“It should be no surprise that officers view the people they initiate contact with with suspicion as well. They have to. Untill the person does demonstrates that they are not a threat to them. The trick is not painting the entire public with one brush...like some freepers do with cops”....It’s exactly that attitude I have been concerned about. You are a trained ‘public servant’, armed, under color of authority. You just admitted that you view the entire public as a threat until proven otherwise. You have forgotten who serves whom. Caution is one thing, suspicion is something else entirely. A citizen has the power of himself for the most part, you on the other hand have the power of an entire government apparatus behind you....who should be displaying caution and who should be suspicious???
I did not say I viewed all people with suspicion...i said those that I INITIATE contact with...which means that I have to pull them over, or stop them for something. At that point, I do a threat assessment of that person. Once I decide that they are not intending me harm, I have no issues with them. I do my business and move on. And maybe you are right...suspicion is probably the wrong word. Caution is probably more accurate. It is very difficult to forget who pays our salary, as we are reminded daily by select members of the public. (humor there) bottom line..there are more good willed cops than bad. Those bad cops are used as demonstrations of how the govt is out of control, this because cops are the most visible and approachable symbols of the govt. They make the job that much harder for those of us who are professionals in the field. My 2 cents