Cops: The Good Guys

I've been getting some interesting correspondence about these blog posts and I wanted to point something out, just to clarify, for those who may be wondering.

NOT ALL POLICE ARE CORRUPT.

There are some officers who actually do believe the creed and oath they take, who understand that it is their sworn duty to protect and serve the people and to put real criminals behind bars. These officers are the shining stars of the Police Force and they represent exactly what all police officers should strive to be.

The unfortunate truth, however, is that there are a lot of officers who when they are given a badge, they believe that it gives them some power higher than the law. That somehow they become an authority beyond reproach of the law and that it gives them a new set of rights and laws to abide by.

When you encounter a police officer please keep in mind that, for the most part, they are just as nervous as you are and that they are just as aware of the threat that YOU could potentially pose to them. Unfortunately, some police officers take this potential threat to extremes, but most of the time they just want to be able to go home to their families at the end of the day.


Based on the low-end estimate of traffic encounters, the risk of homicide during a traffic stop ranged from a low of one in ten million in 1988 and 1990 to a high of one in 4.6 million in 1991. On average, over a ten-year period, the risk of homicide to a police officer during a traffic encounter was one in 6.7 million.

There is no evidence that these estimates have raised much since that time, keeping the average police assault at these stops still in the ONE in SIX MILLION chance. While these numbers may still be frightening, they do not give any reason or right to abuse authority by treating every stop as a guaranteed threat on your life.

Right now (4/24/2014) there are petitions in place to send police officers to special training to ensure that they are instructed on how to interact with CIVILIANS and not some sort of enemy combatant, training to reeducate police that they are not in a war (as current training would have them believe) and that they should not treat average American citizens as enemy soldiers or threats.

I, personally, agree with this need.