Police work is dangerous - that’s a fact. If you took the job thinking everyone would obey your commands and give you respect … well, at the very least, you’re delusional. These days many people will spit in your face and tell you where to go, rather than cooperate and show any respect. That said, I haven’t seen such disrespect and outright hostility toward cops since the late 1960’s and early 70’s. Back then it was open season on cops, and the police were being assaulted and shot in record numbers. What did we do to thwart those cowardly thugs? First, let me assure you we didn’t back down from any jobs. We answered calls and continued to make street stops. However, we did it by working smarter.
The old axiom, “There is safety in numbers,” is prudent advice. That philosophy applies to both good guys and bad. In my early cop days, when the trend began turning toward officers being assaulted and shot, we altered our strategy. We got rid of one-man cars on night shifts and didn’t assign disturbance or felony calls to one-man units on days. A show of force is always the right approach, ergo, safety in numbers.
Conversely, when a crowd is confronted, it’s easy for someone to assault a cop by throwing a sucker punch or object and then get lost in the sea of humanity. We saw that happen in Ferguson and Baltimore. However, make no mistake - when the street loses respect for society’s guardians, no one is safe. Back then, unless someone’s life was in jeopardy, we waited until several units were on scene before wading into a crowd or melee.
As we recently witnessed in Nashville, an officer was assaulted by a crowd as he tried to arrest a subject wanted for attacking a woman. Several individuals kicked and punched the officer as he fought the non-compliant offender. The incident took place in the same housing project where another officer was stabbed in the hand just the day before while he was patrolling the project. In events like this, it’s safer to wait for backup before taking action. As we know, most of these thugs are repeat offenders and are already known to the cops. If you don’t get him today, there’s always tomorrow. But having been a young cop myself, I know the first instinct is to take action. Sometimes that backfires.
While there’s a degree of disrespect by those on foot, there’s a growing number of those in vehicles who refuse to stop for the police. Lights and sirens don’t appear to matter much anymore. It seems there are more car chases than ever, and once the fleeing vehicle stops, the chase oftentimes continues on foot. The real danger occurs when a single officer pursues a subject through wooded areas or down alleys and around corners. Once you lose a visual on your subject, he has the upper hand. If he’s armed, all he needs do is wait for you to come around the corner.
And what if the vehicle does stop after a chase and no one bails? Stop and think about the reason the occupants stay put. There’s a good chance they’re armed. Again, an aggressive cop is wont to charge forward and order them out of the vehicle. But wouldn’t it be wiser to stay behind the cover of your vehicle and call them out? Or, perhaps you can utilize cover in the area where you’re stopped. Are there any good-sized trees that offer cover and also a better view inside the car? What if the occupants refuse to get out of the car? Do we charge ahead and yank them out, or do we wait for reinforcements and work on a strategy?
Society is at a tipping point regarding police officers’ use of force. Recently, recommendations made by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), indicate a desire to limit an officer’s use of force. This is unacceptable in a time of growing hostility toward not only the police, but to authority in general. The fact is that most cops don’t fire their weapons in situations when they would be justified in using deadly force. Cops are innately fair-minded people. They bend over backwards to give someone the benefit of the doubt and hope they surrender peacefully. The PERF recommendations are nothing more than politically correct nonsense and should be relegated to the shredder. If implemented they are sure to get someone killed.
I’m sick of so many of our brave Warriors being injured and killed because society refuses to respect the rule of law. It’s not so much that people can’t distinguish right from wrong, it’s that they just don’t have any consequences for their actions. Even if they are arrested, the system regurgitates them back out to the street to continue their reign of terror.
That’s why I want us to work smarter. Consider waiting for backup, think twice about charging around that blind corner on a foot chase, use safe tactics when pursuing someone up flights of stairs. I urge you to slow down, let’s not put anymore names on the Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Work smarter; work safer.
Stay Safe, Brothers and Sisters!
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