Jan 4, 2008

Britney Spears…Pay To Play, Baby

Posted by philosophicalcop under police | Tags: , , |
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I know there are over a billion (okay, close to that) posts about Britney’s new mess on the web.  I hope I can bring the cop perspective to this disaster.  Watch the video here of our little rock star being forced to the hospital because she can’t stay sober, take care of her kids, or listen to her lawyers.

I have always believed, and will always maintain, that when a celebrity acts like this and ties up large numbers fire and police professionals, they should pay for their night of adventure.  In places like New York and Los Angeles, have you noticed (more…)

 

Nov 4, 2007

9-1-1 Dispatchers; I Wouldn’t Do Their Job

Posted by philosophicalcop under 9/11, cop, police | Tags: , , , |
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It’s true.  Not for twice my salary.  Throughout my career I have found two groups of individuals who have thankless, low-paying, difficult, and absolutely critical jobs.  The first are 9-1-1 dispatchers.  Think about this; they have to deal with all the idiocy that is my job, and yet they have no recourse.  No arrests, no pepper spray, no “driving away” because this moron won’t shut up.  They just get to listen.  And to boot, it is all on tape for later evaluation.  Brutal.

So I was pleased by this post on the outstanding 5150 world blog.  I have it listed on my sidebar, and recommend you check it out.  This post about the wildfires really hit home. (more…)

 

Oct 28, 2007

The British Love Police Blogs

Posted by philosophicalcop under police | Tags: , , , |
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The British public is simply enamored with police blogs.  I have a few listed on my blogroll to the right.  Being the natural investigator that I am, I started reading them.  It turns out the reason is quite simple:

Their blogs are outstanding!  Cop Blogs fall into one of two categories.  A few are “official,” such as this LAPD blog and this one by the Chicago Police.  The rest are “unofficial.”  That is usually a nice way of saying that they exist to bitch and moan about their jobs.  Believe me, if police officers didn’t have something to complain about, we would complain about that. 

The problem in this country has been that police management is often so overbearing that the author knows their career is in danger if they speak up (this New York cop lost his job.)  Hence my efforts to remain anonymous.

Anyhow, I found this outstanding British blog.  It gets thousands of hits, and it is easy to see why.  The British service is a bit different than ours, however to some degree cops are cops.  I spoke to a few civilians who agreed that the key to a police blog is that it should open the window to a world the reader doesn’t completely understand.  Many people are interested or fascinated with police work, but few ever get to hear the real deal.  I commend inspector gadget for making this possible for his British public.

I hope as the Philosophical Cop develops, I can offer you the type of access that the Inspector’s readers enjoy.

 

Oct 23, 2007

Probably Should Have Listened

Posted by philosophicalcop under arrest, cop, drugs and alcohol, police, use of force | Tags: , , , , |
[3] Comments 

One of my pet peeves has always been the genius who refuses to listen to a uniformed officer giving a simple, lawful, and clear order (see this post for an example.)

Without judging the specific tactics, I think my point is well made in the video below.  That drunk should have listened. 

 

Oct 22, 2007

Don’t Mondays Suck?

Posted by philosophicalcop under cop, criminal, police, police officer | Tags: , , , |
1 Comment 

Police work is a 24/7 business.  That comes with some good and some bad.  On the negative side, I frequently have to work weekends, holidays, nights, etc.  The trade off has been that I more or less avoid “Monday Syndrome.”  After all, as any psychologist worth their weight knows, it is the end of the weekend that kills you.  I never have a weekend, so… you get the picture.

Until today.  My partner’s weekend just happened to coincide with the “real” one, so we both jaunted off to work early Monday morning.  I made it there just fine.  My partner, on the other hand…

pd-accident.jpg

No one hurt, by the way; just an ego slap.  Have a good week. 

 

Oct 19, 2007

Drunk Cops?

Posted by philosophicalcop under cop, drugs and alcohol, police officer, police patrol | Tags: , , , , , , , |
[11] Comments 

I have to admit that sometimes I just don’t get it.  I have spent over ten years squarely on the “cop side” of most every dispute.  When the union wants to pressure the management, I have their back.  When the city offers a terrible contract, I write letters.  I am, pardon the cliche, a cop’s cop.

But I have to call B.S. when I see it.  The Associated Press is reporting in this article that the New York City police union is suing to prevent mandatory alcohol breath testing after an officer fires their weapon.  The union representative apparently sees no reason to subject his constituents to, “the humiliation and psychological trauma” of a mandatory breath test.

What?

I have probably administered 500 of those things and I assure you the humiliation and trauma is no more than that experienced when blowing up a balloon.  Arguably less, since balloons make you look so silly.  I simply cannot fathom why a police officer who just shot or shot at someone would want to hide their sobriety status.  (more…)

 

Oct 5, 2007

You Have The Right To Bite

Posted by philosophicalcop under arrest, cop, crime, police, police officer, race, racial profiling, use of force | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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I certainly hope I am wrong, but I think we might be looking at the next “incident” in police work coming to us soon from Florida. See this article and video for the details, but in summary, here is what happened:

A young girl was being arrested for stealing things. That is because stealing is wrong. Then she resisted lawful efforts to handcuff her. That is wrong, too. Then she bit the police officer. Still wrong. Eventually the police officer grew tired of all this malarkey and punched the suspect once, pepper sprayed and arrested her. That is allowed.

The cop did right, the suspect did wrong. So that’s the end of this post, right?

Not so fast.

You see, there is a problem in this video; one that is clear as day, but many of you might have missed it. In this video, the cop is white and the suspect is not. That will make this arrest an “issue.” It shouldn’t, but it will. Note the interview in the news video. She is concerned that the cop did not explain what he was doing, and that he did not read the girl her rights. What? Her rights? Should he have done that before or after the bite? (more…)

 

Sep 29, 2007

Freeze, Police!

Posted by philosophicalcop under arrest, cop, crime, police, police officer | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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It never ceases to amaze me. From time to time I stand at a critical or dangerous incident and think, “what on earth are you thinking?” I started this as a young patrol officer when suspects would continue to fight with 3, 4, or 5 police officers who were subduing them. Sometimes I would say out-loud, “Dude, do you think you can actually win this…knock it off!” Of course that was generally ineffective.

Anyhow, last shift the officers who work for me had to arrest a guy for beating up his wife. Nothing too serious on the injuries, but he was going to jail for certain. Who is there to arrest him? Count with me here, folks: three armed police officers (guns drawn), one police sergeant, one police canine (sounding quite hungry) and the Philosophical Cop.

(more…)

 

Sep 25, 2007

This Cop’s Observations

Posted by philosophicalcop under cop, kids, my observations, police, police officer | Tags: , , , , , , |
1 Comment 

As much as I fancy myself a philosopher, I am frequently reminded that what really excites me is being a cop.

Since my own blog description predicts I will be talking about my “…decade of policing,” I have decided to post (almost) daily the observations that stick to the fly paper in my head. Many will be from last night’s shift; others might be from years ago. I hope you find they continue to change the way we each look at policing. That remains my global mission. Here goes.

My First Observation: Over 10 Years Ago…

One of the first things I ever remember considering “as a cop” was how kids looked at me. I love kids, so I always looked and cooed and smiled. Before I was a cop, and to this day if I am out of uniform, they would generally look back, cry, or do nothing at all.

When I try this in uniform, kids light up. They giggle, laugh, and point. How cool is that? For years I have been carrying little stickers and badges and toy police cars for the occasion. Nothing makes my day like, “MOMMY! The police man gave me a real badge. LOOK M-O-M-M-Y!”

Sadly, after about 17 years, the smiles turn into middle fingers, and the chants are somewhat less — umm — adorable. Sigh.

But hey, smile at that uniform, little ones…you might just be staring down the philosophical cop.