As the 17 cadets of Lackawanna College's Police Academy sat on the stage of the Mellow Theater on Friday, they listened to Attorney General Kathleen Kane explain the importance of their future jobs.
The former Lackawanna County assistant district attorney beginning her first term as attorney general explained to the graduates of the police academy's 206th class the importance of their role as law enforcement officers.
"It's your job to protect the public and have empathy for people who have been wronged," said Mrs. Kane.
During her campaign for the office, she stressed the importance of protecting vulnerable members of the state's population. And she has chastised Gov. Tom Corbett, who previously served as attorney general, for the length of time it took to indict former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky for sexual assaults on underage boys.
"We're the defenders of the weak," she said during the ceremony.
Throughout the ceremony, the graduates and future police officers heard speakers discuss the importance of their role in society and the importance of integrity, bravery, honesty and other qualities.
Dan Duffy, director of the police academy and former chief of the Scranton Police Department, didn't hide his pride in the members of the graduating class.
"If I was a police chief right now and could hire 17 people, I'd hire every one of them," Mr. Duffy told the crowd.
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