FHP - shame on you

After reading some of these posts, those of you who bash your fellow troopers and call them out by name and make allegations that are not true just because you have a personal issue with them - you give your chosen profession a bad image, you are worse than a bunch of school girls. I have been involved with law enforcement for over 20 years and used to think very highly of FHP. I do expect to be "bashed" for this post but it will just prove my point.

I still do think very highly of FHP. They have a few people who are unhappy with their job, but your going to get that anywhere you go. I want to work for them when I get done with college. That is if they're still hiring by then.

My drill instructor insisted that there was 10% in every group that would try to drag the unit down. If you read though the negative posts I think that you will begin to see a pattern to the writing style. It is my guess that a handful of people are responsible for the majority of the negative posts. The sad part it that they either don't realize or, worse, don't care that this forum is public. This isn't private grumbling among troopers. I wouldn't even call it airing dirty laundry in public. It is more like running it up the flagpole. The troopers I know best are confined to a relatively small group. So, according to my Elementary Statistics class, I probably don't have a representative sample of the FHP as a whole but the troopers I know are dedicated and professional. Are they 100% satisfied with everything that goes on in the department? Absolutely not. I think that every one of them has a list of complaints but they don't let those complaints affect their jobs. I would jump in to help any of them without hesitation and know that they would do the same for me. I know some good people on the Sheriff's department and good people in various Police departments and I will admit to a degree of prejudice here but I would be hard pressed to name a finer group of men and women than the troopers I have the privilege of knowing.

So, please don't assume that the whiners, complainers and cyber-bullies encountered here represent anything more than a disgruntled minority. Since anyone can post here, there isn't any guarantee that any of them are even troopers. Some posts calling people out by name might be but most of them could have been written by some sixteen year old whose parents grounded him after getting a ticket for driving while stupid.

My mommy is knocking on my door, I had better go now. :D
Actually, I better go hunt down some nomex underwear before the flames start.

It is my opinion that 75% of the negative writings are from people who are former troopers who left but regret it, applicants who never were hired and from "haters" who just like to stir the pot and have nothing positive or constructive to ever contribute.

The other 25% are from a pool of about 6-8 Troopers who may legitimately hate the Patrol (not bad considering there are 1500+ sworn) but who are too weak to move on. There is no such job that exists that is right for everyone and FHP is no different. They key is knowing when a job/career is not right for you and when to move on. So, for those 6-8 negative Troopers, they can continue to whine and rant on here but the truth is that they are so filled with hate and anger that they probably would not be accepted anywhere else based on their own negative demeanor.

On this Christmas day, I wish the best for everyone:

For those who come here to stir the pot, enjoy and try to be creative to give those of us who don't allow you to get under our skin the ability to laugh and enjoy your tirades.

For those of you who left and miss the Patrol but will never admit it, I hope that you find peace in your new job and have enough fulfillment in life that you can move on and leave the FHP forum to those of us who still proudly drive the tan and black.

If you are one of the huge percentage that applied and were shot down, it is admirable that you tried but accept that you didn't make it for whatever reason. There are many people who would have made great Troopers but didn't get through the process for one reason or another, from poor credit ratings to other aspects in your background. This doesn't make you a bad person and you very well may have been a better Trooper than some of those who were hired but for some reason you just didn't make the cut. Don't live with an angry heart because it won't change what has happened ... just move on and find another career and focus on the positive things in your life.

For those of you 6-8 Troopers who constantly bash the Patrol yet stay employed, I wish that Santa brings you the courage that the lion received in the Wizard of Oz so that you can come out from behind the venom you type at your keyboard and stop hating your wife, ex-wife, children, zone partners, supervisors and everyone else in your life. That courage should help you to look in the mirror and realize that you are the problem not EVERYONE else in your life. The sooner you accept that fact, the sooner you can stand on your own two feet and resign to possibly find a career that makes you happy.

My drill instructor insisted that there was 10% in every group that would try to drag the unit down..

A well-accepted management guideline is that 10% of your people will take up 90% of your time (with counseling, reprimanding, observing, remediating, etc.). The other 90% of your squad/team/section/company will do their job, earn their paycheck, and keep their noses clean.

My drill instructor insisted that there was 10% in every group that would try to drag the unit down..

A well-accepted management guideline is that 10% of your people will take up 90% of your time (with counseling, reprimanding, observing, remediating, etc.). The other 90% of your squad/team/section/company will do their job, earn their paycheck, and keep their noses clean.

Not hard to earn you paycheck I guess when its peanuts compared to the other LEO agencies.

Yeah I hold FHP in high regard too.............

When her husband answered the door to find a pair of Florida Highway Patrol troopers in the early hours of Thursday morning, Christine Simpson said she never questioned the devastating news they came to deliver, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

"Both of them seemed so certain," she said after the two troopers told her that her that her 34-year-old son Andrew was dead.

Except Andrew Simpson wasn't dead, or even involved in a fatal crash the troopers were investigating — according to his mother, he was sleeping at home in his bed. In an apparent case of mistaken identity, the troopers had delivered the heartbreaking news to the wrong mother.


Reached late Thursday, Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said troopers are "looking into how this mix-up occurred, so that this does not happen again."

It all started with a crash on Edgewater Drive near Forest City Road about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators said a pedestrian was struck and killed after running in front of traffic in the northbound lane.

Troopers noted that the victim had been involved previously in an incident with Eatonville police in which Eatonville cops tried to stop a vehicle he was riding in. The connection between the two incidents was not clear.

The pedestrian was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Based on identification that was found on him, troopers said they identified the victim as Andrew Simpson, 34, of Apopka.

His mother said it was about 2:30 a.m. when troopers arrived at her home with the news. "They had a picture of him, but it wasn't from the scene," Christine Simpson said. "I got kind of out of it for a few minutes."

When she and her daughter regained their composure, Simpson said they began calling family. She said troopers told her it would be better to break the news in person, than to deliver it and then ask the distraught relatives to drive.

"We called his fiancée for her to come over, so we could tell her," she said.

Simpson said her son's fiancée replied, "Do I bring Andrew with me?" Not knowing that her son was sleeping in the bed next to her, Simpson said she told the woman she should just come over.

When Simpson tried to break the bad news, Andrew's confused fiancée replied with good news — she had seen him alive and well minutes earlier.

Simpson said she called her son in disbelief. "He sounded sleepy," she said. "But he was alive!"

Still emotional hours later, Simpson said that when she heard her son speak, her prayers were answered. "The first thing I said was, 'Thank you Jesus for another chance,'" she said.

Troopers later identified the victim in the crash as 28-year-old Quintin Mitchell of Apopka.

So you have a body scattered to pieces all over the highway with an ID in their pocket. It's logical that most people would look at the ID and the dead person (who just got ran over by a car) and probably think it was the same person. After all, he did have the other guys ID in his pocket. I'm sure he used it several times and no one else seemed to notice. Don't go pointing blame unless you've done this and have NEVER made a mistake yourself.

This story should be about why this dead guy, who was running from the cops, had someone else's ID. But no, it's a bigger headline that FHP just doesn't care about people and intentionally went and made NOK on someone else.

Haters.

Just one more case that proves FHP should not be handling death cases. How many cases must FHP screw up before someone in Tallahassee gets a clue and prohibits FHP from handling serious cases like deaths?

Just one more case that proves FHP should not be handling death cases. How many cases must FHP screw up before someone in Tallahassee gets a clue and prohibits FHP from handling serious cases like deaths?


I know some city cops and deputies that have been on over ten years that have never made any death notifications in their careers. If you're going to come on here and slam FHP for a mistake, then you better be the Death Notification instructor at the local academy. We make thousands of these each year, so we're bound to have one go south every once in a while. From what the news said, the guy had someone else's ID. And I'm willing to bet he didn't have a tattoo that said "I'm Really Not The Guy On My ID Card".

Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't feel horrible for the family of the not dead guy. That must have been a horrifing experience. But, sometimes stuff happens.

Just one more case that proves FHP should not be handling death cases. How many cases must FHP screw up before someone in Tallahassee gets a clue and prohibits FHP from handling serious cases like deaths?


There is such a high pressure priority to ensure that notifications to next of kin is made, sometimes all procedures are not followed through.


This case appears to be very unique due to a pedestrian being killed, no car to possibly assist with identification and the remains were mangled.

Yes, instead of being pressured to quickly make notifications, we would utilize all resources to confirm ID, that includes if it takes 24 hrs if there seems to be any doubt.

It is my opinion that 75% of the negative writings are from people who are former troopers who left but regret it, applicants who never were hired and from "haters" who just like to stir the pot and have nothing positive or constructive to ever contribute.




You hit the nail on the head (except for the part about troopers regretting leaving).

It is my opinion that 75% of the negative writings are from people who are former troopers who left but regret it, applicants who never were hired and from "haters" who just like to stir the pot and have nothing positive or constructive to ever contribute.




You hit the nail on the head (except for the part about troopers regretting leaving).

You hit the nail on the head (except for the part about troopers regretting leaving).
Nope, he's right all the way. Check with FHP Applications and Recruitement and see how many former troopers have left then tried to get their jobs back. Many DO regret it.

You hit the nail on the head (except for the part about troopers regretting leaving).
Nope, he's right all the way. Check with FHP Applications and Recruitement and see how many former troopers have left then tried to get their jobs back. Many DO regret it.

Only a very small percentage try to come back I believe the number is 4%.

Most are very happy they left.

Considering the working conditions and pay you troopers endure, I am very impressed with how few bad eggs you have. I would expect a lot more. It's a rough organization in terms of job satisfaction, politics, job opportunities and other issues so the professionalism is a lot higher than one would expect. You people get a lot of good work done with what little the big shots give you to work with. There will be a few loud pessimists anywhere you go, that's just life.