A Policeman Is... -- Author unknown
1957 Pulitzer Prize winning photo taken by
William (Bill) Beall, Washington Daily News.
We had planned for today to comment on the findings, both the perceptions and the realities, of the Ekl Williams Police Department audit. Then an anonymous reader submitted the following, and we feel it's a lot better than anything we had to say today. We're going to leave our comments on the audit for another time.
A policeman is a composite of what all men are...a mingling of saint and sinners...dust and deity. Cold statistics wave the fan over the stinkers... underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality because they are news.
What that really means is they are exceptional, unusual - not commonplace. Buried under the froth is the fact that less than one half of one percent of policemen misfit that uniform. And that's a better average than among clergymen.
What is a policeman made of. He of all men is at once the most needed and the most unwanted...a strangely nameless creature who is "sir" to his face... and "pig" to his back.
He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals... so that each will think he won...But if the policeman is
neat, he's a flirt. If he's not, he's a grouch.
In an instant he must make decisions which require months for a lawyer. But if he hurries, he's careless. If he's deliberate, he's lazy. He must be first to an accident...infallible with a diagnosis...he must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and above all be sure the victim goes home without a limp, or expect to be sued.
The police officer must know every gun...draw on the run...and hit where it doesn't hurt. He must be able to whip two men his size and half his age... without damaging his uniform and without being brutal. If you hit him, he's a coward. If he hits you, he's a bully.
A policeman must know everything and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake.
The policeman must, from a single human hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal.. and tell you where the criminal is hiding. But if he catches the criminal he's lucky...if he doesn't he's a dunce. If he gets promoted he has political pull. If he doesn't he's a dullard.
The policeman must chase bum leads to a dead end and stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen, but refused to remember.
He runs files and writes reports until his eyes ache to build a case against some felon who will get dealt out by a shameless lawyer or an honorable judge who isn't.
A policeman must be a minister...social worker...a diplomat...a tough guy... and a gentleman.
And of course he will have to be a genius, for he will have to feed a family on a policeman's salary.
August 20, 2008
To Protect and Serve.
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53 comments:
LOVE the picture! Coming from a Chicago police family (father, husband and father-in-law), this is the best description I have ever read on being a cop. Thanks.
Excellent. Thanks PRU.
Even us who wear the badge didn't think the job is what it is, until we signed on.
The best description of us I have ever heard.
PRUdos to the PRU Crew for this one - it's terrific!
It's a different type of individual that will place his life on the line.
As they say " life has a taste that the protected will never know".
Thank you.
Like I've said before, I'm happy in Park Ridge and I suppose I owe some of that to the men and women of the PRPD.
Kudos!
Now that I'm all warm and fuzzy, I could probably be talked into giving up $30 million to get them out of their rat's nest.
What's that supposed to mean.
Public Citizen:
If you want to give the cops $30 million of your money for a new cop shop, I'd be the first to propose that they name the new joint after you.
But until I no longer threaten my car's suspension, tires and wheels on a daily basis driving over our crappy streets, or threaten my head, back or knees stumbling over our broken sidewalks, or can stop wondering if I should get a second generator so I can run my sump pump AND keep my refrigerator cold during the next storm/flood/blackout, you can keep your warm and fuzzies to yourself.
I agree wholeheartedly with the portrayal of cops, but I'd rather give them more money to feed their families than spend multimillions on another over-priced, poorly-designed and inadequately maintained building.
don't you think Howie will do a whole bunch more studies before any of that will happen?
that's his GAME!
I'm with Anon. 8/21 at 8:26. People, not big brick boxes, do all the things PRU wrote about. I've been in the police station 3 times in the past two years and it needs work but is serviceable.
With the economy the way it is, and with all the other things we need, only an idiot (or somebody looking to make a quick buck) would talk about spending $10 or more million on any new public building in this town.
So why is Frank Wsol, Mr. fiscal conservative Republican, talking about spending $16 million on one just as soon as the public works building bonds get paid? And why are Bach, Allegretti, Frimark and others agreeing with him?
I hear the police, who have been without a contract since April, are presently dealing with city officials for a new one. Lets step up and support them for decent raises (6% a year is a start). Forget the Building, invest in the people.
Anonymous August 21, 2008 12:05 PM
Re raises for the cops, good idea. But is the entire police force and the union going to commit in writing to publicly renounce a new police station for the next 10 years?
I've seen how public employees (can you say Teachers Union...uh, I mean the Park Ridge Education Association) play this game with a bunch of pushover administrators and easily-led voters so that they get the new building AND the raises.
Everyone out there - how many of you in the private sector got a 6% raise this year?
How many of you, might get shot at work during your day? How many of you, will be spat upon today? How many of you, will be possibly hurt today at work? How many of you, will be call all sorts of things and not be able to repond to any of it,because if you do you might just get suspended!! How many of you, have a life expectancy of 5yrs after retirement? Yes, they did join the force,just like you went to work where you did,so give them a break.
6%? The police won't even get close to that for a raise. And to add to 10:22's comment: The police work weekends, holidays and overnights, missing birthdays, school presentations and weddings, to name a few.
Standing out in below freezing weather or broiling heat for traffic crashes or when the railroad gates malfuction.
Rushing to fight calls, breaking up arguments between spouses while their kids cower in the corner, arresting drunks, drug addicts and scumbags that want to kill us.
Try working a 6pm-6am shift then stay up for 9 am court. Try to get to sleep by noon and start over again at 6pm.
Try being patient and professional when a citizen reads you the riot act about the laptop and gps that got stolen out of their unlocked car (sitting in their driveway and of course this is Park Ridge so why wouldn't their stuff be safe?)
Try writing a traffic ticket or 2 during your shift to keep your bosses off your back and have the motorist (who blew past you at 20 mph over the limit) personally insult and degrade you then make a complaint to your supervisor because you did not give her a warning.
I could go on and on with examples. Not the worst job in the world but certainly not the best and the police officer can only hope to live fairly comfortably after retirement when they get their second job at 55 or 60 years of age.
And how much of this happens in Park Ridge? I've not read about any officer getting shot at or spit upon, and plenty of people other than cops get hurt at work. Please stick to facts and quit drinking the cool-aid.
People choose their vocations for various reasons, already knowing the job demands and the pay rate. The difference here is that the rest of us don't expect taxpayers to provide raises that are about twice what the taxpayers are receiving. That is greedy, in my opinion. Make no mistake - if we start to provide raises that are twice the rate of inflation to our public employees, our taxes will rise. In the meantime, we're in a bad economy and our property values have fallen.
As in all jobs - if they don't like the job or the pay, they should find another line of work. No one is forcing them to stay. In addition, when PR tries to hire new officers, people apply for the jobs, so the pay must be somewhat competitive already.
7:38am
Spit on, more often then you think but they call it battery and your court system won't call it anything unless the bad guy has aids.
Shot at, hopefuly never. If they did, the city would pay for not enough firearms training.
Degraded, insulted with no recourse... atleast 3 times
See the Post descirption of the job. they love their job and wouldn't do anything else but why should they have to put up with atitude from those of you that call them to be there?
Lock your car doors, lock your house up, don't trust your kids,and realize the polcie don't hide anyhting the paper just choses what they want to print in the blotter. If we knew about every gun, drug, burglar, or serious bad guy walking or streets which the police stop everyday we would be afraid to walk too starbucks (we have three in how many sqaure miles??).
This audit showed a lack of evidence for officer wrong doing outside of one or two. Many places have a lot more coruption problems which don't exisit in PR so lets be thankful for their care.
Maybe %6 seems a lot but how afar are they behind from the average for a twon like ours??
738am
-Shot at, hopefuly not
-
-spit at, once a month atleast
- hit, struck or some type of violence- once a month atleast
-berated and degraded-
8/22 738am
To those of you that can see the difference between the political nonsense and the appriciation of us doing our job I thank you from the bottom of my personal heart and you are the people I am proud to serve.
Those of you who believe we are not good enough, I took an oath to serve and protect so I will be a person of my word.
-one of "them"
PRU:
Help me out here. What is the average annual pay of a park ridge officer? When is the last time they got a raise and what % was it? How does compare with other towns?I have tried to do a little searching for this information and have, as yet, been unsuccessful. If there is a site you can point me to it would be much appreciated!
First of all, let's remember that 6% was a suggestion by a poster. I am sure by the end of the day someone will be saying that Howard said it. Second of all, I completely agree that our government has a responsibility to be very careful how they spend OUR money and we have to hold them accountable.
Having said that, I do not believe any police officers are getting rich off their jobs. I am amazed at some of the attitudes about police officer and what they make. This is a group that protects our city and our children (the children thing is the hot button, isn't it??).
We see some of the numbers published about what various people make and people are outraged but somethings I think peoples minds are stuck in a time long ago. 30 years ago when I was growing up, $100,000 was a huge amount of money. Man, you were living large. It isn't so much to raise a family on these days and have any kind of meaningful savings or investment.
By the way, I gave one of my reports 12% on his last increase because I hired him on the cheap. He has turned out great and I plan to move him up to where he should be as quickly as the CFO will allow.
Anon@12:58 --
Average for just POs, all in, is around $68, give or take. That's roughly 10 thousand below the PR median income and 30 thousand below the average PR income.
The PRPDs starting salaries are a little lower than some surrounding burbs, but generally falls somewhere in the middle range.
Last raise our guys got was last November, if we remember the contract right -- it was 1%.
Our records keeper isn't around right now, so don't quote us too hard on this.
PRU:
Thank you for the info. I understand times are hard - I have to manage to a certain % increase over all my reports (unless I fight very hard for an exception).
But 1% is crazy for what they do. If I play with the numbers that is a $680.00 annual raise. If you assume 252 work days per year (which is about average) that gets you a whopping $2.70 per work day - PRE-TAX. If you assume the government takes 1/3, their raise will not buy them a cup of regular Starbucks!!
Now there is some appreciation for our men in blue!!
A lot of people work weekends, holidays and overnights. In the past year I've worked 24-36 hour stretches several times to get projects done. And I've missed birthdays (including my own), kids' school stuff, and other events.
And right now I'm wondering if I'll even have a job 6 months from now because my employer was bought by another company who is thinking of downsizing our staff and moving what's left of our operation out to Colorado. When was the last time the PRPD was downsized and its jobs relocated to another state?
I've gotten my share of traffic tickets and never insulted anyone because of it, so I'm not going to take that rap. But I'm betting way more people go quietly than give you lip.
I won't be able to retire from my current job (assuming I can hang onto it) when I'm 55 or 60 because I don't have a union contract that lets me retire at that age, or that lets me have lifetime medical benefits when I do retire. All I've got is a 401(k) that's been sinking in value. Oh, that's right, you guys don't have to worry about things like that because the taxpayers guarantee your pensions.
As for knowing about every gun, drug, burglar, or serious bad guy walking our streets, if the PRPD posted its own police blotter on the City's website that told us everything that was going on so we wouldn't have to depend on the whitewashed reports of the local papers.
Bottom line, if it was that rotten a job more of you guys would be quitting and hundreds more wouldnt be applying for every opening.
Wxcuse me, not a police officer here but who on earth said it was a rotten job? I certainly never said that.
What I did say is that while I understand that times are tough in the economy and the job market, a 1% increase ain't squat.
Anon 1:52PM..
You seem very angry...and ill informed...since when does a police officer get free medical benefits? Where do I apply? Will this be effective immediately or just when I retire? I was worried because retirees have told me they pay $1000 plus a month for this service. Is this something the city has kept a secret?
Here's a little newsflash for you...our pensions are not guaranteed...we can only hope the board invests the funds properly and there is enough when we retire. We also contribute 10% of our annual salary to our pension-so don't feel too bad-you are not footing the entire bill for the slugs at PRPD
My 457 plan is shrinking too...such as life...I wonder if you are one of those people who like to remind us that you pay our salaries?
The truth is even with people like you out there taking cheap shots at us most of us like our jobs. We all find satisfaction in the little things....helping someone out and catching the bad guys....believe it or not writing tickets is the worst part of the job...we know how much a ticket costs....
As for giving the PD a 6% raise in lieu of a new station...that's not going to happen...How could the city justify giving the PD 6% and everyone else less? Believe me then every other department would expect the same. A great majortity would like to be in a station that resembles something that was built in this century. A locker room where you can leave your weapon without returning to find rusted and mold growing on your uniforms...two working urinals...something other than a closet sized locker room for the females....I suppose I'm beating a dead horse here...
They are talking about 20 mil for the station, correct?
Well there are approximately 60 officers in PR making approximately 68K per year.
That is $4,080,000. A 6% increase would equate to about $244,800 - far from chump change but not even in the ballpark with a new station.
Anonymous August 24, 2008 1:12 AM:
Not my posting being attacked, but it sounds like you're the "angry" one and also a bit out of whack on it.
First of all, I see no mention in that post about "free" medical benefits. IF retirees pay $1,000/mo from age 55 to Medicare, that still may be well below the going rate, depending on whether it's individual or family coverage, the deductible, etc.
As for your pensions not being "guaranteed," they sure seem a lot more guaranteed than a private 401(k).
You and all the other city employees should not have to be reminded that the taxpayers pay your salaries.
I also don't see much in the way of "cheap shots" in that other post, primarily because it's a fact that being downsized or relocated isn't something city employees, including police officers, have to face.
If what you want is a station that looks like it was built in the past eight years ("this century"), that's ridiculous. You've got a station that was built less than 50 years ago, a lot more recent than many/most of the other buildings and residences in Park Ridge.
There shouldn't be rust and mold problems from a properly ventilated facility, but if those problems exist then correcting them shouldn't require the taxpayers to cough up $10-20 million for a new police station when a couple/three dehumidifiers should do the trick - unless the city employees responsible for operating that facility have their heads stuck in those two working urinals.
And from the sound of things, if you like your job that much, you may be better off in that respect than most of the people who pay your salaries, which may explain why there's no big groundswell of taxpayer support for a new station.
I love the smell of urine when I go to work!
PRPD guys know it well,
Question: As citizens when you call 911 for police service and the Officer shows up was recently named in a blog, paper, report or other public outcry source, even if the result of the inquiry into the Officer's alleged actions were vindicated and/or you didn't read or hear about the vindification, would your reaction to that individual Officer's presence be different then if an Officer arrvied who hadn't been named in such a report?
12:50PM:
The smell of urine can be eliminated with a good cleaning, or in severe cases you might need a good plumber. A new police station is not required.
181 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in 2007. 2 of those were in Illinois. The year 2006 had 8 officers from Illinois killed in the line of duty.
Keep that in mind when you begrudge the pension that the officer worked 30 years to earn and the so called "job security' that officers are so priviledged to have.
Anonymous 8/25/08 at 12:50 PM - Stop urinating on the floor and the smell will stop.
Paying attention - if you want a "public" job you should accept the right of that "public" to know how good or bad you're doing it. Or if you want to work in secret, become a "spook" for the CIA.
Anonymous 8/25/08 at 3:03 PM - how many PRPD officers have been killed in the line of duty in the last 25 year?
Anon at 610pm, well would feel different about the officer if had been investigated?
Enough rambeling. The cop shop will get a new station after a seriuos law suit, it's bound to happen sooner or later.
Most of us here wouldn't take any amount of money to do the cop job. May God bless you guys
Every workplace has its issues, the cop shop is just a bit more messy right now. When an outside Chief gets the job, they'll start to feel better and answer our stupid 911 calls to them still with a smile.
Anonymous 6:10pm: How many ad executives, accountants or paralegals have been killed on the job in the last 25 years? Maybe police deserve a small little perk for laying their lives on the line. But of course there is a dome around Park Ridge and no violent people ever come through Park Ridge.
Oh, wait, what is this?
Skokie police officer is shot, and another person is wounded at traffic stop
Vehicle was suspected in Northbrook bank robbery
THE BLOTTER
7:03 PM CDT, August 25, 2008
A Skokie police officer was shot Monday evening and another person wounded after the officer pulled over a vehicle suspected of being involved in a Northbrook bank robbery, Lincolnwood police said, citing preliminary information.
The Skokie officer spotted the vehicle near Touhy and Cicero Avenues and pulled it over about three blocks away, Lincolnwood police said. Gunfire erupted from within the stopped vehicle and the police officer returned fire, police said
Oh yeah, I forgot, the dome at the border of Touhy is intact and would have kept these scumbags out of Park Ridge if they made it that far.
Anon 6:10Pm....if one of us were killed in the line of duty would it make any difference to you?
OK folks. Many of us are posting anon, as I do, so we do not know what each of us does for a living, but let's think about what we all do for a living and what we make. PRU gave some rough numbers in a post that the PO's are at approximately 30K less then average income in PR.
Based on some of the post's I read here you would figure they are all driving to work in their Benz! Get you head out or the 1960's. What they make, approximately 68K, is not a huge amount of money. In fact, in this day and age, if you have 2+ kids, mortgage, a car payment or two, out of pocket health care costs...etc...etc...it ain't squat!!!
You talk about their pensions as if it were a windfall! In many cases a 401K will out perform a pension.
My family (we both work) is blessed to make well over 68K , as I am sure is the case with many people in PR. That means, if I am smart I have more money to put in a 401K or, better yet, invest on my own.
People yell at the top of our lungs about the safety of our children an yet, of course, we do not want to pay for it.
I will repeat what I said in a previous post. If you gave all PO's the 6% mentioned in a previous post it would equate to about $250,000 - less then many of us in PR have as a family income.
Hmmmm. A bank robbery in quiet, little ol Northbrook? Right at closing time? Was the bad guy wearing a dress like the robbery at closing time in quiet, little ol Park Ridge? Nahhhh, the Park Ridge cops have nothing to worry about with armed robbers threatening to kill people. Let's all stick our heads in the sand and pretend nothing ever happens here. It happens everywhere people! You know what every single victim of crime in Park Ridge says? "I never thought it would happen to me here."
Cops are told when they start their career to expect the citizens they protect to hate them. The citizens want everyone else to get a ticket for sliding a stop sign, but not themselves. "I'm a Park Ridge resident, can't you give ME a break?" "But I know Howard." But the cops will risk making their own children orphans and their own spouses into widows/widowers to save the lives of the residents who hate them. I get so sick of hearing this crud when a police officer is killed in the line of duty, "Well, he knew the risks when he took the job." That's like saying we shouldn't feel at all bad when our military personnel get killed overseas. "Well, he knew the risks when he took the job." Should that grunt who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq not be honored for his service? Should his family, his kids, his wife, his parents, his friends not be honored because "he knew what he was getting into?" Should we not want our soldiers to come home intact?
As to Ofc. Smith, the fact that she posted here shows her integrity. She is an outstanding police officer. She no longer serves Park Ridge's residents because she was a whistleblower. She didn't plant evidence. She didn't beat anyone. She didn't lie on the witness stand. Unfortunately, more often than not, whistleblowers get the short end of the stick. The bad guys won when they threatened Ofc. Smith and pushed her out. Now another community is much luckier to have her serving them....
Godspeed Ofc. Smith!
Un the Skokie inncident has nothing to do with the PRPD.
Let's stick to the topic!
Mike:
I think the point the guy was making is that there is, in fact, crime in the suburbs and that the PRPD does, in fact, face risks. Get on Touhy and head east for a few miles. What do you hit??? Skokie!!!
Using your thought process, that would mean that we have to disregard all the homeless/PADS related issues constantly thrown up on the blogs to support the evils of shelters. Of course we can't do that, can we???
This is another example of our human tendency to pick and choose what ever applies to our own preconceived opinions about a given issue. A homeless person commits a crime in another town and we play it up to support our "safety" argument. Why? Because we don't want the homeless here. A officer gets shot in a town next door and it is not "on topic". Why? Because we don't want to pay the police.
Aparently having any sort of consistency is not a requirement.
Whatever.
Mike,
Why doesn't the Skokie incident relate? Crime can be and is everywhere. Bad guys with guns can be anywhere. Get real!
Thank you 9:25 and 12:33 for getting the point. Mike, did you see the bullet holes in the windshield and hood of the Skokie police car? Check out any of our local news stations' web sites like www.nbc5.com for the pics. The bullet holes are right where the Officer would have been driving. That Skokie Officer took gunfire and risked his life to prevent the escape of an armed robber who used deadly force against the Officer.
You don't see the connection to PR? You don't realize that this criminal could possibly be the same one who theatened deadly force in the Park Ridge armed bank robbery that was in the papers a week or two ago?
From the NBC website where a witness commented on the Skokie/Lincolnwood shooting:
"I had never heard gunshots before," she said.
Copeland said she saw a man, presumably the alleged bank robber, curled up by the curb after the gunfire had stopped.
"This is usually such a quiet neighborhood," she said. "This kind of thing never has happened here."
Hey, that's exactly what 8:06 am said!!!!!
Who cares if a PRPD officer never lost his life in the life of duty?
The risk remains, and I'm sure it's more of a risk than I run sitting in front of a computer all day.
Besides, according to the papers, one PRPD officer nearly lost his life in a car accident last year responding to a call. Is he even able to work anymore? It's these kind of risks that these guys take that makes me say, "Get whatever you can get and God bless".
Would anon have felt better if that poor guy died?
I'd like to add some facts to this emotional discussion.
Please check out these statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor (scroll down to page 16):
http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0006.pdf
As you can see from the chart, there are several jobs with a higher fatality rate than police officer.
Now my opinion - and please pay attention to the preface before you respond:
I believe that we have a lot of police officers in this town who have devoted their life to public service and would take the job again without complaint. To those officers I say "Thank you for your service."
What I don't understand is the entitlement mentality from some of the force; the idea that "my job is dangerous, therefore the citizens owe me (fill in the blank here - a new police station, a 6% raise, respect, freedom from criticism, etc.) Or another variation of this is "My job is public service with low pay, therefore the citizens owe me..."
We can all identify valuable occupations with lower pay than police officers receive. We can all identify valuable jobs with worse working conditions than police officers have. And, if you looked at the chart, we can now all identify valuable jobs that are more dangerous than being a police officer.
So if you want something from the citizens (a new station, a big raise, whatever) please find an argument other than "I'm underpaid, it's dangerous, I'm a public servant." Plenty of people have those same reasons and our tax dollars only go so far.
And to add to the confusion...I believe a particular PRPD Officer was forced to shoot/kill someone shooting at him, albeit in a neighboring town, a few years ago while on some tac team...slower reaction, better aim on the part of the bad guy, and we would have had a PRPD casualty. I don't understand the disconnect between PR and other towns. We do have people driving our streets that do not live here...not that there are no bad folks in PR. And no, that car that almost ran over your child near the school was not from "out of town" it is our own neighbors driving like looneys after they drop off their own kid and afix the blinders to speed to the spa....
cmon folks stop the griping already...and besides, on a positive note, I believe the stats bare out that there are several other more dangerous jobs out there...but few have such a high suicide and divorce rate...stress and bs is all cumulative...give our PRPD members a break...or if not, call Cook County in and see how the citizens of PR get treated
HA...that would be a blast...policing like it used to be.
anon 3:23:
Forgive me if I am wrong but I have NEVER heard a police officer say "My job is public service with low pay, therefore the citizens owe me..." That is your representation fo what you have heard but not what they have said.
I believe that some officers and those who support a station have given a variety of reasons for a new station that they believe are important to their job and the saftey of Park Ridge. Just because you and others do not agree with their position is no reason to say that their only reason is that we owe them - to do so is not accurate and not fair.
In terms of the 6% raise, I knew it was only a matter of time before that was attached to police officers. Look back at the posts. The 6% was a number thrown out by a poster against the police station who, in all likelyhood was not a police officer. I have never seen the Park Ridge police officers or those who represent them ask for a 6% raise anywhere.
I can't help but see the irony of all the verbal respect we seem to show police officers (and firemen, and teachers for that matter) that is until we have to pay them.
Every interaction I have had with the a PR police has been positive, even the one who gave me a ticket on Greenwood shortly after I moved here. If some of my tax dollors go to giving them a raise I am all for it.
Lastly, lets remember what the numbers are. Based on the approximate numbers posted on this blog you have approximately 60 officers making an average of 68,000. If you break it down, 6% equates to approximately $245,000. If you spread over about 37,000 PR residents that's $6.61 per year - that is 1.8 cents per day. And the funny thing is they don't have a shot in hell of ever getting 6%.
Thank you to the supporters. Most of us would take this job agian.
I think the "Struck nerve" of everything we have been through is showing up here in some responses from fellow brother/sisters in blue. The station, the slander, the witch hunts, the force outs, inconsistant disipline, the attempted pension hike, and the public's seemingly bad view of us has taken its toll.
The argument for a new station to minimize litigation loss, evidence loss, equipment loss and injury to name a few was a matter of a public "Public Safety Committee" meeting I think (help me out PRU) about 2 years back where a lot of "us" went and explained the problems we believed the staiton presented on a daily basis.
Yes we all know the, risks, weekends, midnights, callouts and complaints are a part of our job however why should we simply accept some of the lack of understanding expressed to us not just here but in the public and during police action?
According to the Ekle report a lot of the bad press was not always in our control. The "officials" who interfered, whats the difference. Ekle made a note regarding the Chief's response.
I was never ordered by an elected official to do anything. I was requested of course but each of you who call the police request some sort of action from us.
I don't feel entitled to anything except a fair wage for a fair job done and my Constituional Rights, like everybodyelse. We have pleaded through all appropriate means to express our discontent with the direction our department is heading. The report may suggest officers are not happy with the direction but lack the ability to change that direction.
It is true, I have encountered residents who act "entitled" to not getting a ticket because "they pay taxes in PR". I still write the ticket.
It is true some believe their child should not be arrested no matter how large or small because they are entitled. I make the arrest when necesary.
I have made mistakes. Not due to lack of training or ability but due to being human, that's good faith.
We are tired of getting beaten down by management, some readers here, residents, the courts and those we encounter on the street all at the same time.
Please stop the banter about officers killed in the line, it can happen anywhere, anytime and is a very serious conversation for us.
Thank you to Annon 4:24
Break it down even further. during the day you have approx 35 public works employees working. You have 7-9 fire employees working and during a 24hr shift you have 39 police employees working. Thats a total of 83 employees. Also don't forget your water flowing to your house, your garbage picked up.Add that all up now figure out what you pay for a daily rate of service.Now divide by the hour. That is what you pay for a hourly rate. I will bet it's lest then what you think it is.Please only count the Taxes paid to the city and not all the other Taxes..If my figures are correct,if you pay $11000 a yr. Your daily rate is $30.14. Your hourly rate is $1.26. Now don't forget to divide by the 83 employees equals $0.015 a day.Not to shabby.Call 911 and someone will show up,maybe more then 1....
Very clever response. I may have been long winded in my math. Sorry if I bored you but I will stand by my point -which I notice you did not respond to.
Seems to me a lot of people cry SAFETY when it is convenient to them but then begrudge the very people who play the most important role in providing that saftey even the smallest increase in pay. It may be boring to you but it is less then 2 cents a day.
For both sides…
Yes it may appear that there is not a lot of crime and bullets whizzing past your backyard picnic, but there is a lot to be said about the PRPD folks that are out there doing there job, see some years back while interviewing a bad guy, whereas it was stated that he had told the other mutts he was with not to go to PR, that the cops there don’t f___ around, but they didn’t listen, they all got caught.
That dome that some have commented on is in some ways real, it is the officers that go above and beyond the job and with a reputation of being tuff and not f____ing around with bad guys, walking that fine line that allows professionalism in law enforcement without crossing the line. So the bad guys are out there, they drive through PR everyday, they even live in PR maybe next door, hell one resident is even on death row, (well until a pinhead politician commuted it). So you if you think the crime is a TV series it just doesn’t happen hear, think about that dome and what it really is…
As far as attitudes, yes the moral is a bit low, if you folks only knew the truth and not some white wash report on how only a couple things are wrong and we’ll sit around the campfire sharing smores and alls good. It’ll take a good Chief to pull this one out.
No one's saying crime doesn't happen here.
Boy you don't know when to shut up!
It seems a few cars were set on fire while parked on the residential streets around the Youth Campus. Great. First our kids walk by the place and get beat up by a mob from there. Now our cars get set on fire in front of our homes. What's next?
Try to live a day of your lives without the Police or Fire Departments. That would be a day with total chaos. And for those wth 9-5 jobs that feel that police do not deserve a raise or new police station..ride along for one day with the police. And what do you think it feels like to miss holidays, family events and your childs birthday party because you are working? I too am from a police and fire family...and we spent many a Thanksgiving and Christmas without our Dad because he was working to yes..actually protect and serve you...
Through the years I see such a total lack of respect for the police..and I think that is passed down from parent to child...as is most lack of repect for authority...
Without authority figures, this society would be a mess..so do they deseve a decent pension and health plan..you're darn right they do..these men and women have dedicated their lives to help others...who else would pull someone out of a burning car..or go into a house where an alarm is going off not knowing what or who is on the other side of the door...or watch the children of the community to make sure they are safe...Have you ever seen a group of police officers or firefighters run out of a police or fire station to respond to an emergency situation?..it is without hesitation or fear.It's easy to sit behind a computer and criticze...the real HEROES are out there protecting us...and if they all took a day off..I am sure that you would have a whole new apprection.
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