Cops: Schizophrenic Jack of all trades
(I thought I had cross-posted this the other day, but it looks like I didn't.)
Word of another police related shooting hit my box this morning. I read over the post from my friend and my heart went out to the cop. I looked at some of the comments and part of me weeps at all the ‘over reacted’, ‘more training’, etc remarks. It is so easy to say when you haven’t been there.
Long ago, in a different place and time, I went through that training. Let me tell you something, cops have to be a jack-of-all trades.
They need to be able to deal with victims of crime and auto accidents, lost children, and angry citizens with equal grace.
They need to understand enough psychology to talk down someone who is bordering on violence, to stop the fight before it happens.
They need enough sociology to know how and when things could go sideways - and hopefully cut it off.
They need to know enough criminology to know where to look to prevent a crime.
At the same time they need to know where to look for the threat. They have to be ever vigilant against unseen dangers.
They have to be brave enough to run towards the burning car and compassionate enough to support a citizen who just lost a loved one.
They should know enough first aid to render assistance until the paramedics arrive, even when then know it is pointless.
They have to be calm enough to not respond to verbal abuse at a traffic stop, a protest or a domestic.
They have to know how and when to shoot.
And so much more.
They have to face a world that hates them for what they do - enforce the law - yet looks to them for help and protection. The world will call for their blood at the first sign of a mistake, while ignoring the years of good.
A traffic stop is one of the most dangerous things a cop can do. We were told time and again, there is no such thing as a Routine Traffic stop. Treat all stops as if your life was in danger because you do not know what that driver is going to do. Consider the next time you walk alongside a car: do you look in? Can you see everything in the car? Is there a potential threat? These are just a few of the things cops have to think about when approaching a stopped vehicle.
Was the officer right or wrong to shoot? I do not know. I really don’t have enough information. What I do know is that two lives have ended: the driver is dead and the life that the officer had before is shattered.
He was at a traffic stop. The driver told him that he was carrying a weapon. Allegedly the driver made a move to take something from inside a jacket - something that the officer thought looked too big to be a wallet. I know that if I had been in his place, I would have been in fear for my life. The officer made a split-second judgment call that will stay with him until he goes to his final judgment.
What I do know is that cops have to almost be Schizophrenic to do their jobs - balancing kindness and compassion with caution and vigilance. No wonder so many burn out.
[originally posted on https://undomesticatedfeline.wordpress.com Comments can be left here or there.]
Word of another police related shooting hit my box this morning. I read over the post from my friend and my heart went out to the cop. I looked at some of the comments and part of me weeps at all the ‘over reacted’, ‘more training’, etc remarks. It is so easy to say when you haven’t been there.
Long ago, in a different place and time, I went through that training. Let me tell you something, cops have to be a jack-of-all trades.
They need to be able to deal with victims of crime and auto accidents, lost children, and angry citizens with equal grace.
They need to understand enough psychology to talk down someone who is bordering on violence, to stop the fight before it happens.
They need enough sociology to know how and when things could go sideways - and hopefully cut it off.
They need to know enough criminology to know where to look to prevent a crime.
At the same time they need to know where to look for the threat. They have to be ever vigilant against unseen dangers.
They have to be brave enough to run towards the burning car and compassionate enough to support a citizen who just lost a loved one.
They should know enough first aid to render assistance until the paramedics arrive, even when then know it is pointless.
They have to be calm enough to not respond to verbal abuse at a traffic stop, a protest or a domestic.
They have to know how and when to shoot.
And so much more.
They have to face a world that hates them for what they do - enforce the law - yet looks to them for help and protection. The world will call for their blood at the first sign of a mistake, while ignoring the years of good.
A traffic stop is one of the most dangerous things a cop can do. We were told time and again, there is no such thing as a Routine Traffic stop. Treat all stops as if your life was in danger because you do not know what that driver is going to do. Consider the next time you walk alongside a car: do you look in? Can you see everything in the car? Is there a potential threat? These are just a few of the things cops have to think about when approaching a stopped vehicle.
Was the officer right or wrong to shoot? I do not know. I really don’t have enough information. What I do know is that two lives have ended: the driver is dead and the life that the officer had before is shattered.
He was at a traffic stop. The driver told him that he was carrying a weapon. Allegedly the driver made a move to take something from inside a jacket - something that the officer thought looked too big to be a wallet. I know that if I had been in his place, I would have been in fear for my life. The officer made a split-second judgment call that will stay with him until he goes to his final judgment.
What I do know is that cops have to almost be Schizophrenic to do their jobs - balancing kindness and compassion with caution and vigilance. No wonder so many burn out.
[originally posted on https://undomesticatedfeline.wordpress.com Comments can be left here or there.]