20 truths

This is from an article from Police One, wish that I were eloquent enough to have come up with this list. Be Safe.






20 undeniable truths of law enforcement

Have faith that your good works are being measured by the “Big Guy upstairs” — and I’m not talking about the Chief



In my career, I’ve discovered a few undeniable truths about law enforcement. Here are 20 of them. Add your own in the comments area below.

1. Chiefs and Sheriffs need to resist the overwhelming temptation to promote their favorite followers ahead of their department’s finest leaders.

2. The “War on Drugs” is a misnomer. It is self-defeating to suggest we are engaged in a war, which can be won or lost. There will neither be surrender aboard a battleship, nor a peace treaty signed by combatants. The truth is there will always be Americans hungry for illicit drugs, giving rise to predators willing to make a buck on these wretched souls. Consequently, police officers must risk their lives in the never-ending task of enforcing drug laws.

3. Police work is a contact sport! All cops need to stay serious about maintaining all of their tactical skills as well as their personal fitness levels. Even though police officers don’t start most fights, they must possess the skills and conditioning to insure they are able to finish them.

4. It is imperative to be constantly alert out there. It doesn’t matter whether you work in New York, New Ulm, are on patrol, or on a lunch break. If you are wearing a badge, trouble will find you and it will not make an appointment.

5. A police officer is where the constitutional rubber meets the road. We insure that this remains a free country by the way we police.

6. You can catch almost as many criminals by being the last cop to leave the area as you can by being the first cop to arrive.

7. On every contact it’s imperative to account for the hands, control the hands, and — as Buck Savage would say — “Watch the hands!”

8. The ability to remember names and faces of suspects is an important survival skill. We deal with many of the same people over and over again. Knowing who someone is and what they’re about — on sight — gives you a strong tactical edge.

9. Once conditions arise that cause you to press the squad car’s accelerator all the way to the floor — such as a pursuit or an emergency request for assistance — you must breathe and consciously engage your brain in the process to reconsider what you are doing. The laws of physics show no mercy and too many officers have paid the ultimate price for violating them.

10. Laughter is emotional aspirin. This is good because cops are hilarious. Cops possess a sense of humor taking a back seat to no other profession. It is good to laugh often and laugh well, but just do it off camera, off the radio, and off-line.

11. There is little justification for trusting anyone on the street. You’ll get burned when you trust suspects. However, treating people with respect pays dividends.

12. The four things that get most officers in trouble in their career are anger, lust, greed, and peer pressure. Career survival depends on keeping all of these under control.

13. There are too many people calling the shots who never worry about being shot at. It would behoove every leader to get into a patrol car on a regular basis. Patrol gives the gift of proper perspective.

14. The best cops develop their cop instincts and then learn to trust them. If something feels wrong, it usually is wrong.

15. Anyone or anything worth searching once, a second search is in order. It pays to be thorough in your searches and then to check your work.

16. There is no better way to end a tough shift than to go home and loudly play with your children or quietly enter their room and watch them sleep. Family can be a cop’s best backup.

17. The recipe for success and survival in law enforcement is to train well, train hard and train often. Then pay attention out there!

18. To enjoy the good things in life you have to survive the bad things in life. Wear your vest and seat belt every shift — regardless of rank or assignment — because you never know when you will need them.

19. Police work is NOT a thankless job. Our thanks is frequently the quiet sigh of relief of a battered woman, or the drying tear on the cheek of a frightened child whose fear dissipates because you’re there.

20. No statistic accurately measures the good a great cop does in their career. The impact of a cop’s good deeds is often not realized by even the officers themselves. Have faith that your good works are being measured by the “Big Guy upstairs” — and I’m not talking about the Chief. Police work is a calling that affords you many opportunities to do good for many.

Here is one more truth I would like to end with. You are making a difference out there every day of your life. So be careful out there, and keep fighting the good fight.

Good post Nathan, it really makes you think. To all of you that read this: Dot your "i's," cross your "t's" and watch the deputy next to you as well as your own six. I used to tell my trainees:

"There are two keys to success: 1) Do your job so that you can go home to your families at the end of your shift; and 2) Have a job to come back to the next day." But I would follow up two keys to failure that WILL result in a member of the administration coming to your house: "1) Lose your life 2) Lose your job. BOTH attributed to complacency."

No matter what the circumstances were in my deal, I failed at one key of success because I succeeded at a key to failure. DO NOT make the same mistakes I did. Since I obviously didn't die, I'll share with with you some things that I learned.

1) DO NOT hesitate to call for assistance no matter how long you have been there. If you have a question or need assistance, call for backup, even if it means tying up another officer. Let the administration think "administratively." Had I not cancelled my backup, I would be returning to the SO after my deployment. Better to ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission when YOU are making the call in the absence of a supervisor on a "routine call." Ironically, RJ was shot after responding to a "routine" call. I lost my job after responding to one.

2) DO NOT expect the outcome to be in your even if you did nothing wrong. To say that "if you did nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about" is a myth. That is why you have to cover yourself beforehand. Also, it does not matter if you have ZERO disciplinary issues. If they are gunning for you it is only a matter of time. I allowed myself to become a big target between Facebook and posting my personal stuff. I should have gotten a clue when people were posting that I was using steroids without any facts. But I became that target, and the 13 years of "atta-boys" and great annual evals. Furthermore, check your reports and have your fellow officers check them. Remember: you have a certain amount of time to get your reports in the system. The admin has an indefinite amount of time to go through your stuff. You may even have an IA investigator who has very creative report writing and "inflate" the case against you. Finally, do not think that just because they retained deputies for the same thing you were alleged to have done, despite mitigating evidence and lack of aggravating evidence, that you are safe. Again cover yourselves.

I'll probably never have the privilege to be a deputy sheriff again, barring some unforeseen event. The hardest part wasn't losing my badge, gun or car. It was how my son cried bitterly after I told him that my career was over and how my wife did the same after the Civil Service Hearing. It was also when several civilians hugged my neck the day I turned in my gear and conducted out-processing; and reluctantly shaking the hand of a certain admin person while I was trying to hold back the tears. I failed my family; not just my wife, son, mother and sisters, but a lot of you.

I've said all I'm going to say. I'm currently in Afghanistan, and looking forward to returning home in the coming months. I don't know what the next page of my civilian life will be. My wife will likely have our daughter before I get home, but that's way it is. Although the CJSTC is not taking my certification, it's kind of like having a driver's license but not being able to finance a car. That is the way it is.

I will say that my years working with many of you was a joy, and I thank you. Watch your six guys and gals.

God Bless,

SGT Robert D. Holster
US Army
Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Correction "But I became that target, and the 13 years of "atta-boys" and great annual evals" meant to say "But I became that target, and the 13 years of "atta-boys" and great annual evals count for nothing" when you a target.

I just don't want anyone to make the same errors I did and end up losing the badge.

2) DO NOT expect the outcome to be in your even if you did nothing wrong. To say that "if you did nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about" is a myth. That is why you have to cover yourself beforehand. Also, it does not matter if you have ZERO disciplinary issues. If they are gunning for you it is only a matter of time. I allowed myself to become a big target between Facebook and posting my personal stuff. I should have gotten a clue when people were posting that I was using steroids without any facts. But I became that target, and the 13 years of "atta-boys" and great annual evals...

Amazing. Me, me, me, me, me... Since you want to make this a YOU post let's get what is now public record out in the open, shall we?

You lied. Then given the opportunity to come clean, you lied again. Then you lied more to cover the lies you already told. The you presented "evidence" to prove your innocence. That "evidence" completely contradicted the lies you already had in place. On top of that you then attacked the credibility of two deputies who completed the task you lied about completing.

You were targeted? They were after you? Here ya go, Robert. Straight from J-003:

(037) Untruthfulness Not in an Official Proceeding: Members shall speak truthfully, and shall not knowingly make false or untrue statements either verbally or in writing unless it is done during the course of an active investigation and the use of the deceit was necessary to ensure the safety of persons or property or to ensure that the investigation was not jeopardized. Nothing contained in this section is intended to circumvent or limit the rights of a law enforcement officer to use deception, in accordance with applicable U.S. Supreme Court decisions, when questioning persons during the course of their duties. (Level Four Violation).

(038) Untruthfulness in an Official Proceeding: Members shall speak truthfully in any official proceeding, including but not limited to, criminal or civil court proceeding, depositions, administrative hearings, and administrative investigations (Level Five Violation)

F. Levels of Discipline: [CFA 11.02]

4. Level Four:
First Occurrence – Three (3) days to fifteen (15) days Suspension
Second Occurrence - ten (10) to thirty (30) days Suspension or Dismissal

5. Level Five:
First Occurrence - fifteen (15) to thirty (30) days Suspension or Dismissal
Second Occurrence – Dismissal

You keep repeating to everyone about your clean disciplinary record. A spotless record would not stand against a level 4 and 5 when untruthfulness is proven and the lies keep flowing. You talk of others who were not fired for similar offenses. The difference? They admitted fault. Have you ever thought that you should have just admitted fault? You would probably still be employed here.

Good luck in your new career, Robert. You can stop blowing smoke now.

Why is anyone whining about this? Give it a couple of years and you can come back and even get a "promotion" when you come back. Just look at the CS situation and their "NEW - REPEAT SGT". Prime example of the Good 'ol boys at work again. RH just hang in there and butter up to the next Sheriff and you be in like flint!!!!!

I'd comment if it wasn't so true.

Except for being a documented liar his only other hang up would be having to testify. Under oath.

Were his pending cases dumped by the State?

In like Flint, for sure.

The new sgt got hit for lying on the stand.......why not reinstate another? Otis step up!!!
,

Robert, best of luck to you buddy and stay safe over there. You have always made the best of a bad sitation and will probably do that now. Screw the rest of the idiots here. They only know from what they here and not from what from what they really know.

Enough of him. This is a follow up to Sgt Hall's post. The Mod will probably have a hissy fit and delete it given his nose being up someone's big nasty butt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_leader

Semper Fi, Carry On