Posted on 01/09/2006 8:57:21 PM PST by Philistone
The large majority of my experiences with law enforcement have been positive (including the one time I was a perp [25 odd years ago for a DUI]).
The majority of officers I have met personally have been courteous, friendly, great fun to party with, and generally "good people".
I'm curious, though, what YOU think of your job, your responsibilities and the power that you wield.
Questions for law officers:
Is there a point at which you lose track (or interest) in the idea that "all people are innocent until proven guilty"? [ It must be tough seeing obviously guilty people get off because of "technicalities"]
Do you think (or care) about the consequences of your actions in marginal cases? [Are there times when you just have to do your job even though it seems obvious that nothing you do will help or change the situation?]
What made you go into law enforcement?
"Protect and Serve" is a noble ideal. (Be honest) How much of what you do and why you became an officer involve "protecting and serving" and how much involves "putting bad guys in jail and preferably shooting them first"? Is there a difference?
And before I get ZOTTED, no, I'm not a troll or a DUmmie. I'm just curious about the general sentiments of those who are involved in law enforcment and the reasons that they do a very difficult job for relatively low pay.
It's a job that takes its toll. Relationships crumble under rthe hardship of the daily witness of man's inhumanity to man. Thank you for your service.
ZOTtage is not up to me, to invoke or defer.
I just gave you odds based on long observation.
I am not a policeman, and have no automatic love or hate for them - they are humans: some are exceptionally worthy, some are scum, most are quite median across the board.
Thanks. The use of force is secondary. My question is how do officers deal with the fact that they WANT to use force (and in many cases SHOULD use force) but can't.
I'd become very cynical very quickly (but then I'm not a cop).
Did you ever want to give a perp a swirly?
Did you ever have to pull special duty during the science fair?
MOST of them truly desire to protect and serve. A small minority wish to shoot bad guys (as they see them).
Just trying to figure out if experiences can push one from the majority into the minority.
Those days were the worst.
ah. no.
most humans want to kill the bad guy. most people are alive today because it is illegal to commit murder.
the desire to kill the enemy is natural and human.
this desire is not what makes some cops into scum.
"Sometimes, it was chocolate milk."
Was it the hard stuff - Hershey's Syrup?
How did you ever recover?
...then, after a while, one chocolate milk wasn't enough to give me that sugar high. I needed two, then three, then four... and then, it happened: Milk Bloat.
Straight shots!
The jury is still out.
lol!
I am a retired Air Force Security Policeman who also spent time as a reserve officer for San Bernardino County S.O.(Hesperia Sub Station)in the mid 80's and as a part-time bush officer in the Alaskan Interior:
I joined the Coast Guard at 17 with no clue as to what I wanted to do but get out of my parents house. I spent three years wasting my time in a variety of truly bad coast guard jobs, but I did do a stint as a Shore Patrolman in San Diego in 1982 and really liked it. I could not get a guaranteed land station in the CG as a Shore patrolman, so I transferred to the AF as an SP. After a failed marriage in 1986, a girlfriend got me interested in the Sheriffs reserve program. I loved it!
In Alaska I immediately went to look for work as soon as I was stationed there for the military. After only 5 months, I had 17 DUI arrests, 13 wants/warrants an two weapons/assault busts’ and a perfect conviction rate. The bubble burst when I got called into my military commanders office and the chief of police (My downtown boss) was there, waiting for me.
It turns out a fellow Bush Officer in a town 200 miles away arrested a guy who was drunk and bragging about the "Hit" out on the Air Force guy making all the arrests at Galena. (Me...) My commander ordered me to quit the part time work, confined me to base, and put me behind a desk for four months. With all that free time I really hit the gym hard, got hurt really bad and eventually the injury put me out of police work (It took almost 10 years) and eventually out of the Air Force a little early too. (I could have gone another two years, but my back was killing me!!)
So to make a short story long, I became a cop because of a cute girl and it was fun!
As to your questions:
Most of the time I could pick a bad/guilty guy at ten paces. (I know more than a few great cops that can make a hunch pan out...) If I was sure he was trouble, in Alaska, I could stop him and do a "Severe Weather Check" and make sure he was "safe & OK". Usually I could rattle them enough to make a mistake and detain them for a warrant check. I busted 13 guys this way with outstanding warrants.
I never lied in court but I never answered a question that wasn't asked. Never volunteer anything...
The most marginal case I ever had, I tricked a recently retired Air Force Master Sgt to come on base. I knew he was using as a civilian, but I didn’t have enough to arrest him downtown, (He was still subject to military law for another year, but he had to come on base where we could use a force urinalyses to send him to jail...) Once there, the base commander threatened him until he coughed up the largest drug dealer ever seen at that time in the Alaskan Interior. The warrant was useless because the perp moved the drugs to a shed not covered by the warrant. (A Lot of drugs were confiscated, no arrests stuck)
The guy who gave up the info fled the state when word got around he had talked. I still don't know if he lived or not... Drug dealers have long memories and a longer reach.
At the time it really bothered me, now I look back and know it was the right thing to do. We took a lot of very bad drugs off the street that day.
Most cops will never admit to these little transgressions for fear of a lawsuit or worst. That's why I was a little vague about names and dates...
--When I busted a stone cold druggie for assault, he tried to sue me. The DA dropped the drug charge and the guy got 45 days for trying to gut me like a fish!! ( I could have killed him, but I was off duty and little drunk. Even in my diminished state, I remembered he was Mexican, I am white. He had a knife, I had gun and I would fail a field sobriety test.
I scared him off and came back with 6 officers. We found his apartment and I had him arrested for assault and resisting arrest. Drugs were in plain site also. Once cuffed he resisted again and was carried unconscious to the patrol car.
His lawyer wanted the whole thing dropped because I was drinking. The lawsuit was used as leverage to reduce the sentence. But I was told I could lose big time in civil court.
I never shot anyone. Besides the above, twice I was on duty and could have, but talked them into dropping their weapons. (Fellow officers say I had the gift of gab... or they dropped the gun to shut me up!)
Well whatever you do .. don't google "got milk" .. oh Geez *L*
Were you drinking alone or did you go to the hall monitor bar after work? What about the groupies?
Did you ever bust kids smuggling sugar packets?
There was that one unfortunate incident when HM Zimmerman got hit the eye with a wayward spitball.
Poor guy........he left the force shortly thereafter.
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