Frustration

With the continuing saga of shootings and street violence in our neighbor to the south, the City of Chester, I'm continually checking the Delaware County Daily Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer for coverage.  A few days ago, the Mayor of Chester ordered a State of Emergency, which, among other things,  allows police to enforce a curfew and prohibits people gathering in groups of three or more without first obtaining a permit.  Last week, a two year old boy was shot and killed by a thugs so called "stray bullet".  (click here for story)

And then today I read the front page and see that another thug, whose stray bullet killed an innocent woman, plead guilty this week.  He plead guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter and Conspiracy to Committ Aggravated Assault, according to the story in the Daily Times.   What's his sentence?  25 years, no not quite that long.  20, no not that long either.  15, getting closer.  11 to 23.  NOT YEARS but months.  11 to 23 months, in other words, one to two years in COUNTY JAIL!

Today I'm a frustrated citizen. 

What Being A Police Officer Has Taught Me

I've been desperately searching the headlines for a topic for my next post, but I've been striking out.  I mean, who wants to hear my opinion on oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico or what I think Arlen Specter's odds or re-election are.  So, with that in mind, I've decided to give my readers (both of them!) insight into the mind of this police officer.  I've been a police officer for slightly over a decade.  (sounds better than ten years, right?)  In that time, here are some of my opinions that have changed.

• I am no longer an opponent of The Death Penalty.  Through college and for my first several years in law enforcement I could cite any one of a number of reasons why I thought capital punishment should be abolished.  Now, I need look no further than the City of Philadelphia to find four or five good reasons to support the death penalty.  It's become a no brainer to me - murder a police officer -- death penalty.

• I don't think it society's job to "rehabilitate" criminals.  If someone chooses to commit a crime, why should taxpayers be burdened with 1) picking up the bill for their incarceration, 2) picking up the bill for a prisoner's GED or other training, and 3) suffer the victimization again when the prisoner gets released, because yes, most prisoners, regardless of what "training" they received in prison, go on to commit more crimes.

• Police officers are just people.  We are not perfect.  We are capable of making mistakes.  When Bob the builder makes an honest mistake, your new roof leaks.  You get it repaired, Bob the builder stands up for his work and fixes the repair, and you move on.  When the dry cleaner makes a mistake, he loses your shirt, he apologizes,  you get a 10 free dry cleanings, and you move on.  But when the police officer makes a mistake, he's a liar, a cheat, and corrupt.  

But, not all that I've learned is negative and pessimistic.  I've learned that most people are genuinely good.  While there are truly evil people in the world, they are the minority.  I've also learned what melatonin supplements are for.  I've learned how to function on 2 hours of sleep.  I've learned how to eat an entire meal in three minutes.  I've learned how to really appreciate good coffee.  I've learned the importance of seatbelts.  I could go on but I won't.

That's all I got for now...

Thank you PO John Pawlowski, Sgt Timothy Simpson, Sgt Patrick McDonald, PO Isabel Nazario, Sgt Steven Liczbinski, PO Chuck Cassidy, PO Walter Barclay Jr, PO Gary Skerski, and all the other men and women who have given their lives in the line of duty. 

Who pays for dubfest ?

Joe Norley, West Chester Community Activist, posted an article recently regarding the costs of last weeks "Dubfest"  link to that article here : http://www.knowjoe.tumblr.com/
Joe Norley brings up a good point. Who will pay for the extra police expenses from Dubfest last weekend? In the end, we all know that like anything else, John Q Taxpayer picks up the bill. But is that fair?
Since he's a resident, I assume Joe's answer is no.

All across the state and the nation, local, state and federal agencies are tightening budgets. One need look no further than the cities of Philadelphia and Coatesville to see municipalities struggling to operate within budget constraints while maintaining certain levels of service.  To my knowledge, the largest single piece of most municipalities' budgets is the police department. For a municipality to have to shell out extra money to
cover an event that is not supported by most taxpayers would certainly leave a bad taste in my mouth as a tax payer too. Joe, in this respect, I feel your pain.

Some will blame the police department for over-reacting. These same people would blame the police department if something bad did happen and the police were had not prepared for it.

Maybe Dubfest is not the best example. How do we hold specific people responsible for an "event" is not clearly "organized" by any one person or group of persons.In a perfect world, it would be the users that a are charged user fees for services. In other words, if you plan an event that requires police service, you are responsible to pay for that service. If you committ a crime that requires police response, you pay for that service. It would be just like paying a water bill, or paying for trash pick-up. Unfortunately, we already know that this is not a perfect world, and the system is not a perfect system. Joe, I fear that you (and your fellow tax paying residents) will be stuck holding the bill.  I'm sure not many people will say this, so let me be the first...Thank You.

I have a dream too

I have a dream. A police officer's dream. More than 200 years ago, our forefathers carved out a country of our own. With it, they penned a constitution, a document envied by the rest of the world ever since. Eventually, every state adopted its own constitution and criminal statutes. Every state's laws are very similar. Every state has laws against Murder, Theft, Robbery, Burglary, Assault, etc. Every state has certain punishments for crimes designed to be commensurate with the severity of the crime. Every state has jails and prisons to hold criminals. The system seems to be designed quite well. The police catch the bad guys. Juries decide whether they are guilty or not. Judges decide how long they are imprisoned, and at the end of their sentences, they are released.

But our system doesn't ever seem to work this seamlessly.

I have a dream that there is no such thing as "loopholes", that a persons guilt or innocence does not depend on his wealth or quality or his lawyer.

I have a dream that there is no such thing as a "technicality", that if the police, courts, defense attorney, or prosecutors make an honest mistake, it if just a mistake and does not entitle the bad guy to a free pass

I have a dream that there are no "pleas bargains", that if you "do the crime, you do the time."

I have a dream that prisons don't ever have to "make room" for new prisoners by releasing other prisoners before the end of their sentences.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that prisons weren't country clubs and bad guys were actually inconvenienced by going to prison.

I have a dream that no matter what craziness the day brings, each and every police officer goes home safely at the end of every shift. A dream that no wife, husband, father or mother has to find out that their loved one has become a "line of duty death."


Ah, but moreover, I have a dream that there was no such thing as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Shift Work Sleep Disorder.

I have a dream that there is no difference between the life expectancy of a police officer and that of a librarian.

I have a dream that anybody is actually reading this blog!

Anyway, enough dreaming. Stop back later in the week for some comic relief...

A Note about Police Corruption

This post's title sounds more interesting that it really is, trust me. In the Police Academy, I learned that the smallest form of police corruption is the free coffee. The scenario goes like this: Officer walks into ABC coffee hut. Officer grabs a coffee and the newspaper. Clerk rings order and only charges officer for the newspaper. The coffee was free. Is this fair? Does everyone get a free coffee? The officer tries to pay for the coffee, but the clerk won't let him, saying "Cops get free coffee, company policy" loud enough for everyone in the store to hear it.

The next day, the officer returns to ABC coffee hut. Again, a free coffee. Again, the officer tries to pay but is told by the loudspeaker of a clerk that "COFFEE IS FREE FOR COPS". A few people in line mumble and grumble something about lazy cops and free coffee and donuts. The officer slumps out of the coffee shop, leaving a two dollar tip in the tip jar so that it doesn't seem like he's taking advantage.

The next day, the officer stops a car for speeding. Guess who's driving? Its the clerk from ABC coffee hut. The officer explains to the driver that he's receiving a citation for speeding, doing 75 in a 35. The clerk scoffs at him in disbelief. "What do you mean I'm getting a ticket?" he shouts. "I give you free coffee every day!" The officer kindly explains that the driver was doing 40 mph over the speed limit, and that it was extremely dangerous. The officer wonders to himself, "does this guy think a few free coffees add up to carte blanche to do whatever you want?"

To solve the problem in the future, the officer stops going to ABC coffee hut for his coffee and newspaper. Its a shame too, because he really liked the coffee there.

The next time you see a cop get a free coffee at the local coffee hut, remember that one way or the other, he'd paid for that coffee three times over.

The Fuzz Buzz, Day One

This is it - my first blog post. So what do I blog about? Crime? Gun Control? The Death Penalty? DubFest? Jimmy Johns? Since I'm new to this, I'll start slowly and keep it simple.

I'm a police officer, and I have been for ten years. That's most of my adult life. People treat cops differently. Cops know this. For example, when I meet people in a social setting for the first time and they find out I'm a police officer they change immediately. Some get very uncomfortable, as if at any moment I might throw them against the wall and frisk them. Some immediately turn into 12 year old kids and want to know what type of gun I carry and when was the last time I shot someone. Some insist that I tell them some great story about work and then are disappointed when I can't think of one. Some seem confused and say stuff like "you're a cop, really?" as though cops aren't allowed to go to Christmas parties or happy hours. Fact is, for the most part, police are as run of the mill as the people at any other workplace. My point - if you meet a police officer at a party or at the next PTA meeting at school, don't ask him if he prefers a .40 to the .45 or if he's allowed to have a beer off duty. There's gotta be other stuff to talk about, right?

So anyway -

• Crime? The lower the better.
• Gun Control? Definitely a blog for another day.
  
• The Death Penalty? See Gun Control.
  
• DubFest? See http://knowjoe.tumblr.com, I don't think he's done talking about it yet.
• Jimmy Johns? Best hot dogs ever. I hope they do what ever they have to do to re-open.
  

Hope to see some readers back here soon. Let's be careful out there...