12-16-2018, 05:30 AM
Rather than get off topic on the Profiling thread, I thought I would start a new thread about contact with LE in general. As I said in the Profiling thread, I was a street Officer for 29 years, and have honorably retired. In general, LE is usually a thankless profession, periodically dangerous, but also meaningful to the majority of all Officers. Any Officer that wants or expects thanks or accolades for what he or she does, is in the wrong profession. On the other hand, if you want to make an Officers day, thank them for what they do.
There are many things to consider when contacted by LE, regardless of while riding a motorcycle, driving a car, or any other contact. First, in LE, we never know who we are dealing with and unfortunately there are bad people out there with bad intent. One of our motorcycle Officers went to make a routine traffic stop on a speeding car. What he did not know was that the vehicle he was stopping was the get away car for a bank robbery that had just happened. A suspect in the back seat shot him in the face as he approached. He survived after many surgeries and long recuperation. An Officer on my shift responded to a report of a female sitting in a stalled car in the roadway one night. When he arrived and went to her driver door, she shot him in the chest. He was wearing body armor that saved him. She later said she was waiting for any Officer to shoot and kill, and she is now in prison. So, if contacted by LE, be polite, do not argue, and comply with the Officers instructions. Arguing with an Officer will only put him or her on the defensive, and needlessly escalate the situation. If you think you have a legitimate beef, and/or the Officer was wrong/out of line, do something about it later through appropriate channels. Remedies will be an appearance in court if a citation was issued, or if there is no citation involved, Internal Affairs at the Officers department.
The vast majority of Officers are good people, doing a difficult job. That said, there will always be a few "rotten apples" in any profession. Then too, there is a big learning curve to doing the job the right way. Young, inexperienced Officers ( not always ) are sometimes what veteran Officers call "Badge Heavy" or suffering from "Rookie Itis". This is a "there is no substitute for experience" thing, and does not mean the Officer is a bad apple. Compare it to learning proper breaking on a motorcycle, i.e. for example, what happens when hitting the rear brake too hard. Be polite, dont argue, comply with instructions, and if you think you were wronged take appropriate action later.
In just about any other profession, if you screw up, you might get chewed out or loose your job. In LE, if you screw up, some innocent might get hurt or worse, or you might get hurt or worse, or a fellow Officer might get hurt or worse. At the end of the day, everyone wants to go home to friends and family when work is done, but the odds of that good daily result is much lower for LE than most other jobs. We know that and accept it, otherwise we would not be in the profession. On average in the U.S. 150 Officers are killed in the line of duty every year. A risk yes, but the satisfaction of doing something that matters cant be measured. I saved a life twice during my career, prevented a young woman from being raped, caught a robber/rapist, and took a lot of bad people off the street. Tremendous sense of meaningful accomplishment and self satisfaction, but I digress.
Most people will have very little contact with LE during their life time. Most of the time, LE is pretty much invisible to the public unless we are needed or enforcing the law. Consequently the majority of the public does not understand much of what we actually do, or why we do what we do. I survived to go home at the end of my shift every day in one piece, because I quickly learned what to look for in every contact, the warning signs of bad intent, who the bad guys were, and how to figure out who was not a threat. So, whether riding a motorcycle, or any other contact, if you have a basic understanding of LE and how to conduct yourself during a contact, the odds are that it will not be a painful experience. There also needs to be an understanding that while the vast majority of LE has good intent, as much as we try not to, we do make mistakes and are not perfect. Bad apples get weeded out as they show themselves, and rookie Officers learn from experience.
LE is ordinary men and women trained to do an extra ordinary job. Whether the contact is with a veteran, or a rookie Officer, be polite, dont argue, comply with instructions, take appropriate actions later if you feel you were wronged. Remember to keep your hands in plain sight, dont reach into pockets, or make any sudden movements. If you have to reach into some area the Officer cannot see, like a pocket, glove box, or console, tell the Officer and ask for the OK before reaching. Basically remember the Officer does not know who you are and what your intent is. Doing these things will help make any contact with LE pleasant to minimally painful.
There are many things to consider when contacted by LE, regardless of while riding a motorcycle, driving a car, or any other contact. First, in LE, we never know who we are dealing with and unfortunately there are bad people out there with bad intent. One of our motorcycle Officers went to make a routine traffic stop on a speeding car. What he did not know was that the vehicle he was stopping was the get away car for a bank robbery that had just happened. A suspect in the back seat shot him in the face as he approached. He survived after many surgeries and long recuperation. An Officer on my shift responded to a report of a female sitting in a stalled car in the roadway one night. When he arrived and went to her driver door, she shot him in the chest. He was wearing body armor that saved him. She later said she was waiting for any Officer to shoot and kill, and she is now in prison. So, if contacted by LE, be polite, do not argue, and comply with the Officers instructions. Arguing with an Officer will only put him or her on the defensive, and needlessly escalate the situation. If you think you have a legitimate beef, and/or the Officer was wrong/out of line, do something about it later through appropriate channels. Remedies will be an appearance in court if a citation was issued, or if there is no citation involved, Internal Affairs at the Officers department.
The vast majority of Officers are good people, doing a difficult job. That said, there will always be a few "rotten apples" in any profession. Then too, there is a big learning curve to doing the job the right way. Young, inexperienced Officers ( not always ) are sometimes what veteran Officers call "Badge Heavy" or suffering from "Rookie Itis". This is a "there is no substitute for experience" thing, and does not mean the Officer is a bad apple. Compare it to learning proper breaking on a motorcycle, i.e. for example, what happens when hitting the rear brake too hard. Be polite, dont argue, comply with instructions, and if you think you were wronged take appropriate action later.
In just about any other profession, if you screw up, you might get chewed out or loose your job. In LE, if you screw up, some innocent might get hurt or worse, or you might get hurt or worse, or a fellow Officer might get hurt or worse. At the end of the day, everyone wants to go home to friends and family when work is done, but the odds of that good daily result is much lower for LE than most other jobs. We know that and accept it, otherwise we would not be in the profession. On average in the U.S. 150 Officers are killed in the line of duty every year. A risk yes, but the satisfaction of doing something that matters cant be measured. I saved a life twice during my career, prevented a young woman from being raped, caught a robber/rapist, and took a lot of bad people off the street. Tremendous sense of meaningful accomplishment and self satisfaction, but I digress.
Most people will have very little contact with LE during their life time. Most of the time, LE is pretty much invisible to the public unless we are needed or enforcing the law. Consequently the majority of the public does not understand much of what we actually do, or why we do what we do. I survived to go home at the end of my shift every day in one piece, because I quickly learned what to look for in every contact, the warning signs of bad intent, who the bad guys were, and how to figure out who was not a threat. So, whether riding a motorcycle, or any other contact, if you have a basic understanding of LE and how to conduct yourself during a contact, the odds are that it will not be a painful experience. There also needs to be an understanding that while the vast majority of LE has good intent, as much as we try not to, we do make mistakes and are not perfect. Bad apples get weeded out as they show themselves, and rookie Officers learn from experience.
LE is ordinary men and women trained to do an extra ordinary job. Whether the contact is with a veteran, or a rookie Officer, be polite, dont argue, comply with instructions, take appropriate actions later if you feel you were wronged. Remember to keep your hands in plain sight, dont reach into pockets, or make any sudden movements. If you have to reach into some area the Officer cannot see, like a pocket, glove box, or console, tell the Officer and ask for the OK before reaching. Basically remember the Officer does not know who you are and what your intent is. Doing these things will help make any contact with LE pleasant to minimally painful.
