Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you. Congratulations, officers. Doesn’t that sound good? Now you wear that proud title, and you have earned it. You have worked so hard to get you to this day. Officers, I hope this is a moment where you feel tremendous satisfaction at the commitment you’ve shown, the effort you’ve shown, the focus you’ve shown to now become officers in the greatest police force in the world. You can clap for that.

[Applause]

But officers, remember – so many family members supported you, encouraged you, stood by you, helped you every step along the way, made you what you are today, and I say to all the mothers, the fathers, the grandfathers, the grandmothers, the aunts, the uncles, the brothers, sisters, cousins, everyone – all the family members and loved ones here. We thank you too for everything you’ve done. Give yourselves a round of applause. This is your day, too.

[Applause]

Officers, you will quickly learn what a blessing it is to be led by such extraordinary men and women who sit behind me here. You will see what it means to have the finest leadership and the most visionary leadership. It will uplift your work every single day. I want to thank our extraordinary Commissioner, Bill Bratton; our Chief of Department, Jimmy O’Neill. I want to thank all the leadership assembled here, and I want to welcome our newest member of the NYPD Command Staff, Deputy Commissioner for Training, Tracie Keesee. Welcome to the Department.

And I want to thank some of the other leaders here with us. I want to thank and acknowledge Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito of the City Council; the Chair of the Committee on Public Safety, City Council Member Vanessa Gibson; and the President of the Patrolmen’s Benevolence Association, Pat Lynch. Thank you to all.

[Applause]

This is a fantastic day for New York City because we gain 634 new guardians – 634 new police officers to make us safe.

[Applause]

And so many of you are proudly carrying on the traditions of your family, and you are the next generation to proudly wear the uniform, and we thank you all for that. We especially thank those who are wearing a different uniform because previously they served our nation in the Armed Forces. There are 57 of you who served our nation. Let’s thank them all.

[Applause]

Now there are many times in life where people say something is the greatest. Sometimes that claim is overblown. But when we say that the NYPD is the greatest police force in the world, we have a lot of facts to back it up – we have a lot of history to back it up, we have a lot of achievement to back it up. You saw those powerful videos at the beginning of this ceremony that pointed out the extraordinary strength of this department, and its strength derives in one measure from the fact that it’s a department that never – never sits still, is always improving, is always looking for how to be best. You can say of any winning team, they remain a winning team because they constantly innovate – because they never rest on their laurels.

I’ve said many times about Commissioner Bratton, he doesn’t know how to rest on his laurels. If anyone were to deserve that right it would be him, but every day he’s pushing everyone to go farther, to think of the next great thing that can be achieved. Well, you’re joining a winning team that has driven crime down to record lows and that took decades of hard work – decades of improvement, of the strategic approach. What CompStat started, year after year the men and women of the NYPD had to perfect in their everyday work. We now say proudly we are the safest big city in America. We’ve earned that title, and we earn it every day.

And now you are going to become a key part of that history and that achievement. We believe you will take us even farther because with each passing year we learn how to do this work better. And you’re coming in with the most advanced training of any class that’s ever gone through the Police Academy. You’re literally the epitome – and you will take that forward to this whole city.

[Applause]

You’re going to be the innovators. You’re going to be the change agents. You’re going to be the people who show us that we can go even farther. As this era of political change has immersed us, we’ve seen now the chance to do something different, something that eluded us in the past. We needed police and community to come together. And too many times there was a rift, but now we see something different. We see a deepening of the bond between police and community.

That first video said it so powerfully that police and community as partners can achieve things that weren’t possible before. When members of the community know that they can turn to an officer and share the information that officer needs – when officers build those strong bonds with community members, things are possible that just weren’t possible before. Neighborhood policing, neighborhood policing opens a whole new door for all of us. And it’s exciting to think what will be achieved together.

Now, you are also wonderful because you represent the greatness of New York City. You know around the world people look up to us. You hear it with such admiration in the voices of people wherever you go in this world, or whenever we meet visitors from countries on every continent – they look up to New York City. They admire us. They want to be like us. Why? It’s not just the tall buildings and the businesses and the theaters, it’s that every kind of people in the world have come here, and somehow, together, succeeded. That’s part of the magic. That’s part of the strength of New York City.

This extraordinary class represents everything that is good in New York City. You represent every neighborhood. You represent all the peoples who came together to make us great. This class has striking characteristics.

53 percent of you are men and women of color. And 32 percent of you are Latino. That is the all-time high in the history of the NYPD.

[Applause]

You hail from 36 countries, and you speak 22 languages – and I guarantee you, you will use all 22 of those languages in the work you do, and that will only make you better at your job. People will confide in you. People will come forward to offer what they know and to ask your help.

And I want to take a moment to share one story from this class because I think it’s particularly pertinent and inspiring. Mohamed Mozeb came to Brooklyn from the country of Yemen when he was 13 years old. And very early on in his time here, he was inspired by the police officers in his community. And later he became an intern at the 9-0 Precinct, and the officers he met encouraged him to believe that he too could become a member of the NYPD. Mohamed says, “I believe in the law. I want to give back. I want to serve. I want to aim for a better tomorrow.”

Today, Mohamed is part of creating that better tomorrow as he joins, not only the 36,000 fellow officers of the NYPD, he now joins over 900 Muslim-American officers who protect our city every day.

[Applause]

And we talked about the power of the family tradition in the NYPD, well it sounds like although he is the first of the Mozeb family, he may not be the last member to join New York’s Finest because I’ve heard that Mohamed’s 12-year-old brother, Hamza – who is also here today – wants to become a cop himself. So, let’s see this family tradition deepen.

[Applause]

I want to say very clearly to all my fellow New Yorkers, and to all Americans, including some who happen to be running for president of the United States – this is what it takes to keep our people safe. A police force that truly reflects our city and our country – every single neighborhood represented, all the people of our city represented, everyone in this together. That is what makes the NYPD great.

Now, for 15 years we’ve been a target in this country – this city. And this city has been the number one target, and we know it. We’re sober about it. We’re vigilant. We’re focused. And we’re working so closely with our federal partners who are represented here today, and we thank them. But recognize that you’re joining a team that has been tested and tried over those 15 years. 20 different plots were attempted, originating here or directed at New York City. 20 different times terrorists attempted to attack this city since 9/11. 20 times they were repulsed by the NYPD working with all of our partners.

[Applause]

So, you’re joining a police force that understands, as we all do – we understand we’re the number one target. But we also know we are the best-prepared city to stop terrorism. We are the best-prepared city to remain safe.

Our new Critical Response Command is the largest and most advanced anti-terror force of any police department in the country – over 500 highly-trained, well-armed officers keeping us safe. And every officer will be able and ready to participate in the fight against terror because every officer will be given, now, the finest technology to stay connected and the best training. By the end of this year, our police force will also be stronger with the addition of 2,000 more officers on patrol – first time in 15 years that’s happened as well.

[Applause]

And it is our obligation to keep you safe. We depend on every one of you to keep us safe. It’s our obligation to keep you safe. That means the best training. That means the most effective bulletproof vests. That means the best technology. All of this is being invested in constantly, and we will continue to make those investments for your safety and the community’s safety because you are showing us every day – all the men and women of the NYPD are showing us every day, those investments lead to even more safety for everyone.

You’re transforming this city and making it stronger and better.

And now as you become a part of this amazing story, each and every one of you will be able to talk about the great victories you will achieve. You will be able to talk about the lives you saved, the families that you helped, the people who would always look back on the day that a member of the NYPD came to their rescue and saved them from something bad, and kept their life on a good course.

You’ll have a lot of people who will thank you for what you will do for them, and you’re starting on an extraordinary journey. We are so appreciative you made this decision.

So, I conclude by saying this – I have the honor of relaying this to you on behalf of 8.5 million New Yorkers. Thank you. Thank you for joining the NYPD.

God speed and God bless you all.

[Applause]