This month there are two topics I’d like to discuss. First, firearms training. As much as I believe there’s a huge difference between “law enforcement” and “peace keeping,” there is still a basic, foundational skill requirement that has to be mastered by all who participate in the profession—and that is proficiency with firearms. Whether we like it or not, whether society likes it or not, whether an agency administration, local government or any other governing body likes it or not, law enforcement officers are warriors first and foremost. It is a reality that warriors have to build and maintain martial skills. We sometimes find ourselves in circumstances that threaten our lives, or the lives of those we are sworn to protect, and we have to take the necessary defensive actions to mitigate that threat. Our final option is lethal force—the use of our firearm. Therefore, we must develop and maintain those skills to the utmost of our capacity. It behooves the instructor cadre to develop and deliver, as safely as possible, training that continues to refine our firearms skills. Additionally, the “post shooting” events have to be prepared and trained for as well. In recent years, given the media attacks and often anti-law enforcement sentiment expressed by politicians at all levels, the post-shooting trauma can be worse than the experience of the shooting itself. We have to train for that which leads us into the second topic for this column—agency/job security.
When I first started in law enforcement in the mid-1980s after my time in the Army, there were some officers who jumped from agency to agency to agency. One even joked that he was simply trying to work for every municipality in the county. There were many reasons why this hopscotching around agencies occurred, but most often it was due to the fact that the officer faced some challenges conforming to departmental regulation for very long. He wasn’t screwing up bad enough to be thrown off the force, but he wasn’t making the agency look professional either, so he got a recommendation to maybe seek employment elsewhere, while he still could.
Other times, though, the officer would leave an agency because the leadership was all too willing to pander to politicians, hanging officers out to dry for having done nothing wrong. Let’s face it, sometimes (all too often) in the course of performing our duties, we have to do things that aren’t popular with the public, which means they aren’t popular with the politicians. Police chiefs are political appointees and if they want to keep their job they have to do what the politicians say to do. If the chief isn’t taking care of you (or the officer cadre in general), then it’s best to find an agency to move to where the leadership does care about and take care of the officers under their command. Such agencies tend to pay better, have better benefits, better equipment, etc. Still, even if it’s an acceptable (affordable) pay cut, working for an agency that takes care of its officers is always better than the alternative.
So, train hard. Master your firearms skills. Let your instructors push you to be better than you thought possible. Instructors, push your students to the edge of safe training proficiency. Demand that your leadership take care of you. It’s part of leadership. Do your job by being the kind of officer worth taking care of.
Stay safe.
Lt. Frank Borelli
Comments or questions? Send him an email at [email protected].
