Feature: "We do what is right, because it is right"

He could have followed any career path, but the one that appealed to him most was law enforcement.

And on Thursday June 24, 2010 my son, Amit Parasram, 32, graduated as a police officer with the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Amit's university training is in psychology (he holds a B.Sc in Psychology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia) and he has a martial arts Black Belt.

For several years worked with children with development and behavioural problems. But nine months ago he quit that job and accepted an offer to go through a rigorous police training program.

In his valedictory address to the class of 2010 cadets Thursday he said, "Though we are often called to resolve conflicts and situations that see people at their worst, we must keep constantly in mind that it is the people that we serve."

He added, "Serving the best interest of society compels us, as officers of the law, to guard against the temptation to make assumptions about people on the basis of social class, race, gender, or past history...

"We must guard against the temptation to treat with disdain the downtrodden and poor while granting favours to the privileged."

He urged his colleagues to always be "vigilant and avoid indifference because too often evil has taken root because of the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most...

"We have the power to make decisions that affect lives. We must never abuse this. But above all, we must always remember that we are police officers... And we DO WHAT IS RIGHT… BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT!"

Amit was also awarded the Sgt. Bruce MacPhail Memorial Award recognising the pursuit of excellence. The award is presented to the cadet who demonstrated the best overall level of excellence during training.

Congratulations, my son. We're all proud of you.