarkable acts. Their
stories epitomize the spirit of sacrifice and service to others,
often in the most stressful and dangerous of situations. They
represent the highest ideal of what it means to be a public
servant and a Good Samaritan.
Subscribe to us on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/MAStatePolice
Follow us on Instagram:
Search for MassStatePolice
www.instagram.com/