What do you have to say for yourself now? ; )
Posted on 08/12/2005 11:28:26 AM PDT by AdamSelene235
The department was all astir, there was a lot of laughing and joking due to all the new officers, myself included, hitting the streets today for the first time. After months of seemingly endless amounts of classes, paperwork, and lectures we were finally done with the Police Academy and ready to join the ranks of our department.
All you could see were rows of cadets with huge smiles and polished badges. As we sat in the briefing room, we could barely sit still anxiously awaiting our turn to be introduced and given our beat assignment or, for the lay person, our own portion of the city to "serve and protect."
It was then that he walked in. A statue of a man - 6 foot 3 and 230 pounds of solid muscle, he had black hair with highlights of gray and steely eyes that make you feel nervous even when he wasn't looking at you. He had a reputation for being the biggest and the smartest officer to ever work our fair city. He had been on the department for longer than anyone could remember and those years of service had made him into somewhat of a legend.
The new guys, or "rookies" as he called us, both respected and feared him. When he spoke even, the most seasoned officers paid attention. It was almost a priviledge when one the rookies got to be around when he would tell one of his police stories about the old days. But we knew our place and never interrupted for fear of being shooed away. He was respected and revered by all who knew him.
After my first year on the department I still had never heard or saw him speak to any of the rookies for any length of time. When he did speak to them all he would say was, "So, you want to be a policeman do you hero?" I'll tell you what, when you can tell me what they taste like, then you can call yourself a real policeman."
This particular phrase I had heard dozens of times. Me and my buddies all had bets about "what they taste like" actually referred to. Some believed it referred to the taste of your own blood after a hard fight. Others thought it referred to the taste of sweat after a long day's work. Being on the department for a year, I thought I knew just about everyone and everything.
So one afternoon, I mustered up the courage and walked up to him. When he looked down at me, I said "You know, I think I've paid my dues. I've been in plenty of fights, made dozens of arrests, and sweated my butt off just like everyone else. So what does that little saying of yours mean anyway?" With that, he merely stated, "Well, seeing as how you've said and done it all, you tell me what it means, hero." When I had no answer, he shook his head and snickered, "rookies," and walked away.
The next evening was to be the worst one to date. The night started out slow, but as the evening wore on, the calls became more frequent and dangerous. I made several small arrests and then had a real knock down drag out fight. However, I was able to make the arrest without hurting the suspect or myself. After that, I was looking forward to just letting the shift wind down and getting home to my wife and daughter.
I had just glanced at my watch and it was 11:55, five more minutes and I would be on my way to the house. I don't know if it was fatigue or just my imagination, but as I drove down one of the streets on my beat, I thought I saw my daughter standing on someone else's porch. I looked again but it was not my daughter as I had first thought but merely a small child about her age. She was probably only six or seven years old and dressed in an oversized shirt that hung to her feet. She was clutching an old rag doll in her arms that looked older than me.
I immediately stopped my patrol car to see what she was doing outside her house at such an hour by herself. When I approached, there seemed to be a sigh of relief on her face. I had to laugh to myself, thinking she sees the hero policeman come to save the day. I knelt at her side and asked what she was doing outside.
She said "My mommy and daddy just had a really big fight and now mommy won't wake up." My mind was reeling. Now what do I do? I instantly called for backup and ran to the nearest window. As I looked inside I saw a man standing over a lady with his hands covered in blood, her blood. I kicked open the door, pushed the man aside and checked for a pulse, but unable to find one. I immediately cuffed the man and began doing CPR on the lady.
It was then I heard a small voice from behind me, "Mr. Policeman, please make my mommy wake up." I continued to perform CPR until my backup and medics arrived but they said it was too late. She was dead. I then looked at the man. He said, "I don't know what happened. She was yelling at me to stop drinking and go get a job and I had just had enough. I just shoved her so she would leave me alone and she fell and hit her head." As I walked the man out to the car in handcuffs, I again saw that little girl. In the five minutes that has passed, I went from hero to monster. Not only was I unable to wake up her mommy, but now I was taking daddy away too.
Before I left the scene, I thought I would talk to the little girl. To say what, I don't know. Maybe just to tell her I was sorry about her mommy and daddy. But as I approached, she turned away and I knew it was useless and I would probably make it worse.
As I sat in the locker room at the station, I kept replaying the whole thing in my mind. Maybe if I would have been faster or done something different, just maybe that little girl would still have her mother. And even though it may sound selfish, I would still be the hero.
It was then that I felt a large hand on my shoulder. I heard that all too familiar question again, "Well, hero, what do they taste like?"
But before I could get mad or shout some sarcastic remark, I realized that all the pent up emotions had flooded the surface and there was a steady stream of tears cascading down my face. It was at that moment that I realized what the answer to his question was.
Tears.
With that, he began to walk away, but he stopped. "You know, there was nothing you could have done differently," he said. "Sometimes you can do everything right and still the outcome is the same. You may not be the hero you once thought you were, but now you ARE a police officer."
Rick Monticello of Somersdale PD, New Jersey
My first DUI, last month lol, 21 y.o. and 3 months, rear ends city vehicle at midnight while searching for cell phone. Blew a .192 and a .182. Good news was she was nice and cooperative and she had the good manners to hit a city vehicle that possessed the city supervisor in it so I didn't have to call her out to the scene.
The last one I did before my BAC expired (LOL) was kind of funny. I had this young girl in the back of the car after she miserably failed FST's and she was crying and sobbing like a baby. She was very afraid to get locked up. How we got through the BAC I'll never know but she was in a bad way the whole time.
Words don't give it justice but I finally managed to calm her down on the way to jail and she tells me thanks. Turns out she was very afraid of jail and never been atrested and was afraid she'd be raped or beat up by an inmate. Basically I told her that was nonsense and it was very rare. The jail staff was very professional and helpful if you cooperate yada yada...
Well the door to the booking area opens from the elevator and about for corrections guys are pounding and riding on this rather large tatooed dude who's fighting back rather well right there in front of the door. Well that was enough for my arrestee to go back to square one. It was quite a sight with the fight and everything
What do you have to say for yourself now? ; )
ROFL! Not fair. That looks like a bunch of Rachael Corrie wannabes. They just walk into that kind of stuff 8>)
Sorry. I tried to find a photo of somebody respectable looking getting beat up by cops, but I couldn't find a single one. What's up with that? Are you guys prejudiced against ugly creepy looking people?
Only the ones whose actions are creepy and ugly.
Tell you what, on a serious note, it's hard to become unassuming in LE. There are some folks living on the street who most anyone would dismiss as trash that I would trust with my life. On the other hand, there some "officers" I know I couldn't trust to watch my car for the weekend.
Of course if you just arbitrarily pick on weird looking folks they might be under cover narcs 8>)
That gal in middle who is smiling, is having way too much fun. Gonna be hard to prove brutality there. OTH looking at blue hat commie gal, she needs to be pounded for ugly in public and dissin' on Old Glory for whatever Bush's Fault whine of the week she spouting off about. Hows that?
Who can blame her? Look what she's pressed against.
She's been turned to the forces of good. There may be a double entendre there.
If there's an LE list, haven't been there or done that but pinging along.
We have to realize that for every ass-hole wearing a badge, there are probably hundreds of policemen just like Rick...
...who look the other way when the asshole abuses his power or the rights of individuals.
I think you have your ratio reversed
You're point is well taken, but I would take one exception. I think it's the guys NOT like Rick who put up with them. Quite a few guys like Rick will roll over on a bad cop in a minute. I've been on the witness stand myself to testify against a dirty cop (he was lawyered up and the jury acquitted him, but at least he stayed fired).
On the other hand, I had a friend join Chicago PD. He left within 8 months saying he couldn't abide by what he saw. Told me IAD wanted him to go undercover but figured either he or his family would end up dead. That was his story, of course, but it's consistent with what I've heard elsewhere.
I'm on alot of lists...(most of them don't involve me getting any Christmas presents)
I guess being added to an LEO list would be fine by me.
19 years 7 months down... 5 years to go.
I would have to agree with you based on my own personal experience.
I was trying to be generous.
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