COPS ARE REAL PEOPLE TOO
YA KNOW.......
Well, I guess I already screwed up since a Prologue by it's definition is something that comes first, but hey, when I reshuffle these pages later who's the wiser? As some ancient smart ass put it so well, 'better late than never'.
The point of this prologue is simply to advise you, the reader, that I do not hold a single experience I share up as anything special or unique. Every cop on this planet has a litany of stories that are funnier, sadder, grosser or more poignant than mine.
Talk to any cop and he will regale you with the shit he's seen and been asked to do on your behalf. They just don't feel like, or haven't gotten around to putting it in a blog. A few have written best sellers but for all the stuff 'we' have seen and done, not enough of it is shared.
Oh, TV Cop shows have their niche, but remember, those are active cases and the officers know they are being taped. Their actions and most importantly, what they are really thinking and they feel about it are filtered through the eye of political correctness.
The purpose of telling about honest reactions and thoughts of the events in my experience is to share what no politically correct 'reality' show can do. The TV cops are under scrutiny to be total robots cranking out widget answers. The fact is they are human and there is more behind the 'Sir, stop resisting', the 'please step out of the car' and 'how can I help you?' dialogue.
Police are not heartless, expressionless, humorless, cold hearted arrest machines. It comes off as that because we are not allowed the luxury of participatory reactions. What I mean by that is sure we think it's sad when Uncle Joe gets creamed in the family Taurus but if we bled for every Uncle Joe we would be useless when the shit hits the fan. The public doesn't need another crying bystander, they need a detached,cool headed person who can do the thinking and acting while THEY lose it.
It's not that we don't care or are cruel, it is just that we can't allow ourselves to care too much and we have to see the gallows humor in these pickles or we would all end up at the front of the rubber room intake door.
It's training, professional detachment and the ability to function under stress that separates the emergency worker from the victims and general public. We simply can't hurt for every hurting person, bleed for every bleeding person, cry for every crying person, care for every person who needs to be cared about. It would drain the officer to the point of insanity, and often does.
So we make jokes and smart ass remarks to maintain our mental detachment, it separates the shepherd from the sheep and keeps us both protected from the aftermath of shit that happens. Being forthright about this kind if stuff is some times politically incorrect, can open you up to a law suit or simply hold you up to a level of scrutiny no person should endure simply for being ready, willing and able to help people who can't help themselves.
So please, if you ever saw a cop do his job and thought to your self, what a cold SOB, just remember he's trying to keep his sanity so he can think when you might not be able to. And if you are still so thick headed you can't see my point, go read the liberal press for your self gratification.
And if you are a cop with a story you been itching to tell but want your privacy, email it to me and I'll post it. And I promise I won't take credit for your 'good deed' or the 'blame' you if you screwed up!
