Not new here, just new to posting. I'm a recently retired (27 years) police chief from a small city in the United States. I thought I'd just share some observations, and perhaps answer some questions you may have. I'll do my best to respond to your comments/concerns.

I figured I'd just start a new thread for questions so the front page of my user feed isn't filled with responses to various comments. <br><br><br>I'm not here to change anyone's mind. I'm not here to change anyone's opinion of law enforcement. If you hate police that's your right, and I'm not going to argue that it was a bad idea to not put a stranger in a position of authority over you. I would say that the vast majority of cops do it for the right reasons. Very few enter law enforcement to abuse their authority, take the easy way out, or to purposely violate the rights of others. Yes, there are bad cops out there, and they should be held accountable. I'm quite certain I've worked with several in my time. <br><br>The two big concerns expressed thus far are the A Few Good Men trope, and the acceptance of abuse of authority. Neither are tolerated. I don't tolerate it in my officers, my officers don't tolerate it, and if they do they're messed with until they leave. It seems that the model of police work has changed in larger cities, and I'm not a big fan of it. I think there are abuses by the police power. I think there is a big difference between a police department and a police force. I believe that the change in police that has caused most of these problems stems from the war on terror, and the increased militarization of the police. That being said, when you go to a call where someone has been beheaded, or shot half in two, blasted with a shotgun, etc.. it does change you. Depending on the size of your department, and the number of this calls you go on, that's how your police change. <br><br>I'm glad I get to go to the community events, and get to shake hands, and speak with the citizens. I work in a small town that has four patrol officers on shift at a time. We answer roughly 40 calls for service a day, and can depend on three to five of those calls involving a weapon, and at least one allegation of a crime a day that involves an injury. We've had several incidents this last year where an officer was either injured, or almost injured..viewport. I think thus lessens our ability to connect with the people, and we're viewed more as guardians then community members. <br><br><br>I've never been ordered to do something against my personal or political views. I've never been approached by someone I work with, or someone from outside of work to do something that I thought was illegal, or immoral. Never been approached about an NWO, or some weird shit. I don't know of any secret bunkers, secret groups, or secret handshakes. I've never been told to profile anyone off the street, or during a traffic stop. <br><br>If you have any questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability. I will not discuss explicit case details, and will only talk in general terms about things I've experienced. I'll try to answer as many questions as I can tonight, and then I'll follow up in the next couple of days (I have to work tomorrow, and may not have time to respond to everything). I'll just put the questions I've seen thus far, and add my answer, and we can go from there. <br><br><br>Thanks<br><br>EDIT: I thought I'd touch on recruitment. I've seen a couple of comments about being recruited by certain agencies. I think there is a difference between being recruited, and recruiting. When I was a rookie our department hired five of us at the same time. We were lost, and didn't know what to do, because we were all figuring it out at the same time. We mess up a lot, and had to figure things out as our overnight sergeant didn't want to help us out. <br><br>When the next rookie just out of the academy was hired, we took him under our wing. We showed him how to do calls for service, and helped him write reports. When we were in a situation, and we wanted to do the right thing, we'd call each other and ask, "What would you do in this situation?" I think this is how departments develop their own culture. I would imagine that in larger departments, and agencies, they have more formal training. It could easily be seen as someone recruiting you into their mindset, when in reality it's just the officers trying to help each other do the right thing.<br><br><br>I also wanted to touch on the term "officer safety". I've seen a lot of mentions about this, and I think there is a misunderstanding. I think there is a difference between ensuring your own safety, and ensuring your safety at the expense of others. When I talk to new recruits, I tell them that officer safety is doing things the right way. If you take the extra time to do the little things that ensure a safe outcome for everyone, you're practicing officer safety. This may be slowing down and announcing yourself, remaining calm, having control of a situation, etc. I've also told them that if you have to choose between going home, or doing the right thing, I'd rather you go home. I'd prefer that you go home, and do the right thing, but that's not always an option. <br><br><br>However, I don't think that gives anyone a blank check to not do the right thing. If you choose to do the wrong thing, and violate someone's rights so that you can go home, you're in the wrong. You should be held accountable, and you're ruining the public's trust of all of us. <br><br>One more thing that I think was mentioned was the lack of police suicide reports. I think this may be a case of confirmation bias. I can't speak for other departments, but I think we work hard to not report those incidents. Not that we want to hide them, but that we don't want to create a contagion. I think this may happen in some larger departments, but I don't have any information on that.<br><br>FINAL EDIT (2/3/2018)<br><br>I'm going to stop monitoring this thread. I'm a little disheartened, and disappointed. I was warned not to do this. I was told that I wouldn't be able to change anyone's minds, and that I would be abused in the process, and it certainly appears to be that way. I thought the best way to bridge the divide between law enforcement, and the public, was to reach out to the public. I guess you can't call home if you don't know where home is. I'd rather help people than hurt them, and if you can't see that, then there's not much I can do about it. <br><br><br>Good luck to you all. Stay safe.