Confessions of a police officer

[OldCurlyWolf]

Ummmmm. Your near hero-worship support of cops is showing.



Police don't even make the top ten of those who put their lives on the line, as I recall. Pilots, electric linesman, and I believe cab drivers are in the top ten. I think even roofers made the top ten. Imagine that. A guy puts his life on the line so I can be dry. Or, so I can have electric heat.

Edited to add: Here is a link to a page that cites Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2009:

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/the-most-dangerous-jobs-in-america/

Been there done that. Put MY backside on the line. Have also done jobs that are statistically more physically dangerous than being a LEO, but they do not have the mental stress that LE does.

If you don't like my opinion on this subject, TS.

 

[shotcop]

Wtf?

So the argument has come down to who dies more often as a measure of worth? I haven't died yet (been shot,beaten and run over so I AM trying) so I guess I'm not important? Quick question, how many of you got sent out everytime the roofer, electrician, or dude who wanted to off himself died? Or go tell their families?I did. And had to be at the car crashes, shootings, and fist fights to boot. Not that I'm complaining, it's the only job I ever had where I would have paid them to let me do it if they weren't paying me! And death is not the only measure. Every Soldier who's ever been where shots were fired was very much in danger, even if he didn't get hit. So falling off of a roof is tragic but doesn't tell the story of what happens day to day. I have more stitches than Frankenstein, and enough broken bones to write a book about. I hope whether or not my proffession gets respect doesn't depend on dying in greater numbers than other professions.

 

[shotcop]

Letting it go

Although beating a dead horse is more fun than most people realize, I'm dropping out of this discussion. While it's been fun defending my honor and former profession, I grow weary of it. Love the site and OC is my chosen method!

 

[Gunslinger]

So the argument has come down to who dies more often as a measure of worth? I haven't died yet (been shot,beaten and run over so I AM trying) so I guess I'm not important? Quick question, how many of you got sent out everytime the roofer, electrician, or dude who wanted to off himself died? Or go tell their families?I did. And had to be at the car crashes, shootings, and fist fights to boot. Not that I'm complaining, it's the only job I ever had where I would have paid them to let me do it if they weren't paying me! And death is not the only measure. Every Soldier who's ever been where shots were fired was very much in danger, even if he didn't get hit. So falling off of a roof is tragic but doesn't tell the story of what happens day to day. I have more stitches than Frankenstein, and enough broken bones to write a book about. I hope whether or not my proffession gets respect doesn't depend on dying in greater numbers than other professions.

No one is "measuring worth." Merely quantifying the discussion. Being a cop can be a dangerous job. Nobody is questioning that. But no one forces you to choose that profession. And if you want the gratitude of non-cops as your primary reinforcement for your choice, you made the wrong one. That was the issue taken with the original posting of this whiner female cop. It still is. She's not the only one whose life has been on the line--if hers really has, of course. So she can shut up and do her job, or quit. WHOGAS either way. Just my opinion which I think I've made pretty clear.

 

[SavageOne]

Thank you.

I was back nearly 30 years before I had that said to me the first time... It was an emotional moment.

Both you, Mac, and those of us who wore or wear other uniforms, recognize our brothers in arms. To us they are different from everyone else, they are our brothers. Good, bad, indifferent, they are our brothers.

You will support and defend your brothers as I will support and defend mine. That is simply the way things are.

In the military we 'take care of our own.' If they die, we grieve, if they do well we are proud, if they do badly, we correct. We don't turn it over to someone else to handle, we don't turn them out, we own them and their actions, we correct and do penance.

It is difficult to admit when one of your own has 'done bad,' and that seems especially difficult for law enforcement for some reason, but that admission, that ownership of the bad acts and the honest efforts to not let it happen again are worth MUCH more than any and all attempts to explain away, hide from, or disown what happened.

IMHO LEOs need to learn that humility, that honest ownership of the bad acts, in order for them to be corrected. Every time I see excuses, rationalizations, cover-ups, overly involved tales of what ifs and if onlys, I cringe. I cringe because I know it means the problem will not be corrected and it will just happen again.

I'm getting too far off topic here, but let's face it, the root is in ethics and morality - and this "confession" of a police officer is anything but.

Take care.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5JkHBC5lDs

I proudly served my country in the Navy. While I was in one of my shipmates(a female) was raped by another sailor. NIS did everything they could to sweep it under the rug. They transfered the POS who did it, said a confession letter he wrote was "inadmissible" because he didn't have a lawyer when wrote it, and tried to put the responsibility on my shipmate. People watch shows like NCIS and think the military works so hard to protect it's members(remember a thing called Tailhook?). The only ones who "took care" of my shipmate during this horrible time of her life were those of us close to her. The Navy didn't look out for her, her shipmates did. The military like LE is primarily worried about image not policing their ranks. Until the higher ups in both decide to hold it's members responsible for transgressions, damn the fallout, we will never see things change.

 

[SavageOne]

Something I think about when pondering potential LEO encounters:

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

What horrible imagery does she offer to defend denying a citizen their Constitutional Right of self preservation or security of their own person? What frightening story does she offer to excuse the shooting of an unarmed man reaching for his wallet by multiple New York City officers? What terrible flashback moment does she present to explain beating a student in the street after a football game? And finally, what emotional moment does she use to justify the attempted cover up of all these examples and more, and the inexcusable silence of all Law Enforcement officers when things like them happen?

People are only human, and no organization is without "bad apples". It is when the majority, instead of condemning these transgressions, try to defend, deny, or hide them that they are lumped in with true "bad apples".

To those who wish to applaud LE .... good they should be applauded. I am grateful to those who chose this line of work. They are called on to put themselves into the situations I hope to stay out of. If, however, they cross the line of what is right I will also condemn them as loudly as I applaud them. The job is a job, not an excuse.

 

[shotcop]

I proudly served my country in the Navy. While I was in one of my shipmates(a female) was raped by another sailor. NIS did everything they could to sweep it under the rug. They transfered the POS who did it, said a confession letter he wrote was "inadmissible" because he didn't have a lawyer when wrote it, and tried to put the responsibility on my shipmate. People watch shows like NCIS and think the military works so hard to protect it's members(remember a thing called Tailhook?). The only ones who "took care" of my shipmate during this horrible time of her life were those of us close to her. The Navy didn't look out for her, her shipmates did. The military like LE is primarily worried about image not policing their ranks. Until the higher ups in both decide to hold it's members responsible for transgressions, damn the fallout, we will never see things change.

The perp in this one should be punished to the max, period! The Navy also needs to wise up to the fact that chics on ships aint wise. I know this won't be popular but truth rarely is. My own daughter just finished co-ed AIT in the Army where the experiment had the expected results which were beach blanket bingo at its best. An Israeli General said it best ..we took females out of combat arms field units, unlike America..we have to take our wars seriously

 

[SavageOne]

The perp in this one should be punished to the max, period! The Navy also needs to wise up to the fact that chics on ships aint wise. I know this won't be popular but truth rarely is. My own daughter just finished co-ed AIT in the Army where the experiment had the expected results which were beach blanket bingo at its best. An Israeli General said it best ..we took females out of combat arms field units, unlike America..we have to take our wars seriously

I was stationed at a shore facility at the time. I have served on a ship(non-combat) with female Sailors and considered it a privilege and blessing to have made their acquaintance and call them friends. They taught me an important lesson...honor knows no gender.

 

[palerider116]

What horrible imagery does she offer to defend denying a citizen their Constitutional Right of self preservation or security of their own person? What frightening story does she offer to excuse the shooting of an unarmed man reaching for his wallet by multiple New York City officers? What terrible flashback moment does she present to explain beating a student in the street after a football game? And finally, what emotional moment does she use to justify the attempted cover up of all these examples and more, and the inexcusable silence of all Law Enforcement officers when things like them happen?

And if she participated in any of that, she should have to account for those actions. If she did not, then why should she have to defend herself on the actions of others?

I can't speak for another's actions. If I wasn't there, and I didn't do it, how can you expect me to be accountable for it? If you expect a MD LEO to give account for the actions of an AZ LEO, then you are detached from reality.

The ability to reason is in high demand.

 

[palerider116]

No one is "measuring worth." Merely quantifying the discussion. Being a cop can be a dangerous job. Nobody is questioning that. But no one forces you to choose that profession. And if you want the gratitude of non-cops as your primary reinforcement for your choice, you made the wrong one. That was the issue taken with the original posting of this whiner female cop. It still is. She's not the only one whose life has been on the line--if hers really has, of course. So she can shut up and do her job, or quit. WHOGAS either way. Just my opinion which I think I've made pretty clear.

People whine all the time. The peripheral issues have taken over, and the main issue is now muddied.

These threads are always insightful. You can learn a great deal about a person just by listening/reading what they think.

 

[SavageOne]

And if she participated in any of that, she should have to account for those actions. If she did not, then why should she have to defend herself on the actions of others?

I can't speak for another's actions. If I wasn't there, and I didn't do it, how can you expect me to be accountable for it? If you expect a MD LEO to give account for the actions of an AZ LEO, then you are detached from reality.

The ability to reason is in high demand.

And yet so many have no problem DEFENDING actions they were not there to witness. Interesting.

For the record my ability to reason is just fine, as is my ability to spot side ways knock. In the future, feel free to make your snarky remarks straight on, so I can tell you straight on were to stick them.

 

[CenTex]

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.

+ Vietnam vet

 

[palerider116]

And yet so many have no problem DEFENDING actions they were not there to witness. Interesting.

For the record my ability to reason is just fine, as is my ability to spot side ways knock. In the future, feel free to make your snarky remarks straight on, so I can tell you straight on were to stick them.

I haven't defended anyone's actions that I haven't seen with my own eyes. If defending someone from baseless, false, and inflammatory accusations causes offense, then I freely plead guilty. You will continually see me doing that. If there is fault to be found, then let it be known. Truth and justice demands it.

As for the "side ways knock"... If you want to address it, we can do it privately or not at all. No need to make a public scene on an issue.

 

[since9]

And we were Airmen: Aviator, Crew Chief or Cook.

Cook? I never did use the pizza oven, either in the Herk or the Buff. As for Crew Chief, I was only qualified to make entries in the 781As; I was never qualified to actually fix the discrepancy!

 

[Gunslinger]

Cook? I never did use the pizza oven, either in the Herk or the Buff. As for Crew Chief, I was only qualified to make entries in the 781As; I was never qualified to actually fix the discrepancy!

Pizza oven? I never found where they put in in a Phantom. Was probably sitting on it thinking it was my survival raft...but then I never looked under the ejection seat....

 

[since9]

You will find bad LEO's. When you select men to do any job, be prepared to find bad ones, inadequate ones, incompetent ones, corrupt ones, et cetera . Law Enforcement is not composed by an angelic host. Unfortunately, this job done poorly will affect someone's rights, life, or freedom.

The same can be said about members of the military, dentists, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, and carpet installers (to name but a few).

Among other missions, this forum seeks to dispel misconceptions about lawful OC of a firearm.

...

The same standard should apply for any profession or group of individuals.

+1, and many of us here attempt to ensure the actions of a few LEOs don't necrose into general hatred and mistrust for all LEOs. I'm not an LEO, but I work with them on a regular basis, so when I see shotgunned vitriol, I know someone's been cleaning their firearm with something other than Hoppes...

 

[Tomas]

Pizza oven? I never found where they put in in a Phantom. Was probably sitting on it thinking it was my survival raft...but then I never looked under the ejection seat....

I think it was a small shelf that extended just aft of the afterburners... Right above the tail hook. http://tijil.org/pcat/pcat-t01.jpg (Pizzas always tasted of kerosene, though.)

 

[since9]

I think it was a small shelf that extended just aft of the afterburners... Right above the tail hook.

Are you sure it wasn't in the nose cone? I thought it was a microwave oven...

 

[Gunslinger]

Are you sure it wasn't in the nose cone? I thought it was a microwave oven...

If we didn't have the radar in standby when we ran preflight checks it would sterlilize the crew chiefs...but then, enlisted men shouldn't reproduce anyway...:> Very powerful microwave oven before they were invented.

 

[Gunslinger]

I think it was a small shelf that extended just aft of the afterburners... Right above the tail hook. http://tijil.org/pcat/pcat-t01.jpg (Pizzas always tasted of kerosene, though.)

It may have been stuffed in with the drag chute, now that I think of it.

(Nice shot of the Vulcan pod in the Phu Cat photo.)