N.Y. Governor Vows to Support Police at Annual Chiefs' Conference
By Jay Mullen
Source The Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y.
GLENS FALLS, NY—Gov. Kathy Hochul praised the work of law enforcement while promising to support police at the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference on Tuesday morning.
The training conference is taking place through Wednesday at The Queensbury Hotel inside of the newly unveiled Adirondack Ballroom.
The event was closed to the press, but Hochul's office posted a video of her remarks.
Hochul said New York is a better place when police and government bring together the passion to serve.
"You are at the front line out there to keep us from descending into chaos. And it's something that I think about a lot as governor because we share the common objective," she said. "My number one responsibility as the governor of New York is to protect New Yorkers."
Hochul — who was speaking at the first event in the new ballroom at The Queensbury — said that she was going to be attending the funeral for Anthony Mazurkiewicz next week.
Mazurkiewicz was a 29-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department who was shot and killed while on the job on July 21.
Hochul pointed out that he was a father who was "simply doing his job." She said Mazuriewicz's sacrifice serves as a reminder of what law enforcement is willing to do to protect the people.
"Those of you who are willing to sacrifice your lives to keep us safe deserve respect. You deserve our support, our vocal support," she said. "The era of denigrating our police has to be over. We support you. We support you 100%."
That support is coming in the form of funding. Hochul said that funding for local law enforcement agencies is now $393 million annually in the state's budget.
The state also has $227 million in the budget to help strengthen gun violence protection efforts, along with $18 million for the state's Gun Violence Elimination Initiative.
"I have said no one will ever say the words defund the police in my presence. That is not going to go anywhere. You're not going to make friends with me if you say that," Hochul said.
She applauded the work of the new interstate gun interdiction task force to decrease the number of illegal firearms coming into the state and said that gun violence is something that she and law enforcement need to tackle head on.
She referenced the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the shooting that took place at the Tops Friendly Markets grocery store 10 minutes from her home in Buffalo.
She said while efforts to combat gun violence have contributed to the 8% decrease in gun violence throughout the state, there is still more work that needs to be done.
And she intends to have the voice of law enforcement at the table when discussing related legislation.
"We all have a responsibility to try and eradicate that. Give people the sense of security they deserve as a New Yorker, someone living in our state. They're the people that we are collectively fighting for every single day," Hochul said.
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