His dad was a cop. So was his grandfather. Although he wasn’t planning on it, he became a cop as well. Now he’s got something to say to the next generation.
That message is simple: Don’t be a cop.
In a long and heartfelt open letter, one cop shared his story. It was a story about the deep respect he had for his father, who was also a cop. How he worked his butt off to provide for his family. How even the other kids at school had a certain level of respect for his dad and what he did.
He tells about a ridealong that changed his life and drew him into a career in law enforcement that he had never expected to pursue. The amazing and dedicated people he worked with.
[In the hours since he wrote that article, the media have sharpened their knives for his character and reputation. Click the story link above and scroll to the bottom of the story if you want to help them push back.]It’s not that law enforcement has changed for the worse but everything around it has.
The mentally ill used to get treatment and now they just send cops. Kids used to be taught respect and now it’s cool to be disrespectful.
Supervisors used to back you when you were right but now they accuse you of being wrong in order to appease crazy people.
Parents used to get mad at their kids for getting arrested and now they get mad at us.
The media used to highlight the positive contribution our profession gave to society and now they either ignore it or twist the truth for controversy to line their own pockets.
…There used to be a common respect among criminals. If they got caught, they understood you had a job to do but now it’s our fault they sit in handcuffs rather than their own personal decisions.
If someone attacked a cop, they were seen as such. Now we martyr them and sue for millions.
We used to be able to testify in court and we were believed. Now, unless there is video from three different angles, no one cares what you have to say.
With all this talk about racism and racist cops, I’ve never seen people treated differently because of their race. And while I know that cowards that have never done this job will call me racist for saying it, all I’ve ever seen was criminal behavior and cops trying to stop it and they didn’t give a rip what their skin color was.
I’ve seen cops help and save any type of race, gender or ethnicity you can think of and while that used to mean something, no one cares anymore.
I’ve been called every name you can think of and many of them with racial overtones and it’s never come from cops. I’ve watched African American cops take the brunt of this and even talked one rookie out of quitting after he was berated by a lot of cowards that had the same skin color as him. — LawOfficer
Now it’s more than just cruel words he needs to worry about.
Now it’s bottles and bricks and bullets.
Now we’ve got the possibility, on every call, of having someone with an ax to grind come looking to get you fired, sued, or jailed… even if you did everything by the book.
Now politicians are readier than ever to throw the rank and file cops overboard if the mob comes after them.
He didn’t even go into the issues of PTSD or suicide rates. He is a third-generation cop. Does he want his kids to follow their dad’s footsteps? No. He ‘wouldn’t wish that life on his worst enemy.’
Has anyone stopped to consider what kind of society we will have if we can’t attract new cops to fill the empty positions? You might want to ask the people of Baltimore about their experiences. They have been going through exactly that problem. HEY BLM: Baltimore And Treyvon’s Mom Agree, We Need MORE Cops, Not Fewer
