95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Wyoming Chief in attendance for State of the Union hopeful President addresses law enforcement

grbj.com

Tuesday night in the House Chambers, President Barack Obama will give his final State of the Union Address. Coverage begins on WGVU at 9:00. City of Wyoming’s Department of Public Safety, James Carmody will be in the balcony as a guest of Zeeland Congressman, Bill Huizenga.

WGVU spoke with Chief Carmody this afternoon.

The Director of the City of Wyoming’s Public Safety Department tells us security is heightened today in Washington D.C. James Carmody tells us there are a number of security checkpoints. This is President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union Address and it is the history that is intriguing to Chief Carmody.

“This is the one day out of 365 days where all three branches of government are together at the same time. It’s the only time that ever happens. So that’s why it would be really something to see when you go into the chamber you’re going to see everybody from the legislative committee, you’re going to see everybody from the judicial branch, the legislative branch and the administrative branch all sitting together in the same room.”

Chief Carmody has been in law enforcement for more than 40 years, he’s hopeful the President addresses policing.

“To have seen some of the things that have occurred in the last year and a half, to hear some of the things that have been said about law enforcement, about police officers in general are troubling, more than troubling. So I’m hoping maybe there’s some…some of the comments and content of his presentation is more of a healing, a pulling together. We’ve got 750,000 police officers in this country. And yes, on occasion, they’ve made some horrible mistakes, people have died, but officers have been held responsible. The police officers in general do, every day, a thousand times a day, do great things for people. Risk their lives for people they’ve never met.”

Coverage of the State of the Union Address begins tonight @ 9:00 on WGVU-FM and on WGVU-HD.

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.