In Defense of Police Officers

Lately I have found myself using Stumble quite a lot. I fly through various sites searching for interesting items. I have varied interests and am always looking for something to keep my attention. One thing I have noticed is that there more and more sites bashing on police. Not the band The Police, but rather police officers.

I think it is rather disturbing that there are so many sites instructing people how not to get “trapped” by the evil, no good police. I am in favor of police doing their job and doing it correctly as they were instructed, trained and by local, state and federal statutes. I can not condone officers who do not fall within those guidelines. I, myself, have written a couple of pieces about a person’s rights when encountering a police officer. My complaint is with the articles which portray all officers as being evil monsters bent on arresting everyone. I agree that there are bad cops out there, there is no denying that. It has been my experience, however, that officers are not these evil monsters trying to trap you.

Police officers are regular human beings just like you and I. They have spouses and children. They pay mortgages, car payments, and utility bills like everyone else. Many even have child support they pay. They are not fabricated robots with the notion of destroying anyone’s lives. Police Officers are in many ways like soldiers. These are people who have made a conscious decision to do a job that few want or dare to do. I don’t websites bashing on the U.S. Soldiers because they joined the military (maybe I am not looking in the right places though). I have heard many arguments that officers are either ex-high school bullies continuing their reign of terror but with a gun and handcuffs or the kid from high school who was picked on and is out for revenge. I don’t believe this to be true in today’s society. Police officer screening is becoming increasingly more strict and selective. There is too much liability at stake for the hiring agency to not screen applicants well.

Some of the articles I have seen are in reference to the dreaded traffic stop. Let’s face it, no one wants to get a traffic citation. Some of the articles I have seen are not too bad. In fact some are even pretty good. I have seen good suggestions like “don’t argue at the side of the road, save it for court”, and “do not admit to anything”. I have to say this is sound and wise advice. I do not agree with the advice I have seen suggesting short one answer responses to the officer and continually asking the officer “can I go now?” I believe that the more obnoxious you make yourself the better the officer will remember you. If you are pleasant and respectful to the officer (whether you agree with the stop or not) I would think the officer is more likely to forget you and the contact. Then you can fight it in court better when the officer can barely remember the stop. I can guarantee the officer will remember you if you are a jerk.