Twenty-eight new Los Angeles police officers graduated August 18 at a mid-morning ceremony before an audience of family and friends. In attendance, were Chief Bratton, Department Command Staff, representatives from the Board of Commissioners and the Mayor’s Office.
Guest speaker U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russel Honoré addressed the group of graduates. Lieutenant General Honoré shared an important story with the all-male class.
"Most of the people in our society are sheep," he said. "They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who hurt one another by accident. Then there are the wolves and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy."
"Then there are sheepdogs and I'm a sheepdog," he went on. "I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. You are now sheepdogs and sheepdogs follow wolves wherever they go."
Lieutenant General Honoré led the Department of Defense response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana through Joint Task Force-Katrina. Highly decorated, he has served in a variety of command and staff positions focused on Defense Support to Civil Authorities and Homeland Defense.
The graduating officers have completed 1,035 hours of training in 32 weeks. Three lateral officers graduated with the regular recruit class, following the completion of a two-month lateral officer academy.
These officers are experienced peace officers who have been certified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standard and Training. They have joined the LAPD after serving with other California law enforcement agencies.
The graduation ceremony was held at the Los Angeles Police Academy.
Congratulations to the graduating class.
Thank you for choosing a fine profession, and please be safe out there.
Mark,
Portland, OR
Posted by: Mark | August 18, 2024 at 02:47 PM
Congratulations to all of you. Thank you for your contribution and dedication to our communities.
Posted by: John | August 18, 2024 at 11:23 PM
Sheepdogs, sheeps and wolves. A nice analogy.
Posted by: Samantha Sang | August 19, 2024 at 07:18 AM
Credit should be given to Lt.Col. Dave Grossman from his book, On Combat. It is actually a story OF SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS. I hope U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russel Honoré gave credit to the author.
Posted by: Tina | August 22, 2024 at 02:13 PM
I think that analogy has been around longer than that book, Tina. It's in the Bible, actually. I don't think you have to cite unless you are making a direct quote. Besides, when you get to be US Army Lt General, I think you might have a hard time cataloging your knowledge by its source, just due to the sheer volume of it.
Posted by: for Tina | August 23, 2024 at 09:44 AM
I just want to wish all of you the best in your FTO and futures w/ LAPD, you could not have joined a better agency!!
Posted by: Chris | August 24, 2024 at 05:48 PM