Miosotis Familia (left) and Police Commissioner James O' Neill NYPD; Seth Gottfriend
Police Commissioner James O’ Neill told more than 500 new police recruits Thursday that the work of slain officer Miosotis Familia, “is not finished.”
Speaking a day after Familia’s tragic death, O’Neill said during the swearing-in of the 524 cadets at the Police Academy in Queens that not all days on the job will be “great days.”
“You’ll have truly terrible days like we had yesterday where pain and grief push you down to a point where you’re not sure if you can get back up, but you will get back up,” O’Neill said.
“You get back up because the work of police Officer Miosotis is not finished. You get back up because it’s our job to finish it,” he said.
O’Neill told the recruits the “great days far outnumbers the terrible ones” on the job, “but that doesn’t make days like yesterday any easier.
“We’re angry, we’re sad, we’re frustrated, and if we weren’t any of those things we wouldn’t be human beings,” he said. “But through times like these we must remember policing is about hope.”
“You’ll have truly terrible days like we had yesterday when pain and grief push you down to a point where you’re not sure you’ll get back up, but you will,” O’Neill said, adding that the “great days far outnumbers the terrible ones.”
O’Neill noted that he’s sure many of the families of the new cadets “are questioning whether, you’re making the right decision, especially after yesterday’s tragedy in The Bronx.”
“I’m here to tell you, you are making the right decision,” the commissioner said.
“It’s worth it,” he said. “When you look back on today you’ll remember that this is one of the most triumphant moments in your careers.”
Familia, 48, a 12-year veteran was killed early Wednesday at 12:30 a.m. by cop-hating gunman Alexander Bonds as she sat in an NYPD mobile command center.