LEO/Civilian understanding

[Rich Parsons]

Pressing Charges. In general, police can make an arrest when a petty offense (violation) occurs in their presence, or if he has probable cause to believe that a crime (misdemeanor or felony) has been commited in his presence or otherwise. In domestic situations, we are mandated to make arrests in certain situations. If we dont believe that we have enough to make an arrest, or the subject has left the scene and immediate arrest isnt feasable, many times we take a report and refer the complaintant to the detective bureau for further investigation and possibly a warrant.

Tom,

In my case the ex and her boyfriend were present.

In other cases when the people left, and all the had was my word about a license plate, I understood.


I did have one incident where a fire person was bouncing a ball off od my car. I asked them to stop. When the police arrived, tehy said not crime had been commited in there presence and as she was a fire person and her boy friend was a LEO as well, they told me to just ignore it. I then asked what would it take to get charges or documentation. The officer said a felont committed in his presence. I then came off the porch after him. Lucklily I had two firends tackle me. At this time the officer, knew how mad I was. And then went and finally explained to the otehr two who had flashed their badges, that he did not want to be called back. That is all I asked for in the first place. Was for it to stop.

Now, I have also assited LEO's in need while they were being tackled. I asked "Do you need help" YES!, I would jump in and help to hold and contain the person. Many times just long enough for him to call for back up. When Back up arrived, I always stopped my rollig around with the bad guy and just curled up into the fetal position and staid there until the told me to move.j I was not a threat to teh new officers. They left me alone.

It is not a job for everyone. Unfortunatly some bad apples ruin it for the image of the majority.

With :asian: Repsect

 

[Tgace]

One thing regarding LEO/Civilian interaction that people dont think about is plain-old general demeanor. Granted, at calls peoples emotions are high but I look at a lot of factors when determining a course of action and they all have their influences. Ill give you a for instance...

I was at a local department store (uniformed off-duty security) when a man approached me and said he had been assualted (it was really a harassment, but I digress) in the checkout line. A store manager said she had witnessed the altercation and that while it started out as a mutual arguement, the other guy pushed first and threw the only punch. I found the other guy in customer service and called him over. Right away he was belligerent and argumentative with me. To make a long story short he tried to blow me off and walk away. I grabbed his arm, a short struggle ensued and he was arrested. The point of this story is... I had a victim who wanted to press charges and a witness, all I need to make an arrest in a case like this. However, if the "other guy" had been civil and told me a different story (that could have been verified or at least not disproved by the witness) "maybe" I would have just filed a report and told the victim to apply for a warrant. The attitude, demeanor and "tough guy" swagger just confirmed (to me) the victims story and sealed the deal for the subject.

 

[8253]

I think the main problem is that most people dont understand the stresses of things that LEO's do. For instance, there are a couple of references to self defense that i have seen. When a person is forced to defend theirself it is self defense, but if a LEO is hit, the same retaliation is called excessive force by the media and general population. When people see a LEO hitting someone it is automatically excessive force. When the media shows a video of a LEO hitting someone they dont bother to show the begining of the video where the person was whacking the LEO repeatedly without being retaliated against. The bottom line is that people should walk the proverbial mile in the LEO's shoes before they make their judgements. As far as a apathetic LEO goes there are an abundance of them, there are also good cops and bad cops. This is just my feelings on the subject and it is not ment to offend anyone.

 

[Black Bear]

I disagree. There are morons out there who do not understand policing, but the general public as a whole has an understanding that there is a force continuum, and appropriate and inappropriate uses of force.

 

[dearnis.com]

"In my opinion, police officers in my area are not trained enough, but on the other hand they're not paid enough either. Ditto public school teachers in my area. Mmm, can't think of another one right now. I kind of wish my society would take these roles a little more seriously, accord them a little more honour, so that the very best quality young people would become police and educators rather than... well, some other very skilled--but less meaningful--occupations."

Well said! Black Bear; I have disagreed with a number of your posts in other threads, but you hit it right on the head here.

Most "decent" people encounter police officers on traffic stops where they know they were wrong, but somehow feel that it is unfair that they got a ticket. Well, sorry about your luck, but... If you are rolling 20+ over the limit and get a break in the form of any reduction in the ticket, shut up and be happy. If you are 40 over in a school zone, take the lecture, don't tell me you are late to work, and be happy you dont lose you license!
OK, off my soap box...but to give a little perspective my primary assignment is fatal crashes. And the people I primarily scrape off the roads are young kids who think they are immortal.

 

[Cryozombie]

Back in the day, when I studied hapkido, I did it at a self defense school that taught PSDI to several of the local law enforcement agencies. A lot of my "friends" from that school later went into law enforcement.

Last summer the instructors son invited me to a BBQ at her (the instructors)home. It was mostly LE personel, both from her Department and former students from the old school.

I sat and listened to them tell storys and brag amongst one another of Spraying people for no reason... using a "little more force than neccessary" because the guy was an ***... and they laughed and joked about it, like it was nothing... One guy even had on a Tshirt that said something along the lines of "Fraternal Order of Police Officers - The Worlds Largest Street Gang"

Now... I have had my share of dealings with the police, both good and bad, and I won't get into all that...

But the "Fratboy" mentality I saw at that BBQ was appalling to me, regardless of any other feelings twords LE, good or bad. Just because you HAVE the power doesnt give you the RIGHT to abuse it. If I pepper spray some jack-hole in a parking lot because he called me a a-hole, it would be assult, if the cop does it for the same reason, its "Because they Resisted" and its "ok".

:idunno:

 

[Tgace]

Back in the day, when I studied hapkido, I did it at a self defense school that taught PSDI to several of the local law enforcement agencies. A lot of my "friends" from that school later went into law enforcement.

Last summer the instructors son invited me to a BBQ at her (the instructors)home. It was mostly LE personel, both from her Department and former students from the old school.

I sat and listened to them tell storys and brag amongst one another of Spraying people for no reason... using a "little more force than neccessary" because the guy was an ***... and they laughed and joked about it, like it was nothing... One guy even had on a Tshirt that said something along the lines of "Fraternal Order of Police Officers - The Worlds Largest Street Gang"

Now... I have had my share of dealings with the police, both good and bad, and I won't get into all that...

But the "Fratboy" mentality I saw at that BBQ was appalling to me, regardless of any other feelings twords LE, good or bad. Just because you HAVE the power doesnt give you the RIGHT to abuse it. If I pepper spray some jack-hole in a parking lot because he called me a a-hole, it would be assult, if the cop does it for the same reason, its "Because they Resisted" and its "ok".

:idunno:

Objection your honor!! Hearsay.............

 

[kenpo_cory]

I noticed a couple of LEO's posting on this thread and have a question for ya'll. Do you have to go to some form of law school or the equivalent to be a LEO? And if so, for how long?

 

[Black Bear]

Very few LEO's go to law school, and they usually do so after they have been a LEO awhile, in order to work for their service or "force" AS a lawyer. They learn elements of law as they pertain to their work, mainly stuff related to powers of arrest, evidence, criminal law, etc. WITHIN their academy training.

Just like any professional or businessperson has to take classes on law as it relates to their professional practice or business.

 

[Black Bear]

Requirements vary by jurisdiction, but some services will consider anyone with a HS diploma. Academic achievement is weighted against other qualifying factors such as standardized test scores, physical conditioning, experience, leadership, volunteerism. Other requirements typically considered include vision, health, citizenship, driving record, writing skills, First Aid/CPR, computer/keyboarding skills.

 

[Tgace]

Requirements vary by jurisdiction, but some services will consider anyone with a HS diploma. Academic achievement is weighted against other qualifying factors such as standardized test scores, physical conditioning, experience, leadership, volunteerism. Other requirements typically considered include vision, health, citizenship, driving record, writing skills, First Aid/CPR, computer/keyboarding skills.

Personal Requirement Experience (NY State):
-County Wide Civil Service Exam (in my dept, you need at least 90-100% to make it in)
-Must have 60 credit hrs. college at time of appointment
-Must be 21yo at time of appointment
-Resident of Town
-Physical Fitness Screening (PT test with mininum standard cutoff)
-Reading/Writing comp. test by dept.
-Drug Test
-Interview by dept.
-Fingerprints
-Physical Exam including EKG
-Polygraph Examination
-Psychological Examination
-Full background investigation
-Credit check
-Ridealong with officer (see what youre like to ride with for a shift)
-Personal Record Check at county office (verify all educational,birth,military, etc. records)
-Board Interview by Chief, Captian of Patrol, Patrol Sgt., Training Lt.
-Appointment by Town Board
-Academy (6 months)
-Field Training (FTO) Program (6months)

I think that was all.......

 

[kenpo_cory]

So do the requirements vary from state to state?

 

[Black Bear]

Well I don't live in a state, but... yes. In general they're looking for the same things. Ours doesn't require a civil service exam, but the standardized test they use is pretty tough, and the tasks on it are a good match for police work (logic, observation, spatial reasoning). Ours doesn't use a real psych assessment or mental status exam as such--just a killer disclosure test, polygraph test, and structured interview that is somewhat psychological in nature. Most everything else is pretty close. Our academy training is longer I think, and we're one of the few services with biannual physical fitness tests.

 

[Tony]

Hi All

I live in England and have found a new respect for the Police of my country after watching a Tv documentary about some of the things they have to deal with! Last night the programme focussed on 3 different towns in England and the drunken behviaour of individuals on a night out! It was quite shocking and makes me sick that we live in such a violent world! It made me realise how the Police do the best job they can and sometimes do make mistakes as was the case in this programme. One situation 2 police officers were face with was should they arrest this man who was veing verbally abusive, knowing that they would have more trouble to deal with once the clubs had closed for the night. They had to make an on the spot decision and let the man go! CCTV caught the man beating his girlfriend so the 2 Police officers had to go back and arrest him, but they must have felt so bad because they wanted to arrest him before! It was such a dilemma. Other things that happened were mostly fights happening which could have been avoided, and people arguing with Police Officers and making their jobs difficult!
When I was younger I wanted to join the Police Force, although it was a silly childish whim I don't think I could do their job! Ok there are some Police officers out there who aren't as nice as the ones I saw on tv last night but there are good and bad people everywhere! Is there anyone on here from England who watched this programme? just wondered what your views are?

 

[kenpo_cory]

I've always been fascinated by the job that LEO's do. They have a very difficult job to say the least. I also wanted to be a police officer at one time and then came to the realization that I probably couldn't do their job.