Confessions of a police officer

Something I think about when pondering potential LEO encounters:

http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/132466-confessions-of-a-police-officer?page=1

mahkagari said:

Something I think about when pondering potential LEO encounters:

http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/132466-confessions-of-a-police-officer?page=1

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I suspect EMT's have some pretty bad days. but don't have the power to ruin your day by violating your rights or worse.

True, but EMT's aren't generally shot at or employed to pursue armed criminals.

The two in the picture should learn to salute. Sometimes a cop's life isn't milk and cookies. Too bad. Get another job. If you sign up, you sign up. I remember SEA very well. We lost on average 100 young men a week for 11 years, 52 weeks a year--5000+ men every year for 11 years. Add it up. None of them had a nice day. None of them got off on violating someone's rights because they were 'above the law.' They died with the oath of "defending and protecting the Constitution of the United States" as something they really meant, not something they felt free to ignore to boost their egos. To a far lesser degree in terms of numbers, they still are dying in another shithole on the other side of the world. You want to be a cop? Be one. An honorable, ethical upholder of the oath you took. Then there won't be any "bad cop" stories and you won't be called a pig or worse. Tough job sometimes, but so are a lot of others. And don't tell me about "memorial" walls. There are 57,000 names on the one that matters to me.

to the OP, awesome post. thank you for sharing.

Gunslinger said:

They died with the oath of "defending and protecting the Constitution of the United States" as something they really meant, not something they felt free to ignore to boost their egos.

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I saw a speculation that the reason incidence of "bad cops" is on the rise is that those who would be "good cops" are serving in the military. Someone pointed out about Denver specifically, Denver doesn't treat its cops well so the good ones leave for other agencies and the ones left are the ones not hirable anywhere else.

Nothing excuses a bad cop. Nothing excuses a bad soldier. But before I call ANYONE either, I'm going to consider the **** they have to deal with in "another day at the office" under fire.

mahkagari said:

True, but EMT's aren't generally shot at or employed to pursue armed criminals.

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Do you know of police that are frequently shot at? Around here, they send a SWAT team for a document search. Seriously. Fairfax County Virginia routinely sends SWAT on all search warrants, including day care occupancy investigations. Maryland SWAT is dispatched an average of 4.6 times a day, with one true hostage situation [Discovery Channel] taking place in recent history.

Nationwide, 45 police officers have died of gunshot related wounds as of 10-05-10.
Of the police killed by gun fire, there were some killed by friendly fire:
NEW YORK — A plainclothes policeman who drew his gun while chasing someone he had found rummaging through his car was shot and killed by a fellow officer who was driving by and saw the pursuit, the police commissioner said.

Nationwide, 59 police officers have died from traffic related accidents as of 10-05-10.

Of the police officers killed from traffic related accidents, a Pennsylvania State Police corporal who died in a wrong-way crash on the Schuylkill Expressway had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal threshold for intoxication at the time of the crash.

Police officers in the United States have the highest rate of alcoholism and spousal abuse than any other occupation.

This past Sunday, October 3, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation held the
2010 National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service Honors. They memorialized 105 Fallen Firefighters.

Its a hard job. So is being a high voltage power line repairman. I haven't encountered many linemen assaulting customers or abusing their authority. You want to know drama? Go up in a aerial lift bucket about 40 foot in a driving rain and sleet storm in the dark to mess with thousands of volts of electricity. See if they have a parade for you when you fix the problem, or send units from a six state area when one of your co-workers gets zapped to a crisp. See if the citizens will be understanding if you beat a pregnant women because you are frustrated, had a hard day.

mahkagari said:

I saw a speculation that the reason incidence of "bad cops" is on the rise is that those who would be "good cops" are serving in the military. Someone pointed out about Denver specifically, Denver doesn't treat its cops well so the good ones leave for other agencies and the ones left are the ones not hirable anywhere else.

Nothing excuses a bad cop. Nothing excuses a bad soldier. But before I call ANYONE either, I'm going to consider the **** they have to deal with in "another day at the office" under fire.

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Interesting notion. I wonder how many good or bad cops as a percentage are former military. That would be an interesting statistic. And a telling one either way.
A cop having a bad day and acting like a butthead is not a "bad" cop so long as he still performs his duties in an honorable way. And I readily acknowledge they deal with the scum of society often enough to affect anyone to one degree or another. I wouldn't be the kind of cop that a child molester would want questioning him. But, with higher granted power comes higher responsibility and actions to a higher standard. If that can't be accepted by the individual, they are in the wrong job. And they need to be separated from it one way or another for everyone's well being.

Gunslinger said:

I remember SEA very well. We lost on average 100 young men a week for 11 years, 52 weeks a year--5000+ men every year for 11 years. Add it up. None of them had a nice day. None of them got off on violating someone's rights because they were 'above the law.' They died with the oath of "defending and protecting the Constitution of the United States" as something they really meant, not something they felt free to ignore to boost their egos.
. . .
And don't tell me about "memorial" walls. There are 57,000 names on the one that matters to me.

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And there should probably be more. I suspect the number we lost after we came back home, lost to the things that happened to them in SEA, was nearly as high as those who never made it home. The suicide rate, drug deaths, and homelessness due to an inability to cope any more among returnees was fierce.

Even those who survived had their lives forever changed in many ways, and lost something of themselves in SEA.

At the very least, we left our innocence there.

Sorry, Gunslinger, you pushed one of my buttons. I'll just end by saying I agree.

mahkagari said:

Something I think about when pondering potential LEO encounters:

http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/132466-confessions-of-a-police-officer?page=1

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Hm. I liked that story.

That isn't a confession. That is a public-relations rebuttal.

A real confession would explain why:

• she doesn't do something effective about the Blue Wall of Silence, or why she didn't do it sooner.
• she didn't slap down hard the rookie who pushed too hard during a consensual encounter.
• she demanded to see ID from a suspect when she had no lawful authority for the demand.
• she stopped someone for a burned out tail light or similar trivial issue, and then went on a fishing expedition, wasting a citizen's time
• drove fast, or made strong starts in a powerful car unnecessarily when taxpayers have to pay upwards of three dollars a gallon for the gas she was wasting.
• etc.

Something like that would be a confession. Not this smaltzy mess that gives justifications. The mere presence of the justifications proves its not a confession.

Gunslinger said:

I remember SEA very well. We lost on average 100 young men a week for 11 years, 52 weeks a year--5000+ men every year for 11 years. Add it up. None of them had a nice day. None of them got off on violating someone's rights because they were 'above the law.' They died with the oath of "defending and protecting the Constitution of the United States" as something they really meant, not something they felt free to ignore to boost their egos.

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That's a remarkably rosy bit of history revision.

You probably really meant and believed in "defending and protecting the Constitution of the United States" just like a lot of LEOs do. I take you at your word.

Like a lot of LEO's, you probably think the best out of most of the men you served with.

However, some of the men that fought and died in Vietnam didn't volunteer. Some of them were drafted, some of them were voluntold to avoid jail, and some of them were likely not the best our society had to offer.

Folks interested in history often make angels out of their compatriots and demonize groups they don't like.

It usually pisses off non-thinkers in both groups to have that called upon.

LEO's - like soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines - are people.

maclean said:

SNIP - like soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines - are people.

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That's Marines with a capital "M" to you, buster.

Citizen said:

That's Marines with a capital "M" to you, buster.

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I repaired it, sir.

I'm not Gunslinger but...

Mac, not all the services had conscription troops (draftees) as some only took volunteers, and screened them fairly well.

Maybe I was lucky in being in an all volunteer unit with a bunch of folks who had clearances to even be allowed to train for the group. My guys weren't dragged into the service kicking and screaming, they weren't there to keep from going to jail, and yet I still lost 'em. They bled and died same as the draftees.

I do paint my guys with a different and rosier palette than you possibly paint them, Mac, but personally I will trust the colors I use more than I trust yours - I was there, I lived it.

For some of us it is not just history.

Citizen said:

That isn't a confession. That is a public-relations rebuttal.

A real confession would explain why:

• she doesn't do something effective about the Blue Wall of Silence, or why she didn't do it sooner.
• she didn't slap down hard the rookie who pushed too hard during a consensual encounter.
• she demanded to see ID from a suspect when she had no lawful authority for the demand.
• she stopped someone for a burned out tail light or similar trivial issue, and then went on a fishing expedition, wasting a citizen's time
• drove fast, or made strong starts in a powerful car unnecessarily when taxpayers have to pay upwards of three dollars a gallon for the gas she was wasting.
• etc.

Something like that would be a confession. Not this smaltzy mess that gives justifications. The mere presence of the justifications proves its not a confession.

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+1

It was an interesting read, and worth remembering-but in no way was it a confession of any kind.

Tomas said:

Mac, not all the services had conscription troops (draftees) as some only took volunteers, and screened them fairly well.

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Correct, only just under 40% of infantry forces in Vietnam were draftees, and nothing about being drafted means anyone is less of a good soldier.

Tomas said:

Maybe I was lucky in being in an all volunteer unit with a bunch of folks who had clearances to even be allowed to train for the group. My guys weren't dragged into the service kicking and screaming, they weren't there to keep from going to jail, and yet I still lost 'em. They bled and died same as the draftees.

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My point was that everyone bleeds and dies in uniforms - we can't say with a blanket statement that any one group is flawless. History - real facts - tell us that there were misfits in southeast Asia just like there are misfits among LEOs and among people serving today.

I've met them in both uniforms as a military police officer and civilian LEO.

Tomas said:

For some of us it is not just history.

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For a lot of people who served it isn't just history. It isn't history for me - in either uniform - and still I recognize people in both of those uniforms have flaws.

It seems that folks love to rag on LEO's, but god forbid anyone point out a flaw in someone in the other uniforms or hell descends.

I don't think anyone is above reproach.

By the way, thank you for your service.

maclean said:

That's a remarkably rosy bit of history revision.

You probably really meant and believed in "defending and protecting the Constitution of the United States" just like a lot of LEOs do. I take you at your word.

Like a lot of LEO's, you probably think the best out of most of the men you served with.

However, some of the men that fought and died in Vietnam didn't volunteer. Some of them were drafted, some of them were voluntold to avoid jail, and some of them were likely not the best our society had to offer.

Folks interested in history often make angels out of their compatriots and demonize groups they don't like.

It usually pisses off non-thinkers in both groups to have that called upon.

LEO's - like soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines - are people.

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"History revision"? As I was there and you weren't, your opinion has limited value. Most were probably draftees; many volunteers would have greatly preferred to not be there, myself included. But we all were. We didn't get a note from a shrink, claim we were homosexual or crawl on our bellies to Canada. And those whose names are on the wall call to mind Henry V: "for any man who sheds his blood with me this day shall be my brother, be he ne're so vile, this day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen now abed in England shall think themselves accursed, and hold their manhoods cheap that they were not there, whilst any speaks who fought with us on Crispan's day." What part of the quote applies to you? I don't recall anyone saying cops weren't people. And in fact I've spoken in fair balance of cops who do the job with honor and integrity on this thread. Even allowed for a decent cop having a bad day, but still being a decent cop. But when it comes to the Wall, it doesn't matter how the name got there, or how "vile" he was before. WE all gave some; he gave all.

Gunslinger said:

But when it comes to the Wall, it doesn't matter how the name got there, or how "vile" he was before.

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Do you apply that logic to this wall, too?

Gunslinger said:

What part of the quote applies to you?

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I wasn't alive for that one Mr. Gunslinger, just like my sons weren't alive for mine.

maclean said:

Do you apply that logic to this wall, too?

I wasn't alive for that one Mr. Gunslinger, just like my sons weren't alive for mine.

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While the quote is most closely associated with Vietnam, "Band of Brothers" WWII TV show notwithstanding, it applies to any men who served in actual combat. As I recall, I thanked you for your service in another thread, as well.
Sorry, can't pull up your image on this computer. If it is, as I suspect, a Police memorial to those who died in the line of duty, it will have much more meaning to you than to me. Just as the Wall means much more to me. That being said, we have lost several officers over the past few years here in COS. They died doing their sworn duty, and I respect that and mourn their deaths. They seemed like fine young men. That's one reason I contribute to slain officers' funds. Just like I do to numerous Veterans groups. I don't "hate" cops. I hate those who would trample our rights, and that is most certainly not exclusive to LEOs. Look at the boob in the whitehouse and his pos "Attorney" general for starters.