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Anti-Police Politicians

The LEAA column in the March/April 2007 issue tells the story of a very liberal congressman who’ll have sway over the entire law enforcement community for at least the next couple years. We need that like another ninth circuit decision. I would have written, “hole in my head” but that’s kind of what their decisions are anyway. How on earth did we get to this point?

I think the media has so distorted the war in Iraq and the President’s role there; it’s just another nail in the Republican Party’s coffin. Not that the Republicans need any help burying themselves. They’ve done a stunningly brilliant job of just that. Congressional Page scandals, Randy Cunningham’s excruciatingly disappointing betrayal of his office by taking bribes, a huge deficit, out of control spending and total head-in-the-sand (or in somewhere else) inaction on the illegal immigration crisis just scratch the surface. Folks are tired of the crap and voted for a change. I just wish it wasn’t this change.

We’ll get through it, we have in the past and we will again sometime in the future but it’s going to be painful. As a group, law enforcement needs to do a better job of pointing out the morons in public life. John Conyers, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is indeed one of them. I’m sure there will be one running for President in the next election too. I’m just not sure which party they’ll be affiliated with. We need to band together and yell loudly — hell, shriek — from the watchtower about who has their head up their butt and who doesn’t.

Usually we let our unions or associations do it for us. But they’re just as much of the problem. Admittedly, their job is to get us the best pay and benefits they can. It’s their responsibility to do that. But when they support one of the morons we should be shrieking about, it’s time for them to take a step back and look at the overall good. This guy might want the unions to get a raise for their members but he’s also the one who wants to do away with a cop’s rights or strip us of certain immunity from prosecution. That’s a bad move.

  
   
   
   

Have you ever been to the Emergency Room? Now that’s a silly question. I used to live in the ER, it’s where I met my wife. But really, have you ever been there off duty? With a few exceptions, you need to have an advocate with you. You know, someone who speaks the particular dialect of that hospital or for that matter, department within the hospital. If you don’t have that person, you’re doomed. Not necessarily in the you’re gonna die way but your visit will undoubtedly be an exercise in misery. Long waits, reduced levels of service, and the issue of the service provider just not going the extra step to make you happy, feel secure or be comfortable in a situation you have little if any control over.

I’ve felt that way in a hospital situation and with the plumber. I’m not a handy person, so if I need repairs around the house I’m compelled to hire someone who knows what they’re doing. I’ll wait four, five or six hours and then the guy shows up smelling like the pet goat of a transient, without the proper parts, tells me to just shut the water off for a few days, he’ll be back when he gets around to it and still wants to charge me for a house call.

This is Toro Caca! What ever happened to people who take pride in their job? Where are the folks who really care and take the extra steps if necessary to make someone’s life a little easier? In either the ER or plumber situation we’re vulnerable. If we knew how to fix things we'd do it ourselves and be that much better off for it. But when we need someone, when things are out of our control and we don’t know how to handle it, we call on that nurse or plumber to care for us. And they’re fairly well compensated for it too.

If you’ve experienced this, then you know just how some of the people who call us feel when we get there. The tendency to wash out a report or shine on a victim because we don’t care for their life-style is exactly the same thing. Put yourself in their position for a second and remember, perception is reality for most people out there. Even if things are not exactly what they think they are, if they’re thinking they are that way, they are. Some may say that’s pretty much the stupidest thing ever written in this magazine but read it a few times and the meaning will magically appear — trust me — I was a sergeant — I’m here to help.

Don’t waste two hours washing out a report that you could finish in a half hour. Take a little time with people; they may remember it for the rest of their lives. They may even tell their grandkids about it. Yes we handle the same issue seven times a day but it’s a significant life event for them. Treat them like you’d want to be treated by that nurse, doctor or plumber.

  
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