OpEd – Wellness, Resilience, and PTS
Greetings! Thank you all for taking your time to visit AmericanCop, to read the work of our writers, and to support us. Time is the one thing you can’t get back. So, again, thank you for spending it here. It has been a while since I have written an OpEd piece. But I need to this time around. Starting today and hopefully, over the next few months, you’ll see some articles that might not be [...]
A Profession? Or Entitlement Job?
Part 1. I’ve received several requests to address the seeming growth of an entitlement mentality within law enforcement, which serves to the detriment of the profession as a whole. In fact, as one asserted, this sense of entitlement is almost diametrically opposed to the very definition of professionalism itself. Readers [...]
Rough Men
Iwas taken by the visual power of this ad in American COP Magazine, produced by Tactical Night Vision Company (TNVC, dealers in high-quality night vision and accessories). Former soldiers and police officers, all people who have used these sorts of products in the real world, run TNVC. In short, these [...]
Tokin’ Gestures
There’s a lot of debate about the legalization of marijuana. Of the 20 states that have decriminalized its possession, most of them have done so for “medical use only.” Washington and Colorado are the only states allowing it for recreational use. I recall when it was legalized for medical use in California — I was amazed at the number of college students who suddenly had medical marijuana cards.
Can Something Be Too Good?
Igenerally leave matters of weapons craft to the experts — folks like Clint Smith and others — who share their wisdom and knowledge with readers. However, for some time now, one aspect of officer survival has been bugging me, and as a chief I have the ethical obligation to share [...]
Politically Auto-Correct
In this day it’s amazing anyone can get through the day, let alone a conversation, without saying or doing something to offend someone. It doesn’t matter how innocent the context or how far back into ancient history we have to delve, but I guarantee you I cannot make it through [...]
IT MAY BE LEGAL, BUT …
I’m not an attorney nor am I a legal scholar. I’m also not one who opposes the reasonable, necessary and prudent use of technology to solve crimes. I’ve always found great satisfaction in putting bad guys in bracelets and taking them to jail. However my sixth sense, which has served [...]
How Much Is Just Some?
I used to work a speed enforcement team when I was in Traffic Division. We used to terrorize San Diego, setting up in areas where we had citizen complaints — “Those damn speeders are going to kill someone ...” — and we’d write a basketful of cites. It was pretty [...]
Spending Too Little, Too Late
In the early 1980s, the department I worked for had financial woes. A hiring push got us up to speed with manpower, but left us short of portable radios, beat cars and about every other piece of issued equipment, including body armor. Officer safety equipment was essentially left over from [...]
Make It Realistic
The state in which I live establishes standards for both regular and reserve law enforcement officers and provides one training academy that all full-time peace officers in the state must attend. In terms of training law enforcement personnel other than full-time sworn officers, the specifics are left to the individual [...]
The Goose And The Gander
In celebration of making it to the big 5-0, I’d like to share a few pearls of wisdom about being a part of this machine we call police work. My advice isn’t so much about laws and the consequences for breaking them, or the mechanics of doing the job. My [...]