Policing the police

I read where someone thinks that the people ought to police their own police departments like it's a brand new idea.

It's not. I've been doing it for years.

I live in a community that has a pretty good department and to date I have not see an officer get out of line to any great extent. They, for the most part seem to be pretty good officers.

There was one clown a while ago that had a knack of being a can of gasoline when there was a camp fire to put out but he's gone now.  He didn't know how to de-fuse a situation and he had a knack for making things worse. While I suppose he knew how to enforce the law, he didn't know how to keep the peace.

I had nothing to do with him leaving. I believe that the other officers complained about him and he got run off.

While over the years I've supported my department it is simply because the officers have given me a department worthy of my support. They do their jobs and treat the guy on the street with a little respect. If they have to use force it is most likely because some jerk worked overtime to make the officer use it.

I've watched a couple of take-downs and I can't help but say I'd have probably done the same thing, but it would be a lie. I don't have the patience our officers do. I'd have responded with force a bit earlier. This speaks pretty highly of them.

Still, I do keep my eye on them and I'm not afraid to snap a picture or two and bring it to the attention of the city council if things start to get out of hand.

Incidentally, I'm not a little Goody-Two Shoes. If I ran into a cop that had taken a punch from some thug and was playing a little catch-up to let him know that hitting people isn't going to end well I would likely turn a blind eye so long as it didn't get too far out of hand.

I am well aware that there is the law of the land and the law of the streets and cops have to deal with both.

I think that just being willing to keep an eye on things and notify the city if things turn south makes it good for the department and the people it serves. 



To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY