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COLUMBUS, Ga. — The Columbus Consolidated Government formally recognized the heroic service of public safety officers both here in Columbus and across the nation by declaring the week preceding September 11 as Public Safety Week.

The proclamation was read during the city council meeting held on September 12, 2023.

The opening moments of the meeting were somber as officials, public safety officers, and the public in attendance reflected on the nation’s 22nd anniversary of that tragic day.

The meeting began with opening words from Mayor Skip Henderson, who then invited Columbus Fire & EMS Battalion Chief Mark Burnett to provide an invocation in prayer.

Henderson then invited all public safety officers present to lead the meeting in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Upon completion, the room erupted with a standing ovation of applause.

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Allen (District 6) then published a proclamation into the record to formally recognize the week of September 3-11 as Public Safety Week. 

We ask that you continue to read on past the proclamation below for a sincere closing sentiment from us at the Muckraker.

The full text of the city’s moving and solemn proclamation read as follows:

“WHEREAS, on September 11, twenty-two years ago, four passenger jets were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people; and

WHEREAS, during the week of September 11, 2023, our nation and world remember the lost lives and families of those who died that day; and

WHEREAS, that day, knowing the dangers they faced, police and firefighters bravely rushed into the burning buildings to save the lives of those inside. Of the 2,977  people who died that day, 412 were public safety personnel, making September 11, 2001 the most deadly in American firefighter and law enforcement history; and

WHEREAS, of the 340 million Americans, nearly 2.86 million people serve in public safety, meaning one percent protects the other ninety-nine percent of the 340 million Americans, plus visitors, students, and workers who come to America; and

WHEREAS, there are nearly 60,000 assaults on police officers per year, resulting in over 18,000 injuries and on average 163 deaths in the line of duty per year; and

WHEREAS, on average, 100,000 firefighters are injured each year and over 100 die in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, in Columbus, Georgia, our public safety offices are the Police, Fire & EMS, Sheriff, and Animal Control Departments, they respond to over 40,000 calls per year and consistently achieve the highest accreditation of multiple law enforcement and public safety agencies; and

WHEREAS, the people of Columbus, Georgia set aside time to recognize, honor, and applaud the over 700 men and women of our public safety departments who risk their lives every day and every night to protect us and keep us safe; and

WHEREAS, in light of recent adverse publicity against people involved in public safety, it is good and noble to affirm and applaud the men and women serving in public safety across America;

NOW, THEREFORE, our mayor, Skip Henderson, does hereby proclaim the week of September 3-11, 2023 as 

PUBLIC SAFETY WEEK.”

Applause erupted from the room as all present voluntarily rose from their seats in show of dignified respect and admiration for the heroes of our city and nation who stand ready for our protection each and every day.

We as a People cannot thank those men and women enough.

As we remember the horrific events of that infamous day, perhaps we as a city and nation ought to also remember the sense of unity we experienced the following day on September 12, 2001.

Perhaps those of us old enough to have experienced what that sense of unity was truly about — to place aside our differences in defense of ourselves as a unified people — ought to enlighten those too young to have experienced it themselves.

For those of us who experienced it up close: the carnage; the smoke; the chaos; the ash; the screams; the cries of those forced to accept their fate on that horrific day — we shall never forget.

Perhaps we ought to remember that it is up to us to lead those who are fortunate enough to have never experienced such horror and, thus, have not been burdened with the opportunity to remember pro se.

Never Forget.

Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.

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