Ask Me About Being a Police Officer - Page 2

ItalianFX · #1 10-08-2007, 06:06 PM

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Were you trained to word things in such a way as to maximize the chances of a person giving up their rights to you?

For instance, asking whether or not you can search someones car in such a way that leads them to believe they do not have a choice when in reality they do.

Please do not take this post the wrong way and I hope that you'll reply. I'm not passing judgement here, it just seems to me a lot of police tend to intimidate people into doing things they do not have to do using creating language etc, and I'm wondering if they were specifically taught this or if its just individual cops etc

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I was never specifically taught to do anything like that. With PBT tests (like a breathalyzer), I will specifically say, "Do you agree to take a PBT test?" I will not say, "Blow in this tube," like they don't have a choice. I make it known that people have a choice. I try not to be deceptive in any way unless I am trying to get some information out of somebody in an investigative way. I will not degrade anybody's rights.

FYI, PBTs are not sufficient evidence to be able to convict anyone for DUI, and everybody has the right to refuse the PBT without recourse.

bkholdem · #2 10-10-2007, 11:43 PM

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Tase anyone, bro?

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I don't carry a taser, but if I did, I have never been in a situation where I thought I would need it.

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If you did carry a tazer, and there was this teenager you knew that was a total assh0l-e and he told you he wanted to try to use your tazer to tazer his balls and you were 100% sure he would never tell and you would never get in any kind of trouble for it, would you let him do it to see what happens?

ItalianFX · #3 10-10-2007, 11:46 PM

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Tase anyone, bro?

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I don't carry a taser, but if I did, I have never been in a situation where I thought I would need it.

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If you did carry a tazer, and there was this teenager you knew that was a total assh0l-e and he told you he wanted to try to use your tazer to tazer his balls and you were 100% sure he would never tell and you would never get in any kind of trouble for it, would you let him do it to see what happens?

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No. I'd never let anyone take my gun either. i won't even let anyone touch it when it's loaded and in my holster. I also carry an Asp, and while I let people hold it and check it out, I never let them touch me with it.

If I had a taser, i'd never take it out unless I was in a situation that called for using it.

Also, there is a difference between the tasers that police carry and tasers that people have for self-defense. Police carry tasers that look like guns.

ItalianFX · #4 10-08-2007, 05:42 PM

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Have you ever arrested someone for something?

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Anytime a citation is written, it is called an "arrest." As far as putting someone in handcuffs and taking them to jail, I have a couple times.

The first time was when I got a call from the hospital saying that a lady just took a bunch of medical supplies, stuffed them into her coat pockets, and walked out. Her next of kin was a guy who had a bench warrant out for his arrest for 8 months. That was 2 days before Christmas. He is currently back on the list, and drives a semi somewhere out there.

Other times were for other bench warrants that weren't as exciting.

It is generally misunderstood though, that all arrests mean jail time. Most of the time they are just citations and everyone goes home.

One time I had a guy from Maryland pump gas without paying the full price. He came back the next day, I caught him, and told him to pay. He refused to pay saying it wasn't him. I told him, "Pay or I will have to arrest you for retail theft." His friend then said something about him going to jail, and he ended up paying. All he would have gotten was a citation and he would have went on his way.

Rococo · #5 10-08-2007, 07:38 PM

If you had to fire your gun in the line of duty, are you 100% confident that you wouldn't freeze up?

Would you feel at all disappointed if you went your entire career without firing your gun in the line of duty?

ItalianFX · #6 10-08-2007, 08:04 PM

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If you had to fire your gun in the line of duty, are you 100% confident that you wouldn't freeze up?

Would you feel at all disappointed if you went your entire career without firing your gun in the line of duty?

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I'm 99% confident I wouldn't freeze up. That 1% is because I've never been in a situation like that.

I would not be disappointed if I never fired my gun.

felson · #7 10-08-2007, 08:29 PM

Does your station have an Internal Affairs specialist? How does he get along with the other officers?

ItalianFX · #8 10-08-2007, 08:33 PM

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Does your station have an Internal Affairs specialist? How does he get along with the other officers?

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No, my dept is very basic. The only thing we have other than police officers and the chief is a lady who is our secretary who also fills in as the parking enforcement.

theblackkeys · #9 10-09-2007, 01:43 AM

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Does your station have an Internal Affairs specialist? How does he get along with the other officers?

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No, my dept is very basic. The only thing we have other than police officers and the chief is a lady who is our secretary who also fills in as the parking enforcement.

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No dispatchers/call takers?

ItalianFX · #10 10-09-2007, 06:27 PM

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Does your station have an Internal Affairs specialist? How does he get along with the other officers?

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No, my dept is very basic. The only thing we have other than police officers and the chief is a lady who is our secretary who also fills in as the parking enforcement.

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No dispatchers/call takers?

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I forgot to respond to this.

We have dispatchers, but they are at a central location. They handle calls from the surrounding areas, including ambulance and fire departments. We don't have specific dispatchers for our department.

Call takers, well, our secretary does that when she works during the week. If it's after her hours or the weekends, then we take the calls over the telephone if we are in the station. If someone calls when we aren't there, then they can call our dispatchers and they will contact us to call the people.