Police work is a full contact sport that ensures freedom.

One of the obstacles that is emerging as a major hurtle for law enforcement is the public’s perception that a negative consequence is a directly equated to malfeasance. I was watching the video of the campus police’s response to the protester that ended in his arrest and Tazer’ing. The university has now launched an investigation into the conduct of the officers on scene. The two underlining public sentiments are; that the police used excessive force and that this “student” has his right of free speech revoked.


The second issue first. The biggest destructive force in the maintenance of our freedoms is the lack of civility and civil discourse. A time limit had been imposed for the question and answer section so that the largest number of people could ask questions. However the “student” went over that time demanding answers that were not forthcoming. His conduct revoked the rights of everyone in that room. He prevented other students from being able to address the assembled staff and Senator Kerry and changed the focus from discerning the Senator Kerry’s political positions to ascertaining the response of police to the student’s action. Civil discourse has turned into shouting down sessions with each side claiming victory by screaming mindless slogans. I can not remember the last public display of freedom of speech that involved a positive exchange of ideas from two competing viewpoints. Properly communicated ideas followed by positive listening to the response, that’s freedom of speech. Screaming at your opponent so that he or she can not deliver their view is an attempt to remove their freedom of speech. Every political position has flaws and the best way to identify those flaws is to listen to your opposition and address their concerns. In that way everyone keeps their beneficial freedoms rather than a competition to see who can remove the most freedoms from the proponents of the opposite view.


Second issue, successful police work can lead to negative outcomes. An officer can conduct themselves within departmental guidelines, within the color of law and with excellent decisions and the conduct of the offender necessitates a use of force. What has happened in modern law enforcement is that once force has been applied, the public sentiment does not side with the heroic efforts of the officers but rather with the negative experience of the offender. Very rarely is excessive force used, rather if anything, the officer thinking of the lawsuit taking his home and car reacts much slower to a violent confrontation then he or she should. The increase of on-duty officer deaths, and as a better indication, on-duty injury is support for the supposition. This can be seen in many aspects of law enforcement from increased restrictions in the vehicle pursuit policies due to the deaths cause by the fleeing offender to the lengthening of the use of force continuum due to the injuries suffered by non-compliant suspects. I tell everyone I meet when they give me the classic question, “My (name of friend of relative) did this tiny thing and the officers then did this crazy thing. Were they right?” I always say if he/she had followed the officer’s orders then the officer’s would not have had to use force. If he/she thought the officer’s were operating illegally then follow their orders and address the issues later. Now they have criminal charges to deal with along with the issue that began the confrontation. The bottom line is that criminals/subjects/offenders can not easily be controlled, but we can. Since we will follow the rules and we are found in the same place everyday, the control can be placed on the officer rather than the criminal. It is a short cut that politicians use to show they had done something to improve a negative event.

Concerning this event, what would have happened if the student had pulled away and the officers stood their and did not use force to detain him again. If this student had jumped onto the stage and punched that Senator Kerry in the face, the officers present would have been criticized for not acting swiftly enough. Again, the emphases would not been on the student’s foolish actions but rather on the police again. The public needs to understand that negative actions bring negative consequences and the ramifications of these actions fall solely on the actor. The only other approach would be to stop the officers from taking any action whatsoever until there is voluntary compliance to verbal orders or unless someone is injured. The reason negative actions are restricted is due to the negative affects they have on all of us. That is why the state brings criminal charges to bear on behalf of the individual because the understanding is that we have all suffered together. Police officers want to be mind readers but we are not. If we knew that the minor actions that the offender is committing, is all that they would do, we would step aside and let them just run out of energy. However we act to stop the current conduct in the fear that it will increase in severity. The only means we have to ensure this process is that once we have reached a threshold level of criminal conduct is force and the negative affects that it has.

If this continues and we are totally restricted in our ability to preemptively take action to control the chance of damage or injury then the mental picture should be of the traffic stop where the driver does not want to exit their vehicle. Just have the officer stand there and ask him nicely to exit his vehicle until he does, if that takes a minute or an hour or a day. If you like this, then please do not complain when you are in need and all the officers are busy telling students their question times is up and they need to move along. Please move along, pretty please, pretty please with sugar on top, put the gun down, please put the gun down…

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NWukZhsiBw

Monday Quick Shot

This is the verse that I have been falling back on when times get tough or I feel victimized or alone with my trouble. I use it to try to find some calm, peace and joy despite what is happening to me. I hope it can help you also.

Psalm 73

1A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.
11 They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?"
12 This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.
15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Monday Quick Shot

A number of my fellow officers are considering going to the Kel-Tek .380 as an off duty gun. I have placed its dimensions with the handgun that I currently use as secondary weapon on duty and as an off duty carry. The Glock 27 (40cal). With off duty weapons, size does matter and my Glock is just a little to big to just place into a pocket and go. However Glock is a well crafted weapon with very few misfires and I have had no maintenance problems with it for ten years. Will have to keep tabs on this Kel-Tec.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
GLOCK 27 .40

CALIBER.40
WEIGHT 19.75 oz. LOADED 26.98 oz.
LENGTH 6.29 in.

HEIGHT 4.17 in.
MAG. CAPACITY Standard: 9

WIDTH 1.18 in.
TRIGGER PULL 5.5 lbs.
LINE OF SIGHT 5.67 in.

BARREL LENGTH 3.46 in.

Kel-Tek
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Calibers : .380 AUTO
Weight unloaded lbs. : 8.3 oz.
Loaded magazine : 2.8 oz.
Length : 5.2"
Height : 3.5"
Width : .77"
Capacity :
6 + 1 rounds
Trigger Pull : 5lbs

Monday Quick Shot

I was reading in the paper concerning the Steve Fossett search when I ran into the article that stated that in the attempt to find him the have discovered SIX other crash sites that they previously did not know about. Two things come to mind: first rather than water-boarding to get Abu Ghraib prisoners to confess we should just threaten to take them on a single engine small plane flight in the southwest and secondly there is a new hobby (seriously) using services like Google Earth scan remote areas of the US in search of downed aircraft and the like. Link to the Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/chi-fossett_scharnbergsep17,0,175044.story

Telling Police War Stories

Work Stories

On Christmas Eve I responded to an assist the fire department call at one of our apartment complexes. When I arrived at the complainant’s apartment, I found the Grandmother sitting on top of her eight year old granddaughter in their living room. As I walked up to the Grandmother, she took her hands off her granddaughter’s wrists with the hope that I could calm her granddaughter down. The second that the granddaughter felt the pressure come off her wrists, she balled her fists and struck her grandmother in the stomach twice. I quickly re-secured the little girl’s arms and held them down while her grandmother sat on her legs. My partner then obtained the information needed for my report from the mother and let the fire department into the apartment. The daughter was then strapped down to the stretcher, taken to the hospital, strapped down again to a bed and transferred to a juvenile psychological hospital that could adequately handle a juvenile in the midst of a mental crisis. I spoke to the mother at the hospital, who told me that her daughter has had a mental illness for a number of years. The mother then told me what had happened prior to my arrival. Their family (grandmother, mother, two daughters) had been opening a couple of Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. Her daughter became angry because she did not get to open as many Christmas presents as she desired. She then picked up a long, two-inch wide, red ribbon and walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. She proceeded to tie one end of the ribbon around her neck and the other to the top of a serving table leg. She then knelt down. After a short amount of time, her mother decided to check on her daughter and found the daughter hanging from the table. She immediately ripped her down. The grandmother, upon hearing the screams of the mother, ran into the room and sat on the daughter so that the mother could call 911. I spoke to the daughter at the hospital but it was futile; she would only tell me that I had to cut her loose or she would kill me. Prior to this incident, the youngest person that I had dealt with who had made a legitimate suicide attempt was a twelve-year-old boy. He tried to slit his throat with a steak knife. I had to tackle and restrain him, too.
The day after this incident was Christmas and I left with my wife and two children and drove to my in-law’s home. While on the road, I attempted to tell this story of the night before to my wife. I was told to stop because she did not want to me to ruin her Christmas. When we arrived at the house, I also tried to tell this story to my father-in-law (a thirty year plus Police Officer) and he told me, “Not here, not now, not appropriate”. A short time later my wife found me and told me to knock it off, which resulted in a brief moment of martial discord.
The point to this story is not to tell work war stories to your wife/husband. I have come to understand that this should only be violated if something occurs in which you are having serious trouble dealing with it on an emotional level. There are many reasons for keeping a boundary between your spouse and your work experiences. The reason that I was attempting to relate this story was to tell someone else about a unique experience that I had at work. I was not trying to seek any advice or to air out an issue that I had been struggling with; rather I was just telling what I viewed as an interesting story, with the added perk of being the center of attention. However, rather this being an interesting anecdote, this story would have been received as depressing and troubling for the listeners, which is against the purpose in which I would have told it.
The reasons that these stories have a greater impact on a spouse are both numerous and logical. First, your spouse is a passive participant of the story. The Police Officer received the call, went to the incident location and attempted to the best of his/her ability to rectify the crisis. The person who is listening to this story does not have the ability to actively aid anyone in distress. They hear about the situation but can do nothing to affect any type of solution leaving them only to produce the negative emotions. My Police Department turns over more dispatchers than any other position because of this reason. Our dispatchers man the telephones, hear the problems and send the Police Officers out to respond to the crisis. They however, cannot provide any real direct tangible help. They must be satisfied with the help that their surrogates provide. Your spouse, when subjected to your war story finds himself/herself in a similar position.
Second, it makes the job look much more dangerous and depressing than what it is in reality. We only tell stories that are interesting, exciting (dangerous), grotesque or depressing. You are not going to tell the story about your three routine traffic stops or your two-hour telephone harassment case. What you are going to relate to others is death, violence or poverty (emotional, financial, and physical). I may have only three or four semi-interesting cases a week but if you look at it from my wife’s perspective it seems that I am always doing something harrowing. This increases her worry about my safety while I am at work and yet in reality I am rarely in danger.
Third, it makes your spouse worry about the job’s possible effects on your mental health. I told my suicide story with the simple intention of conveying my experience of dealing with the youngest person that I have encountered that made a legitimate attempt at suicide. The reaction to this story is bewilderment, in that how can one so young hate her life already, to sadness in that evil and pain are ladled out with no regard to age. I am not only not telling the story from that standpoint; I am also not emoting any sympathy or sadness. This leads your wife/husband to wonder if you have lost the ability to care for other people or to understand the proper context of the event. It is not a large jump for them to become concerned that if you do not have an emotional reaction after what you have been through, you could be losing the ability to connect with them on an emotional level. Further, if you have children, your spouse will wonder if you can be concerned with their daily little crises, if you are not concerned by these abominable calls. The bottom line is do not tell war stories or your wife will unnecessarily worry that you will become cold and uncaring to the family. I reacted to that child’s suicide attempt, as any one else would have. I handled the call, did the best that I could to help all those involved and internally processed all the emotions. I told the story only after I had sorted through my feelings and came to a conclusion. By telling that story it made me appear to others as cold and being entertained by other’s misery.
Fourth, it begins to skew your spouses view about the true nature of their environment. Since, you only tell stories that empathize the violent or extreme elements of society, your wife/husband begins to believe that the world is a much more dangerous and harmful place than it really is. I have found that I have to remind my wife that we are actually living in very safe times according to any objective standard. However, when all you tell them are these horrible things, they begin to think (quite logically) that if it could happen in the municipality in which my husband works, it could happen at my home. I was on station during a tour of midnights when my wife called me and told me that she had called Chicago P.D. for the third time in two weeks because she believed that a burglar was in the house. After I told her to stop wasting Chicago’s time, it struck me that I had for the last three weeks been coming home and telling my wife about all the car and home burglaries that I was encountering in my duties on the bicycle patrol. This had caused her to start to believe that this type of crime is much more prevalent in society and thus in our neighborhood than she originally thought. I stopped telling her these stories and the calls to Chicago P.D. stopped with them. Ephesians 5:33 states: 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. I realized I would not wish to hear the stories from my wife if she was a D.C.F.S. social worker assigned to sexual abuse cases any more than my wife should hear my retched Police war stories.
I believe that the best step is to tell your wife/husband each day that everything went well and find a good uplifting story to tell them and leave the “look what I did” stories to be told to your fellow Police Officers. Your work experiences are always best shared with your shift-mates because they have the proper context to deal appropriately with them. Do not unnecessarily burden your family with your exploits.

Authorities to Re-authorize Search and Rescue

Authorities to Re-authorize Search and Rescue

Daily News Wire Services

Article Last Updated: 09/13/2007 06:37:41 AM PDT

Dateline: MINDEN, Nevada.-Sheriff John Shultzerberger has announce that the search and rescue for missing billionaire and adventurer Steve Fossett will begin anew now that it was discovered that the person they pulled out of the Nevada desert is not in fact Steve Fossett as the man claimed but an imposter.

“We were all taken in and now precious hours have been lost” stated a clearly angry Sheriff. When asked why they mistakenly airlifted a 6’02” three hundred pound man claiming to be Fossett out of the parking lot of a Minden Dairy Queen, the Sheriff responded, “He informed my deputies that he had decided to attempt the world record for corndog eating and they believed him.”

Suspicion quickly mounted when the imposter upon arriving at the airport where this tragic event had started, did not immediately take out another single engine airplane into the desert to break Fossett’s previous survival record.

The Sheriff has stated at the press conference announcing the re-commission of the search that his department was looking into filing charges against the Georgian Kudzu salesman.

Meanwhile this paper has been contacted by the Fossett foundation and informed that they will not be seeking to break the current world record of fake Fossett-search news stories and are pleased to leave the current world record at one.

Pray for the Heroes and the Victims that fell that day

No matter what happens or what evil is done. The final judgement and perfect justice are to come.



2 Peter 3:7
By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

Buffalo Bills' Kevin Everett

My prayers go out to Kevin and his family. The most recent news is not positive and they saying that he probably will be paralyzed due to the hit he suffered. (Article) Everett likely to be partially paralyzed

At the end of the game the entire Bills team went back onto the field and held hands in prayer for their fallen teammate.

It is in times of crisis such as this that we all instinctively know who is truly in charge. Money, power, fame all become meaningless. Powerless we petition at the throne of the architect of the universe.

Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

Taurus Home Defense Revolver

The Judge - 4510T

This is a 5-shot revolver that can use .45 long colt, .410 slugs or .410 shotgun shells. In any configeration. This is an excellent home defense gun. Taurus Web Site: http://www.taurususa.com/whatsnew/revolvers.cfm

Please no Parkinson suffering knife throwers

Ok first of all you should be able to conduct your peaceful hobby without the fear of molestation from slack-jawed yokels, white supremacists etc. Secondly, no one should loose a loved one due to the actions and hatred of another.

That said, why would you take up fishing as a hobby when you can not swim? This seems foolish unless you have hired a nice young man to run your baited hook from your rod, held safely in your hands while you sit inside your car, to the lake to fish. Unless this is an extreme sport that I am unfamiliar with it seems like a slightly foolish risk (Can you say shark repellant tester?). Even if you remove the possibility of roaming gangs of “pushy” thugs, any unfortunate calamity would involve drowning (gust of wind, too much beer, dropping the bait bucket). The proper selection of this hobby should involve the distancing from water rather than a friendly hug of aquatic citizens. This pairing of personal skills and hobby is equivalent to a: claustrophobic spelunker, a mountain climber with a fear of heights, a blind stunt pilot, a motion sick NASCAR driver or a diabetic confectioner. Please people think ahead.
-LINK- to the news story http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-drowning06sep06,0,2113541.story

Christian Policing

Respected

The Christian church is one of the last bastions that still harbors respect for Law Enforcement. I have found it (Sadly) incredibility refreshing that when one of my fellow parishioners discovers that I am a Police Officer, they do not treat me with suspicion or attempt to use me to justify their skewed and biased worldview. Strangers and pastors have sought me out for advice and consultation for no other reason than the respect they have for the profession. (I have also learned the hard way that I cannot just shoot my mouth off for the same reason, most of my pain is self-inflicted). I have attempted to remember a seminal personal experience for an antidotal story to support my experience of respect as a Christian Police Officer but every example seemed supercilious, so I will cite some verses and move on. You will experience this positive aspect of Police work for yourself. I am grateful that there still is a place that understands and honors, my commitment to Law Enforcement and our continued mission of helping others and stepping into harms way at our own personal risk for the sake of our citizenry. The world has not only forgotten this but further condemns those in authority. Proverbs 29:2 states: 2When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. 1 Peter 2:13-14 states: 13For the Lord's sake, accept all authority--the king as head of state, 14and the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish all who do wrong and to honor those who do right. 2 Peter 2:10 states: 10He is especially hard on those who follow their own evil, lustful desires and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at the glorious ones without so much as trembling. Romans 13:7 states: 7Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due. 1 Peter 2:17 states: 17Show respect for everyone. Love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God. Show respect for the king.

Guiding Biblical Principle

Romans 13:1-5 (New International Version)

Submission to the Authorities 1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

The Beginning

I have set up this blog in order to explore the meanings of Christian Faith for believers in law enforcement. Plus whatever else strikes me. More content to come in the future.