COPS WHO ARE AFRAID 11-19-12

Cops who are afraid



We all love heroes. Audi Murphy,

the Sullivan brothers. There were

hundreds of wonderful heroes on

and after World War II.



The Marines came out of service

and joined the police departments.

Then what happened to them ?



Did they stop being heroes ? I don`t

think so.



Life got complicated, before you hit

the bastard you had to read him his

rights.



The guy that helped to plant the flag

on Iwo and shot a few people on the

way back down, now has a rule book

in his duty case. I can`t begin to tell

you the rules, but if you have not

completed your probation, you better

be prepared to follow that rule book,

word for word.



Cops Who Are Afraid



Big John walked out of the bar where

he had just settled a dispute between

several customers who were ready to

tear each other to pieces.



He walked out to his car, sat and started

to tremble. He could not stop shaking.

He questioned himself, thought maybe

he was having a heart attack. Naww !

He was calm, but sweating profusely.



Walking into the station, Big John went

directly to the Forensics Bureau where he

talked to Sgt. Boog who had previously

invited him to work in the bureau.



They talked and Sgt. Boog dispatched a

memo to the Chief requesting that Big

John be assigned to the Bureau. The next

day Big John was interviewed further,

assigned to the swing shift and spent the

next nine years in the bureau.



Officer Burns came to me one day and

confided that he was losing his nerve. He

just was`nt sure of himself anymore-- so I

had him assigned to traffic, writing parking

tickets.



Then it dawned on me---- and there were

many others with similar "kinks". These

guys are anxious about the number of rules

, but most importantly , they are going to

make mistakes . They know they will make

mistakes. The state supreme court will

come down on them, the United States

Supreme court will find against them and

most importantly ---- they will be criticized

by the members of their own department.



I started a communication with these officers,

requesting transfers to less volatile jobs.

One went to the Juvenile Bureau, two more

were assigned to the Detective Bureau, another

into Forensics.



You see, when a COP works patrol, he has to

know everything, no he has to have average

or better intelligence, but he needs the ability

to sort through problems with lightening speed

and make decisions that will not create further

problems. He has to be in close touch with

the members of the community.



That probably is an oversimplification......what

exactly does this patrol officer need to know to

do his job without controversy or worse ?



At one time I wrote new job classifications, new

advertisements for officer applicants, ads,

requirements, qualifications---- I did exactly what

somebody before me had done, I skirted the

issue.



Getting Security



There has been a problem for a long time , the

problem of officers seeking security on the job.





COPS WHO ARE AFRAID



I do not recall ever knowing a COP who was

afraid physically, every one is there pulling at

the traces ready to throw himself on the pyre

of self sacrifice without much thought to his

own safety.



AFRAID OF THE BOOK



One time when Big John was Sgt. Big he

heard a dispatch that a motorcycle club had

taken over a portion of the beach, making it

difficult for women and children to use that

portion of the beach. On his arrival Big found

three or four officers talking to the "leader".



The motorcycle leader argued that they had

as much right to the beach as anyone else.

Sgt. Big said leave NOW or be arrested.



The COPS started to shuffle feet and tried to

argue with Sgt. Big who simply walked over

to the motorcycle , the most beautiful one on

the beach, placed his foot on the engine and

dumped it into the sand.



Simple solution. The gang did not dare to fight

they were facing community condemnation if

they did the wrong thing. Swing on the Sgt.

No way, the leader was too smart--- he could

have been seriously injured, he could lose face

or and he did---- picked up his motorcycle and

waved his men to leave NOW.



Sgt. Big had a little talk with the officers individually

after this incident and that was the end of it.



The Officers were afraid of making a mistake, of

losing face, of being criticized by superiors, or

of violating some foggy issue in the book of regs.



Sgt. Big solved the problem--- How ?

He was not afraid, perhaps he did`nt know any

better, maybe he was intuitive and sensed the

right action. But, the men were not physically

afraid, they were afraid of the "book", either the

book of regulations , or perhaps the "book" of

public opinion, or the unwritten book, the one

that holds that thin blue line in one cohesive

working unit.



Officer Qurios was assigned to ride with me one

day when he first joined the department.

He said hello followed by a litany of questions

that could have covered an encyclopedia of

policing .

I thought ,"rookie" and forgot about it, but he

never forgot the questions. He was worried about

what he would do under any given situation.

This guy was an ex-marine, at several situations

he demonstrated physical courage, but he never

stopped worrying what he would do in some

hypothetical situation.



The rookie, officer Qurios finally gravitated to a

traffic job and seemed to be content for years.



One of the officers who was assigned to Detective

Bureau distinguished himself over the years.



They were all good men, good officers and good

policemen--- they were simply afraid of ----

something .



----- John Crowley