12.10.09 - 8:26 am

Doing The Impossible Every Day Is A Cop�s Row To Hoe

So a 200-pound man, high on methamphetamine, emotionally distraught, confronts you with a box cutter he is willing to use to cut your throat. You will take the box cutter away, arrest this violent man without using violence, face the anger, but don't exhibit anger. You will avoid injury and don't injure, prevent escape and protect the innocent. You will use that special control hold that works through the fog of a pain-killing, mind-numbing three-day methamphetamine high. Don't cause too much pain, and again, don't injure.

Face the onslaught of verbal threats, violence and profanity while appropriately using 'please,' 'thank you,' and 'sir' in your instructions. And never resort to any form of profanity to get your point across. Don't offend the nice citizen who, having no idea what's going on, sees you apply the magic control hold and witnesses the "nice man wince in pain." Don't breathe hard. Keep a pleasant facial expression. Wave to the children on the bus. Hand out a police sticker to the kid on crutches and never, never let them see you sweat.They say . . . please stop "them" from speeding down my neighborhood street, but always give me a break when I get stopped. Catch the transient who broke into my car and stole my sunglasses, send him to jail for years, but let's talk about getting rid of Measure 11. Treat me with respect even when I'm drunk, stupid, and disrespectful. Help me when I don't want your help. Arrest him, not me. Calmly deal with every violent, tragic, disgusting situation thrown at you and come back for more the next day with a smile on your face. Don't expect a thank you or a kind word for doing your job because frankly, I don't notice you doing your job unless it directly affects me. Deal with the messiness of the human condition, but never make a mess while doing it. Do your job as a perfect science, but never make a mistake. Never be in a poor mood.

Sound unreasonable? Sound familiar? Here's the deal � it is ignorant. That's a large part of your job in serving and protecting the citizens of our city: to protect their right to remain ignorant from having to truly understand what we do, why we do it and what we deal with. Most of whom you "serve and protect" do not now, nor will they ever, have any real clue or understanding of what violence is or what it's like to confront the predatory side of the human animal. Deal with it. That's the way it's supposed to be. Be proud that they don't understand. It means you're doing your job.

Written by Mike Stradley

http://www.apbweb.com/cops-speak-out/64-doing-the-impossible-every-day-is-a-cops-row-to-hoe.html