REMARKS OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY Premiere of "Understanding Violence" Documentary The Strand Theater, Dorchester Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003 I want to thank everyone from the Mirror Project, Attorney General Tom Reilly's Office, and my office who worked countless hours to make this documentary happen. The public will see the finished product, but they didn't have the opportunity to see the dedication of the people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for more than two years. After you've seen the film, I think you'll agree that their efforts were a great success. The thing that I am most pleased about tonight is the children and teenagers in the audience. I would like to tell all of you young people that when I look out and see your bright, intelligent faces looking back at me, I can't help but wonder where your lives will take you. Law school? Congress? The White House? But whatever great things the future holds, the fact that you're here tonight makes me certain of one thing: The future of this city is in good hands. Your hands. In a few minutes, you'll see the stories of two kids like you who are taking the right path toward their dreams. But to make those dreams come true, there's another path that you have to avoid. It's guns. It's gangs. It's drugs. It's a street life that celebrates violence and revenge. You'll see two people who took that route in the film you're about to watch. And there are thousands more like them. We see them every day in the courts and the jails. Don't follow them, but learn from their stories. I'm sure the children and teenagers here are familiar with a song that's getting a lot of airtime on the radio these days. It's called "Where Is The Love?" and it's by a group called The Black Eyed Peas. Listen to the words. They talk about why we need to respect each other, and not hurt each other. They talk about how street violence only causes more street violence. They talk about children getting hurt. Those were issues Paul McLaughlin cared deeply about. Paul loved his family, he loved his city, and he loved his job keeping the young people - like all of you here tonight - safe from violence. Paul died doing that job. He was killed eight years ago tonight, almost to the very hour, by a gang member he was prosecuting. Paul would have loved the message this film sends, and he would have loved the fact that you all came here tonight to watch it. I had the honor of working with Paul McLaughlin on the state's first anti-gang task force. There are tons of Paul McLaughlin stories, and Judge Michael Pomerale, who worked closely with Paul, will tell you more about him in a few moments. But I wanted to share one of my favorite Paul McLaughlin anecdotes, because it says a lot about the man. It's from an article published in the alumni magazine of Paul's alma mater, Dartmouth University, and it was written by a classmate of his named Chris Clark. The story goes that one night in the winter of 1973, Paul and Chris and another roommate were sitting in their dorm when Paul looked down at his old, worn-out hiking boots and said, "Sometimes, when I look at my boots, it makes me feel noble." Everyone laughed, but the more Paul's friends thought about it, the more they understood what he meant. Paul was not flashy. Paul had no ego. His friend wrote in that article that Paul valued solid, functional things, like his boots. The owner of those boots, that college student, would grow into a selfless man who embraced the difficult, day-to-day work of making the streets safer for all of us, a man endowed with a quiet, honest nobility. The best way for those of us here tonight to remember what Paul McLaughlin died for, is to rededicate ourselves to what he lived for: the dream of safe neighborhoods where our children - you children sitting in this theater right now - can live free from the fear of guns and gangs. That is our mission, one that we eagerly, even joyfully, accept. It is not an easy mission, but Paul showed us the way. You know, we hear too often about the bad kids. But there are far more good kids out there, and we need to speak about them more often. We need to shout about them from the rooftops of this city. Good kids like 10-year-old Makayla Smith, who can't wait to come to the McLaughlin Youth Center every week. She's always prepared for her tutoring sessions because she is so eager to learn. In her spare time, Makayla likes to be with her younger sister, and she hopes to be a teacher some day, so she can pass on to a new generation all the valuable lessons she is learning from her mentors. Kids like 11-year-old Tariq Meyers, who is interested in law enforcement and takes part in the Junior Police Academy at the Daniel Marr Boys' and Girls' Club. Tariq wants to be a police officer or a doctor someday. After the tragedies of Sept. 11, he drew a picture of the Twin Towers. Around the picture, he pasted photos of people's faces. Faces of all different colors and ethnicities. We're all in this together, he was saying. Children like Makayla and Tariq are the future of this city. I commend them, and the other kids like them who come to the boys' and girls' clubs, aspiring to great things. I commend, too, all of you here tonight, who took time from your busy lives to come here tonight to watch this film because you believe in the cause. And I ask you to remember that quiet, noble gentleman, Paul McLaughlin, in whose memory this film you're about to see is dedicated. His spirit is here with us tonight, too, and will forever embody our mission as public servants: To give voice to the voiceless.