June 28th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

Governor Jim Justice today attended and spoke at a graduation ceremony for the West Virginia State Police’s 67th Cadet Class. The event was held in the theater of the State Culture Center at the Capitol Complex in Charleston.

“I congratulate you beyond everything I could ever, ever say,” Gov. Justice said. “We owe everything to these great people.

“When it’s the very darkest in this world, in the middle of the night, and you are most alone and most in danger, who do we call and who comes running to us,” Gov. Justice continued. “It’s these brave men and women.”

The event celebrated the successful graduation of 28 new cadets from the West Virginia State Police training course, which includes hundreds of hours of training, over the course of six months, in subjects like defensive tactics, firearms, criminal law, traffic law, crash investigation, crime scene investigation, cultural diversity, and emotional intelligence. 

The event also marked the second State Police cadet class graduation since November 2018. Before that, the WVSP had not graduated any new cadet classes for nearly four full years. 

“We hadn’t graduated a class for years and years before I came in the door and we were getting weaker and weaker, that’s all these is to it,” Gov Justice said. “We’re really starting to turn things around so we have enough troopers to defend our people and our state.”

Before the conclusion of the event, Gov. Justice took time to shake the hand of every man and woman in West Virginia’s newest cadet class.

“God bless every last one of you,” Gov. Justice said. “At the end of the day, you are our best and bravest.”

All graduates also completed another basic training course before beginning with their cadet class. The graduates came from police agencies across the state, including city, county and natural resources police.

The new graduates will now begin the Field Training Program at their various detachments across West Virginia.

“Again, I congratulate you and I congratulate your families too,” Gov. Justice said. “And I pray that you all come home safe to your loved ones every single day.

“I challenge every person in West Virginia and the nation to do one thing; and that’s appreciate these great troopers for who they are and what they do,” Gov. Justice said. “These are 28 people who are willing to put their lives on the line for us every day, and it’s unbelievable.”