Sunday, October 26, 2014

Shreveport Police Storm the Wrong House and Draw Down on Innocent Citizen

UPDATE #2: 11/1/14:  I've received some emails asking about the status of this investigation; there is no update to share yet.  I can only say that we have filed a formal complaint with the Internal Affairs Department of the Shreveport PD and we are awaiting the outcome of that investigation.  Beyond that I don't want to say anything else; I want to let the investigation take place without putting the officer or the PD on trial here.  

The comments on this post have been vigorous and interesting.  Please remember to refrain from insulting each other!  Be nice!  And remember, not all officers are over-zealous like this one.  Most are doing good, honest work.  

I'll update more details when I can.  Thanks.

UPDATE:  The Shreveport police administration is actively responding to this investigation in a positive manner and have been in contact with us.  I'll update with what I can when I can, but please know that we do support the Shreveport police department and the officers on the job.  This was a bad situation and hopefully an isolated one.  Thank you for your support.

As the wife of a retired police officer, I appreciate more than most people the dangers that police officers face on a daily basis.  It's a dangerous job and most people wouldn't do it.

That being said, I had my first encounter with an over-zealous police officer last night and it scared the ever living hell out of me.

Scene:  Saturday night, about 8:30.  Steve and I are sitting in our living room with the World Series on television.  Kansas City was leading the Giants 4 - 1.  Steve can't stand listening to Joe Buck so the sound was turned way down.  He was working on his computer and I was reading a book on my iPad, and all three dogs were sleeping around us.

We have relatively new neighbors in the house directly behind us and these people have small children.  Lately the weather has been cool, turning to fall, and the evenings pleasant so the children are often playing out in the backyard, squealing and screaming as kids will do.  Yesterday their father was out there with them doing some home repair because I heard saws going and some hammering.   The kids don't bother me; I'm glad kids play outside and are not stuck in front of video games.

As Steve and I are watching the game, we can hear the kids playing and screaming; he asked me if I heard that because he wasn't sure what he was hearing; it could have been on the TV, which as I said, was turned way down.  I confirmed that I heard the kids screaming and we went on about our business.

About 15 minutes later, about 8:45, Steve looks up from his computer and says, "Hey, there are police outside, I mean RIGHT outside."  He could see the lights flashing through the blinds.  He got up and peeked out the blinds and saw patrol cars, and he saw officers with flashlights running down the driveway that cuts between my house and the neighbor's house: it's a wide double driveway that we share.

I stood up from the couch to look and as I crossed my living room I saw officers with flashlights running between my house and the neighbor's house on the other side.  One was shouting "It's back here, it's back here!"

I said, "Steve, they're over here now," and pointed to the window.  About that time there is a fierce pounding on my front door and lights pointed at my house.  "Open up!  Open up right now!"  Pounding, pounding on the door.

Steve tells me to grab the dog (the Lab who is very protective, but not barking) opened the front door and starts to ask what in the world is going on when this cop with his gun drawn and aimed at Steve's chest starts screaming "Get back!  Get back!  Who is screaming in this house?  Who is screaming!"  The cop props one foot on the threshold-step and continues screaming at us.

Steve raises his hands in an open gesture, the way you do when a cop is aiming a gun at you, and said, "What are you talking about?  Nobody is screaming in here!"

The cop, with the gun still aimed at Steve, looks at me and yells:  "Who else is in this house, who is doing that screaming?!"

I said, "Nobody is screaming in here!  It's those children behind us!  We have kids living behind us and they play in their backyard!"  And Steve is saying "We're just sitting here watching the baseball game!"  And the dog is standing there, who I've never managed to grab because this happened so fast, but he isn't barking or charging at the cop, thank goodness.

Steve tells him, "I'm a police officer, I'm a retired Bossier City police officer; we are just sitting here watching baseball!"

At that point the cop turns his gun so he's no longer aiming it at Steve but still has it in a firing grip, he turns to the officers standing behind him and in the driveway, and says "It's the house behind, on the other street!"  and takes off running.

Steve hollers after him, "What's your name!" and the officer gives it to him.

We closed the door in stunned silence.

We stared at each other, in silence, and then the fear and adrenaline hit me.  I started shaking and trembling and could not stop.  I sat back down on the couch, got back up, Steve is dumbfounded and then furious.  He gets on his cell phone and calls to speak to a supervisor and I walked outside on the back deck to see if I could hear anything.

I saw flashing police lights and the neighbor's back flood light was still on.  I heard a stereo playing, maybe from their house, maybe another house.

I went back inside and Steve was still on the phone demanding to speak to a supervisor.  He finally got a lieutenant to come to the house to talk to us; he came within about thirty minutes and he had Mr. Over-Zealous Cop with him.  We had the door open, watching through the storm door for the lieutenant to show up and we saw Mr. Over-Zealous walking the supervisor through the run down the driveway and down the other side of the house, explaining what they did.  Then Mr. Over-Zealous walks back to the street, crosses his arms, and leans against his patrol car watching us as we speak to the supervisor.

In the end, the whole thing was terrifying.  I know it could have been much worse; I kept thinking what if my dog had jumped at the cop?  He would have shot him.  What if the cop thought Steve was making a threatening move?  Would he have shot him?  He was definitely drawn down on him.  What if my 22-year old son had come out of his room, walked around the corner into this scene - would he have shot him?  What if Steve and I had gone out and my son was home alone to face this craziness?

The what-ifs kept me up all night long and haunt me.

Like I said, I know it could have been worse, because no shots were fired in this case, and you certainly read about incidents that have gone wrong all the time.

I blame all this on the over-militarization of the police force.  Officers dress like SWAT teams now in all black or in riot gear with cargo pockets all over them.  What happened to first assessing the scene before you draw down on a civilian?  What happened to knocking on the door and saying, "Hey, we've got a noise complaint and just need to be sure everything is OK in here."   And if he really thought someone was in mortal danger, why just take our word for it before running off to terrorize someone else?  When they were running between the houses, we had open windows (actually OPEN windows, as well as open blinds and curtains) and any officer could have looked inside or listened to see what was going on before drawing down on us.

I know police work is dangerous and I know that domestic calls are often the most dangerous.  I appreciate the difficulty of their job.  But with any job, your first responsibility is to do no harm, to avoid making any situation worse, and to act responsibly.

It is my own personal opinion that this officer is a menace and should not be on the street.  He very easily could have done something very, very bad last night.

54 comments:

Jim said...

I'm very anxious to see how SPD follows up on this. it was totally out of line and I can't believe that the officer was following any procedures that are in place. He definitely should not be on the street.

Pat Austin Becker said...

You and me both. I'll update this post when we know.

Unknown said...

Kids scream. They do it a lot this time of year because other kids chase them and pretend to be Freddy or Jason or a scary guy with a chainsaw...

Paul Moore said...

Great writing! Im curious - what's the rest of the story? Did they think somebody was hurting a child?

Pat Austin Becker said...

I don't know what they thought was happening -- they were looking for a screaming woman is all I know.

keltic1048 said...

This department has been a joke for years. When I went to school at Centenary in the 60's it was a joke, and hasn't gotten any better since.

yukio ngaby said...

Man... That's an awful story. I'm glad to hear that no one was hurt.

This kind of crap makes me very, very angry. And the whole call sounds like a Grade: A foul-up to boot.

You could be right, the militarization of the police could be partly to blame.

However, in my own experiences with cops (a lot of the local police were students at my dojo-- or rather the dojo I also attended... it wasn't MY dojo) a fair percentage needed to be let go from the force for having the wrong temperament, being overly zealous, being too quick to escalate a situation, and times being bullies-- even to kid students at the dojo believe it or not, etc. Yes, the vast majority weren't that bad. I'd guess maybe 10% to 15% were the kind that gave me pause. But the point is these guys were like that with or without the military gear. I didn't like dealing with them when everyone was unarmed.

Then again maybe the military-like training exacerbates the problem. It's an interesting question. Maybe we should all do a little research on the subject.

Again, glad to hear everyone was OK.

Anonymous said...

the police could be charged with trespassing. Written apology wo0uld be nice or maybe a lawsuit would change the way these things are done, Swat team for POT? Give me a break. Glad you and your family were not shot.

Anonymous said...

The problem with all of this is that police officers and their superiors operate with total immunity from civil and criminal responsibility. If Mr. Swat were to know that if he or they busted in the wrong door and were criminally and civilly responsible for any damage they did, including shooting your dog for protecting his family, they would make darn sure they knew what they were doing before kicking in a door. Blame your legislators for this.

Anonymous said...

Did someone mistake screaming children for a screaming woman?

What would he have done if your husband wasn't a retired police officer?

I am glad you and your pups are ok. Very scary!

Unknown said...

?????
So, let me get this straight. Someone apparently called 911 and reported screaming and yelling like someone was being hurt. They got to your house by mistake, talked loudly to you, realized they were in the wrong place and left.

Uh. I don't understand the problem. Your 'retired BCPD' officer should be able to clear you up on why the militarization of Police has been happening. Criminals don't carry 6 shot revolvers anymore. If someone talking loudly to you and/or your husband hurt your feelings, I can't believe you lived this long. You may want to move to the tip of a mountain somewhere.

Amy said...

I agree with Tommy.

Amy said...

I agree completely.

Marquette said...

Tommy, you seem to have glossed over the part where the police officer had his firearm aimed at completely innocent people as soon as the door was open.

Anonymous said...

Given that the police and sheriffs are psychos and socios who is crazy enough to open a door to these criminals? Cops are murdering Americans at record numbers!

Anonymous said...

Drawing ones' weapon used to be a last resort action; now it's a first response reflex. I will always teach my children to respect LEO's, but i will also instruct them to avoid LEO's at all cost.
Better to be self-sufficient and take your chances, than to be reliant but die by accidental incident. Sad, but that's what we're down to.

Anonymous said...

...then you and tommy don't understand what America is supposed to be about...sad little robots that you are...

Anonymous said...

Frankly, I'm not the least bit surprised by these "Barney Fife's". For most of these degenerates a badge is a sign of power that goes to their friggin' heads. If they could do anything else to earn a living they would but they can't so they won't. I don't shed a freakin' tear when one of these no good bastards is blown away, not a tear.

Ann Olsen said...

Wow....

Anonymous said...

I think there's something missing in this story... What if you had actually been in danger? Would you have wanted him to act politely to the people holding you hostage in your own home? Ask if it's OK and walk away? What if the officer did that on a similar call weeks ago and had to return to a beaten child or battered woman?
I find it hard to believe that you can say you support the police while asking for his badge in the same breath.
When I'm in a hurry to check my kids out to run to doctor appointments, I get irritated that the school asks for my ID every time, but I am thankful for the inconvenience because I know they are protecting my children.
Mr. Over-zealous, you are welcome in my neighborhood any day. Thank you for protecting the community, all while never knowing if today is the day you don't return to your family.

Anonymous said...

Tommy and Amy are both obviously either suffering from pretty severe mental deficiencies or they've never taken the time to read the Constitution of this once great nation. They probably went to Parkway, Airline, Haughton or another school where 4H and football trump physics and biology in the curriculum.

Anonymous said...

I guess this an opportunity to police bash. I guess your husband never made a mistake in his career? If he didn't then it means he was probably a lazy officer. I agree about the uniforms. The uniforms officers wear today look trashy and unprofessional. As far as making a mistake, how bout you wait until the complaint is investigated before you bash all officers. Maybe he is an idiot that needs to be fired. Maybe he just made a mistake. Maybe it wasn't as bad as your saying and your just exaggerating. I say let the investigation be completed before we draw a conclusion.
Remember the officer in Ferguson, Mo was convicted in the media before he even had a chance to tell his side.

Anonymous said...

Sadly, this isn't an isolated incident.

Last week a little girl was shot in the head during a raid on the WRONG house: a swat team broke into the wrong part of a duplex, threw in a flash-bang, and shot a tiny, innocent little girl in FRONT of her grandmother.

Several months back another such incident occurred. During that particular raid, the poor little boy was scarred for life. He was burned with a flash-bang and shot in the chest...

Police are no longer peace-keepers. It appears that officers are slowly becoming more like the Gestapo.

I feel like the old-school cops still care, but this newer generation of public servant seem to be desensitized to the human condition and what it means to be a "Upholder of the Law."

They are like the students I used to teach: they all expect something. The whole "air of expectation" has been irritating enough, but now it's becoming deadly.

My observation is that these new police persons feel that they are OWED our obedience just because they wear a badge. They feel as though the public OWES them, even if they are in the wrong.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but law-abiding citizens owe public servants absolutely NOTHING. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO SERVE THOSE WHO PAY THEIR CHECKS! And as far as respect goes? You give me a little, I will give it right back. You give me none and expect it, you are in for a rude awakening.

The truly horrible addition to all of this is that these "police" personnel are getting off with little to no justice for the families. I want to see these criminals put in prison: where they belong.

Human beings who care about others would never be so reckless in such sensitive situations; especially when lives are at stake.

All of the government corruption running amok these days reminds me: Power corrupts;
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Anonymous said...

Sadly, this isn't an isolated incident.

Last week a little girl was shot in the head during a raid on the WRONG house: a swat team broke into the wrong part of a duplex, threw in a flash-bang, and shot a tiny, innocent little girl in FRONT of her grandmother.

Several months back another such incident occurred. During that particular raid, the poor little boy was scarred for life. He was burned with a flash-bang and shot in the chest...

Police are no longer peace-keepers. It appears that officers are slowly becoming more like the Gestapo.

I feel like the old-school cops still care, but this newer generation of public servant seem to be desensitized to the human condition and what it means to be a "Upholder of the Law."

They are like the students I used to teach: they all expect something. The whole "air of expectation" has been irritating enough, but now it's becoming deadly.

My observation is that these new police persons feel that they are OWED our obedience just because they wear a badge. They feel as though the public OWES them, even if they are in the wrong.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but law-abiding citizens owe public servants absolutely NOTHING. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO SERVE THOSE WHO PAY THEIR CHECKS! And as far as respect goes? You give me a little, I will give it right back. You give me none and expect it, you are in for a rude awakening.

The truly horrible addition to all of this is that these "police" personnel are getting off with little to no justice for the families. I want to see these criminals put in prison: where they belong.

Human beings who care about others would never be so reckless in such sensitive situations; especially when lives are at stake.

All of the government corruption running amok these days reminds me: Power corrupts;
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Anonymous said...

Nice to know some people keep it classy by bashing someone's high school.

Anonymous said...

You are absolutely right--unfortunately. I'm glad my kids are grown. Unfortunately, I will have to tell my grandson you must use your "inside" voice outside as well, otherwise, you might get shot by a cop. Hell of a society we live in.

Anonymous said...

>The what-ifs kept me up all night long and haunt me.

There are some other "what-if"s you didn't mention, Ms. Austin. What if.......you and Steve were African-American? What if Steve wasn't a retired cop? Do you believe you would be getting the supervising Lieutenant down to speak with you that evening? Do you think the police would be "responding to this investigation in a positive manner"?

I'm just asking a few questions. I am very, very curious to see a few honest answer.

Anonymous said...

Highly ridiculous that you would actually believe that. Call the neighborhood Crack head next time you need help...

Anonymous said...

First, police work is not dangerous. Look it up. Certainly cops get shot, but when compared to even health care workers, they are way down the list. Then we have this fascination of cops pointing guns at people. When did that start? I was recently stopped for speeding. The cop was wrong as I was passing a car on a two lane and had a right to accelerate. Yet he acted as if I was a major criminal, a 65 year old out of shape WASP. Come on? We have a cop problem and it will not get better till we start pulling these people.

Minty Tingle said...

When you only train with a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.

Anonymous said...

It does sound like this officer overreacted, but the complaint would have been the same had there been a screaming woman in danger and he gently knocked on the door and left when no one answered.

Anonymous said...

I think Tommy is not really listening to the story from the point of view of the author.

I don't mean to speak for anyone, but it seems to me that the "talking loudly" part of the story that you are referring to wasn't the problem. However the gun pointed at her husband, that was the root of her dismay and discomfort!

Maybe the cop just needs more training... without a gun. Some people can't control their nerves in high stress situations, which is perfectly understandable. Sometimes the career you pick may not be a good fit.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ October 28, 2014 at 9:57 AM said, "Truth is the police officers today are far better trained than the "old school" officers to which you speak."
Really? Officers today aren't better trained? They maybe better trained on tactics but know very little about tact.
Today's younger officers are coming from a generation who constantly are playing shoot"em up blood and guts video games and communicate with each other through the internet and are devoid of the other person's feelings because they are lacking the face-to-face human contact. Today's generation when dealing with people are cold and impersonal. Not only do you see it in the younger officers but you see it in the retail business as well.
For instance, going on a call where an older gentleman had his lawnmower stolen. OK, so he had his lawnmower stolen, it happens all over the city to hundreds of people throughout the year. Big Deal. Well, to the man who lost his lawnmower it is a big deal. He hasn't lost hundreds of lawnmowers, he lost his.
Older officers were taught to take the few extra minutes to help comfort the man, collect the best information you can, including looking for any clues... Yes, you're basically putting on a show because you know damned good and well the lawnmower will most likely never be recovered, but to the man you're doing everything possible you think can to get it back, and he's grateful.
Today's officer it's get there, get the information, and get the hell out so that he can get back to writing traffic tickets to make his end of the month stats look good. He's making traffic stops, pulling people out of their cars, digging through their cars trying to find a roach to increase his stats because he arrested someone with drugs. He thinks he's being Dick Tracy when in fact he's acting like Inspector Clouseau. (Ok, maybe a little too "old school" for the young guys.)
And to the person who said something about "some officers not getting into trouble because they don't do anything." I will admit there are officers who are lazy, and there are plenty of them, but there are the ones who use their brains and think before going off half-cocked and try to avoid making mistakes. I think that takes a hell of a lot more work to avoid mistakes than doing something stupid and facing the consequences afterwards.

Anonymous said...

5:25, then why are police departments pushing out older officers? like those hired in the 80's? new officers are better trained.

Anonymous said...

This tact you speak if comes from years of experience. These stats you speak of are administrations making these officers do these things to justify their budget needs. Some officers just like doing their jobs and taking drug users off the streets. Nothing wrong with that. In fact I applaud an officer for doing his job.
The one thing I don't get is everytime an officer does something wrong nobody stops and ask why was he there. In this situation the police were obviously called to the location. Who called and what did he or she tell the dispatcher? Why does the person who calls the police never responsible for giving misinformation?
Again, for all you who bash the police and seem to know what ALL police are like today, what are you doing that causing you to come in contact with so many over-zealous officers?

Unknown said...

LMAO! Sometimes people dont have to do unlawful acts to come in contact with those types of officers! Maybe the people that are stating that FACTUAL information know these Narcissists themselves or should I say personally! I happen to know plenty of them and it's not from just run-ins with them because I'm a hard core criminal. Its because I know them personally and they have complexes because they believe they are the law or above it because they were given a badge. I still don't phathom how the hell becoming a police officer and given a badge automatically constitutes them as "credible". They cover up more crap to protect themselves than a zoo full pigs and they are just scared of the boss whom can determine their fate. I think a lot of cops these days were bullied or outcasts growing up. They use that badge to make up for their childhood and to become the " billy bad ass" they never were, never will be, or dream about being. But really if that's the case, they are still the same little cowards they have always been but with a bigger complex. I don't find all cops this way. Happen to know some very good upstanding officers. And wth does budget have to do with tact? Money doesn't have a damn thing to with it. I'll remember that next time I encounter a patient. How much money they spend or their length of stay will affect how I care for them. B.S.!!!! You wanna talk about education and where it was received??!!! Well I'm a graduate of Parkway High School and sports and 4-H did not trump academics. We didn't even have 4-H you idiot. It was considered an exemplary school. Sounds like you went to a reject school and are the uneducated imbecile!! oh wait! Let me give you some time to look up those rather large extensive vocabulary words that you may not know the meanings of because you went to a retard school....LOADING... . LMAO! And no the complaint would not have been the same if the officer gently knocked or someone was in danger because for one the complaint wasn't about how they knocked. Dude you really are an idiot. It was how the situation was handled when the door was opened. All it took was for the dumb ass to put his ear to the door. If he heard screams from within, yes his actions would have been justified but nooo..... let's just assume someone is in danger in this house and automatically pull a gun. What if a child had answered the door? You would have scarred them for life and they would grow up scared of law enforcement. I'm glad that wasn't the situation or my child cause I promise I would have your damn job! Seems to me the poster that is stating all these things may be the cop that was involved and feels the need to justify his actions and defend himself. Plus he's remaining anonymous which tells me he's scared of something! In reality, whomever you are, youre doing a piss poor job of defending this imbecile and if I were your boss, I'd LMAO at you and ask you if your badge was given from a crackerjack box. Then I'd fire your pathetic "credible" self for lack of a damn brain!! That is all!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Someone please give Summer an aspirin! She indicated she's in the health care field . . . I only hope she's a veterinarian assistant. I would hate to think someone who is so insecure is providing healthcare to people.

Anonymous said...

LIBERAL ALERT....LIBERAL ALERT

Anonymous said...

Police abuse is not a liberal or conservative issue. It is a real problem. It is not political.

Jazz One said...

Pat, I'm really hate reading that happened to you. That really sucks.

Anonymous said...

What abuse? All you've done is talk about a few officers who you think use to be nobody's in high school and now they are somebody with a badge. You given no example of how they abuse their power. This situation sounds to me like a mistake rather an abuse of power.

Unknown said...

Aspirin?!! Vet assistant?!! Insecure?! LMAO obviously you need a refresher on the vocabulary word my friend. Let me help you lol
insecure
1 afraid, anxious, uncertain, unconfident, unsure
2 dangerous, defenceless, exposed, hazardous, ill-protected, open to attack, perilous, unguarded, unprotected, unsafe, unshielded, vulnerable, wide-open
3 built upon sand, flimsy, frail, insubstantial, loose, on thin ice, precarious, rickety, rocky, shaky, unreliable, unsound, unstable, unsteady, weak, wobbly

Antonyms

1 assured, certain, confident, decisive, secure
2 & 3 firm, protected, reliable, safe, secure, sound, stable, steady, substantial, sure

You are obviously grasping for anything you can here and your reality is distorted. The statement I made is not one that I'm lacking confidence in or afraid of. I am FAR from insecure! I have a college degree and an education that's reliable and strong. If I was insecure, i would have no defense and believe me....I have plenty.
As far as my profession, i was promoted twice within 8 months and none of my 43 patients never complained about me. Matter fact they complained when I wasn't there. I'm sure that my I.Q. is far higher than your intelligence could ever phantom of reaching. And these are not insecure statements or conceited ones. I'm just that confident! And you couldnt come back and attack me for anything but my character when you know nothing about me? You didn't even debate a thing i said because you couldn't! You're just mad I brought facts to the table that you could NOT defend!
No one said anything about it being abuse of power. I was giving background info. But since you said it....yes the caller may have made a mistake in the address. Yes dispatch may have made a mistake. The dispatch may told officers in was in that vacinity. These are all unknowns. But this officers actions were no mistake. They were negligent! He failed to respond appropriately in regard to someone NOT being in trouble. Just like healthcare critical thinking must be applied. Sounds to me like this office treated it as someone was being attacked in which the caller could not have confidently stated because it was unknown. Guns were not necessary to use at a door they could have simply put their ear to or listened to their surroundings period! His actions were hasty and lacking thought. That is negligent. Many cops act without thought these days. I'm sure its because they believe they will not get in trouble and they can cover it. And I'm sure plenty of them don't think because they either werent taught to but taught simply reaction , they can only think as far as being a hero, or they can't critically reason because they aren't that intelligent. Nothing else explains the behavior. And since you mentioned it, yes that is abuse of power when they are aware of it and do it anyway

david7134 said...

I had a patient come in a few months ago and he had been badly beaten. I of course asked what had occurred and he said that cops had stopped him for reckless driving and because he was not cooperative they just about beat him to death. Why was he not acting in such a manner? Because it was subsequently established that his blood sugar had dropped and he was in insulin shock. I can assure you that a good beating does not help insulin shock. Then I know of another man that was in trouble and acting irrational. His wife called Shreveport EMT and instead the cops arrived. They proceeded to subdue the man and beat him. The problem he had was that his CO2 level was high as he had a bad heart and was in the process of dying. Likely the beating helped him to the next life.

Of course I don't expect cops to be doctors, but they are over physical and we definitely have a cop problem. I know a number of businessmen and many have had very bad interactions with our modern police force. These are the type of people that do not cause trouble and used to respect the law, now they don't. I know of a number of kids that have been killed by cops who were a little to quick to use their guns. For that matter, the ROE's in Iraq and elsewhere are more confining in terms of engagement than those for the police (also, cops use bullets outlawed in warfare).

My solutions, get the cops out of tactical gear, limit guns to a pistol and shotgun (no automatic weapons), eliminate SWAT, eliminate our drug laws and allow people to buy what they need as in other countries, significantly reduce police exposure to the average citizen (traffic laws), role back DUI restrictions, and in short, get the government out of our lives.

Anonymous said...

@4:30, I am one of the older officers the younger officers believe aren't as well trained as they.
When I was barely on the department a year I had an incident where I had stopped a car for suspected drunk driving. The driver had a fruity smell on her breath and she was jabbering incoherently. Before I placed her under arrest I had her checked out by the EMTs for possible diabetic shock, because I remembered a story one of my academy instructors told us.
He told us of an experience he had when he thought he had a drunk driver but something about the person he had was different. The words were more incoherent and the person had a strong, sweet fruity smell on his breath, and it turned out the driver was going into diabetic shock.
I remembered the story my instructor told, and the person I had stopped had s strong, sweet fruity smell on her breath.
Long story, short. The woman was drunk on her ass and was drinking some type of fruit flavored vodka.
I felt stupid for making the wrong guess and wasting the EMTs' time. she was drunk on some fruit flavored vodka. I felt like a dumb ass because I had called the EMTs for a damned drunk.
The supervisor who came on the happened to be the academy instructor who told his story.
He said to me, "You remembered the story I told you, didn't you?"
I told him I did and that if felt stupid for screwing up.
The supervisor told me, "You didn't screw up. You took the information you remembered and made a decision. What if she wasn't drunk.? What if she was having a diabetic seizure?..."
As a rookie I made stupid mistakes and got my ass chewed by older officers, and justifiably so. One older officer pulled me aside one night, because I thought I was Robo Cop, and he told me, "Look, Dumb ass. I'm not chewing your ass because I dislike you, I'm chewing your ass because I do like you. I'm giving you a wake up call in order to keep you from getting fired!"
And yet, some rookie twit on this blog keeps making comments about how better trained today's younger officers are compared to older officers. If that's the case I'm wondering why departments don't place older officer with the rookies so that older officers can learn from the rookie's experiences in the academy.
And another question I have for the rookie twit is, If older officers aren't as well trained as rookies, why are we subjected to annual training on new laws, new procedures, and new techniques? You know, just like the ones you learned in the academy six months ago.

graylady said...

Prehaps police cars should have "Bully and Intimidate" on them instead of "Protect and Serve".

Anonymous said...

Summer, you need something much stronger than aspirin.

This blog is way too liberal for me.

Aloha!

Anonymous said...

Dear older officer,
I didn't mean for my comment about training to be offensive or taken personally by you. But since youve taken it that way I'll engage.
Training today consist of power point presentations, training videos, role playing scenarios. When you went through the academy would have trained for an active shooter? No, like you stated, your best example was a STORY an instructor told you about a traffic stop about someone suffering from diabetes. You then said you went and stop a person who was drunk and you thought they were suffering from diabetes. Great example. That's the best example you could come up with? Wow. I bet you were a wealth of knowledge for young officers.

Anonymous said...

Well, you got me there. We didn't have power point presentations that showed the line of information the instructor wanted you to see at the push of a button.
Nope, all we had was an overhead project with words written on a transparency, and the instructor had to move a piece of paper over the words to reveal the point he was discussing.
Training videos? If you're talking DVD, once again you got me there too. We had to rely on those old VHS tapes.
As for role playing, I think we did that, too, so that's a draw.
As you can see, I received the same training you received and through annual training sessions, when we finally got power point presentations and DVDs, we pretty much kept up to the same standards as the rookies coming out of the academy.
As for my anecdote, it was to show that policing is more than strapping on a gun and whipping the shit out of somebody because you think you're Billy Bad Ass.

Anonymous said...

P.S.
I forgot to address your comment about "active shooters"... Active shooters isn't something that just started six months ago since you were in the academy. Like I said, you are a twit!

Anonymous said...

P.S.
I forgot to address your comment about "active shooters"... Active shooters aren't something that just started since you graduated from the academy six months ago. Like I said, you are a twit!

Pat Austin Becker said...

Update 11/4/14: SPD still investigating. I'm staying quiet on it until the results of their investigation are final. I did write a letter to Chief Shaw with a copy to IA and to Mayor Glover last week. Just waiting, now.

Anonymous said...

So your saying this is ok when it happens to minorities, but not white neighborhoods? I am sure your police husband pulled his gun out during his career.

Pat Austin Becker said...

I didn't say that. Don't come on my blog and say I said something I didn't say. This isn't ok wherever it happens.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with your husband. Joe Buck is a hack. Unlistenable.