Remarks as delivered
Thank you Vanita for this kind introduction.
I also want to thank you for your leadership at the Justice Department. For those of you who don’t know, Associate Attorney General Gupta oversees a significant portion of the department’s work. Every day I see her prioritize supporting community-focused policing efforts.
It’s just one of the many things she’s doing to advance the department’s partnerships with law enforcement officials across the country.
I also want to thank President Holston for receiving us today.
Thank you, Chief Ramos, for your leadership of the DeKalb County Police Department. It is a privilege to honor outstanding members of your department today.
I also want to thank the US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Erskine.
In closing, I would like to thank Rob Chapman, Acting Director of the Department of Community Oriented Police Services (COPS) Office, and the entire COPS Office team for overseeing the awards that have brought us here today.
Every day, law enforcement officials across the country work to strengthen community bonds essential to public safety.
The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing recognizes individual officers for exceptional policing efforts.
This year, the Justice Department received hundreds of nominations for these awards. From these hundreds of nominations, only 18 were selected.
Of those 18 honorees, three were from the DeKalb County Police Department.
It is my honor to recognize Detective Ricketts, Detective Prather and Detective Webber.
To say that Detectives Ricketts, Prather and Webber simply deserved this high honor would be a gross understatement. I would like to say very well deserved. [Laughter]
Detective Ricketts joined the DeKalb County Police Department in 2005. For several years he was an active member of the county’s Police Athletic League (PAL) unit.
In fact, I’m told he was a member of the New York PAL program as a youth. He clearly pays on that experience in a remarkable way.
Detective Ricketts has developed and coordinated several PAL programs including the Career Development Program and the After Dark Basketball Summer League.
Detective Prather joined the police force in 2007. She started a mentoring program for high school students.
Through this program, high school students are able to develop relationships with law enforcement officials that are based on respect and trust.
In the free time that Detective Prather – I’m not sure how much free time she has – but in the free time that she has, Detective Prather has also coached the PAL cheerleading program.
Detective Webber joined the DeKalb County Police Department in 2006 as a Patrol Officer.
She then became part of the department’s Interactive Community Police Team and a detective in the Special Victims Unit, investigating sexual assault, domestic violence, and crimes against children and the elderly.
Inspired by her love of dance, she created a program to teach youth ballet, African dance and contemporary dance in DeKalb County.
Through these programs, she provided opportunities for children to express themselves freely and openly while interacting with law enforcement officers.
I would stop here and that would be reason enough to acknowledge these exceptional detectives.
But when the pandemic struck and schools closed, they only upped their game.
As the pandemic threatened to leave vulnerable youth without summer programs, they launched a virtual summer academy that connected participants remotely.
They worked with community leaders, teachers, coaches, businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations to get the program off the ground. I don’t know how they did it, but every one of them told me that you can play basketball, you can cheerlead, you can dance – remotely. I wish I had been on these programs. [Laughter]
As the summer drew to a close, they launched a “Back to School” backpack giveaway that provided students with supplies.
Then, when they noticed children selling bottled water on the freeway ramps, they intervened again. This time, they introduced a four-month life skills program to provide students with opportunities for personal growth.
As part of the program today, they’ve partnered with our host: Georgia Piedmont Technical College.
They also worked alongside other police department mentors, volunteers and support units.
Eight of the original nine participants found employment. The ninth was on a dual program here at the college.
I want to stress that at the best of times these actions would have been huge.
However, they emerged during a pandemic. And the fact that they did is further testament to their commitment to the communities they serve.
This is what community policing looks like in practice: building relationships, reaching out, building trust that makes our communities safer.
The Department of Justice is grateful and we are proud to stand by you.
In a few moments I will be inviting the detectives to accept their awards.
But first, I want us all to take a second to say thank you to another group: the families, friends and colleagues of the award winners.
Your support made these achievements possible. Today is also a day to celebrate you.
Now let me invite all of our award winners onto the stage.
Please give them a big round of applause.
