When I say that our law enforcement community is evolving, I don't mean as much in tactics and technology as I do mentality. Before I start I want everybody to know that for the most part I respect officers. However, like in every area of life, some give a bad name to all.
As I have interacted with officers over the past year and read about changes nationwide I have noticed a trend. More and more officers are seeing themselves as "special." We are civilians and they are some sort of special class. I see a tremendous move for all departments to have special forces teams, weapons the military trains with constantly and require constant training to operate, vehicles coming out of the military that are designed for warfare, and a tremendous Judge Dredd mentality.
Once again, this is not with all, but enough that we not only see the rare in the media but also walking or cruising our streets.
There was a time when law enforcement officers felt the calling to serve, and most communities law enforcement signage stated "To Protect and Serve." We than moved to a level where most officers were veterans, because most men served in the armed forces, to a police force of veterans because veterans get extra points in the civil service selection process. Today we have who groups who have the need to control that move toward law enforcement.
In my early years as a driver every officer who pulled me over, and there were many, treated me with a level of respect. Today it is common to have an officer who struts like a peacock or tom turkey looking to impress. In the past there was the occasional error in code understanding, but today I face many officers who will mold the code to their own purpose. Carry laws are a good example in that even if they know they still stand by their understanding.
Case in point:
In a recent class an officer told the class that whenever an officer is in the area the exchange must include disclosure of weapon at the earliest possible point. When pointed out that he was wrong and provided with the statute, he read it and responded that if his way was not followed I would find myself cuffed for questioning.
In a more recent situation I was involved in a vehicle accident last week. In Minnesota our driver's license is tagged with carry permit information, and a full vehicle registration search will also bring it up. The officer who came to assist never asked about firearms, and after running my DL was observant of the interior of the pickup whenever she approached but never said a word.
Here I go on a controversial point of view that needs the reader to remember that twice I have stated that not all law enforcement officers or departments are bad:
I see a trend that the Mall Ninjas are infiltrating our law enforcement, and they are rising in the ranks to those who believe their department needs to be equipped and trained like Seal Team (whatever the hot number in the media is today).
Do we need or want law enforcement who trains with their standard weapons twice a year and their special weapons quarterly running around like Rambo? How many of our departments really need military combat assault vehicles to handle issues in their communities, and in large cities, how many of these vehicles do they really need? And finally, where is the line between uniforms that look like these are professional front line community servants, and heavily trained special forces team members?
MBTV
Forum Index
Help
Calendar
Contact Info
Register as a member
