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Essays on police training
Law enforcement career path
Career path as a police officer
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As a trained police officer, I run towards the fight while everyone else retreats. This sometimes means putting my personal safety second to someone in need. There are inherent dangers that come with my profession. In fact; if I take the time to actually reflect on my 23-year career, it is terrifying to comprehend the situations that could have ended a number of different ways. Every call I answered potentially could have been the last. Not knowing what to expect, the day filled simultaneously with nerves and excitement when I started my career as a police officer in the summer of 1992. Looking back now, I was a mere naive twenty-one year old kid who looked even younger. Being small in stature, the gun belt resembled an inner tube …show more content…
During an investigation of a known drug house the unit prepared to conduct a search warrant. Because of the late hour when we arrived, most people had already gone to bed. Knowing this, we loudly announced “Police, open the door!” as we knocked. Standing on the front porch, waiting to enter, a series of gunshots rang out from inside the residence in our direction. Instinctively, to take cover, I dove off the porch into a row of hedges. Fortunately, no one got shot by gunfire in the incident. After further commands given to the resident, he surrendered enabling us to resolve the situation peacefully. After a three-year stint in narcotics, I returned to a precinct to work uniform patrol. As a patrolled during my shift on a Tuesday morning around 10:00 a.m., I passed two men in an older model Mustang who were not wearing their seat belts. In addition to the known violation, my instincts told me there was something different about the occupants. As the hair on the back of my neck stood up it furthered my suspicions. This would later prove to be anything but a routine traffic
...is novel with an outstanding salute to those who serve in law enforcement saying, “And so I tip my hat to all the good cops throughout our nation who risk their lives and strive to do the right thing when facing split-second decisions about life and death every day in the kill zone” (Klinger, 2004, page 274). Pulling the trigger of a gun can cause a variety of issues both within and outside of a police officer’s life, but it could also potentially save another human being from harm and keep the safety of our society intact.
Law enforcement officers are in constant dangerous situations while out doing their responsibilities. When in these threatening situations, police officers typically have little to no time to determine the right precaution. These precautions may lead to the death of a suspect or even the officer themselves. The media has recently shed light on police brutality with use of force. Use of force could be defined as the amount of effort an officer must use in order to make an unwilling subject compel. Police officers are usually trained to enable the proper responsible to a dangerous situation they may be put in. In this paper I will go through the guidelines that a police officer must obey when considering a certain degree of use of force. Within each guideline there will be the pro and cons with that situation and also a recent case that happened. This paper will also talk about how this topic can be addressed more properly. These guidelines that officer are taught during their training are called Use of Force Continuum.
In many scenarios, police officers are not given enough time to make the rational decision between who lives and who dies. When a person’s survival is at risk, it is not uncommon for the body to enter fight or flight mode. Lindsey Betromen, author of the article “Responding with Fight or Flight” states, “The fight or flight syndrome
The families of the “victims” and the deceased compile a compelling story which incurs the “out of hand” behavior and the “excessive force” tendencies of the Albuquerque police department, as described by Heinz (C2). Many of these claims in my opinion are rash and are out of pure emotional anger because of the immediate loss of a loved one; however, one case that caught my attention can bring the matter into dispute. In May of 2011, a 22 year old man was shot because he was believe...
Every day law enforcement officials are faced with the possibility of being assaulted or killed while in the line of duty and when off duty. Officers are faced with the harsh reality that today may be their last day alive. This leads to a rush of adrenaline when responding to crimes or when they encounter various situations. Often this rush of adrenaline can cloud an officer’s judgment. Officers are then faced with the possibility of being accused of excessive force. Citizens often call an officers use of excessive force “police brutality” (Petrowski, 2005). Citizen’s opinion of law enforcement has often been linked to the media’s tactics of displaying officers using what appears to be excessive force during an arrest. This typically leads to citizens becoming outraged and creates an issue for the force. The question then arises as to what exactly is excessive force? While many citizens may characterize force as excessive, the law reflects the realities that officer’s face in making decisions to use force (Petrowski, 2005). Each complaint of excessive force has to be examined and a decision made based on the evidence and circumstances surrounding the case. It is the agency’s duty to gain control of police officers use of force in order
It is a myth to believe that an officers job is spend fighting dangerous crimes, in reality officers spend more time handing smaller cases. For example, police officers spend a lot of time doing daily tasks such as giving speeding tickets and being mediators in disputes (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Handing out speeding tickers and handling minor disputes are far from fighting crime. Police officers spend more time doing preventive measures (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Preventive measures involve officers intervening to prevent further altercations. Victor Kappeler and Gary Potter discussed the myth of crime fighting as invalid and misleading notions of an officer’s employment.
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York:
Something happened my sophomore year of high school that little did I know would change my perspective, not only of myself, but life in general. I was looking for something new and exciting to enhance my high school existence and decided to give the Criminal Justice Club a try. I was familiar with the advisor of the club, but knew that the club had astigmatism for attracting those students who were just looking for something easy to do. I knew about the criminal justice system, but only what they show on Law and Order. However, I immediately fell in love, not only with the club but the entire prospect of Criminal Justice. I stepped into the club as if it were a place I belonged and easily became a leader. I was able to learn things the TV shows
As we cruised around the community, he pointed out countless minor traffic violations, both moving and non-moving, but opted not to make any stops. At this point he stated his main concern was to spot any impaired drivers and get them off the road. Eventually, as we came up behind an older civic (the Civic had a broken brake light) on Centreville Road, the officer stated that he detected the scent of marijuana coming from the Civic. The driver of the Civic noticed Crutchman’s police cruiser behind him and dropped his speed to 5 mph under the posted limit. Officer Crutchman began tailing the vehicle which immediately turned off on the next available road. We proceeded to follow the Civic for a couple of miles. I could tell that Officer Crutchman wanted to make the stop, and I inquired why he hadn’t done so already on account of the Civic’s faulty brake light. He responded that he is cautious about making such stops because he does not want a “new law named after him” on account of the controversy surrounding pretextual stops. It is possible that this careful attitude has developed as a result of the rising public outcry against police and
I cannot remember a time in our nation’s history where law enforcement officers carrying out the line of duty have been at such a risk from retaliatory attacks. The courage it takes to put on a uniform in the morning, leave your families at home, and head to such a demanding and important duty is astonishing to
that I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field but I was not sure
Have you ever thought of going to the police academy and serving your community? That’s exactly what my father Jerald Perkett did. Jerald sat down with me at the kitchen and was in his regular work clothes, a quicksilver shirt and jeans. He looked very serious and ready for the interview because he was very familiar with interviews. I looked at him and slowly let out the words, “are you ready?” and the first question came.
Most officers in the department reported that many of the more experienced officers felt that the currently taught self defense is only moderately useable and not efficient enough (Nieuwenhuys 1). Although many officers are able to handle violent suspects, some officers with a lack of self defense training could have trouble with handling the suspect and put themselves in danger and work would become unsafe for that officer. With the correct training and additional time practicing their self defense skills, an officer can help maximize their safety in the
In the past eight years as a police officer for the City of South Salt Lake, I have found that personal growth and achievement in my career have been based on certain past experiences. Such experiences have molded what my personality is today. I have found that in order to be triumphant in my personal and professional goals, it has been necessary for me to reflect not only on my strides, but also my mistakes.