Being a cop has always been a thankless job.
But in our current climate, Police would be happy for the bygone days of a thankless community, compared to what they are currently enduring.
Never before in modern history have Police officers been accused of being the worst of society. Today, the reputation of Cops is constantly under attack by the media. And fringe groups who purport to have a noble agenda are paradoxically allowed by our Governments to wreak havoc on our cities without consequence. Entire city blocks have been burned, children have been murdered, and yet the Media all but ignores the backlash of the problem which they themselves are largely responsible for inciting.
Well intended people have been duped into believing that roughly half of society are devout white supremists, and that visible minorities are being hunted and killed by the police. The media bolsters this false narrative daily, which has created an incredibly unstable and explosive environment. When a group of people believes that they are in danger of being killed by the police, it’s only natural for a member of that group to be afraid, and resist arrest. When you resist arrest, you are making a safe situation dangerous by escalating the force required to arrest you. If you comply with the orders of the Police officer, you are almost ALWAYS safe. It is extremely rare that a compliant arrestee is harmed or killed as a result of the arrest. In those rare instances, the Police Officers are likely at fault, and deserve to be charged. Only improved training and selection practices can reduce these rare instances.
A part of Policing which very few average people are willing to engage in, is combat. Most people have never been in a dangerous fist fight, but for Cops, getting into scraps is a common occurrence. Some of these fights involve armed bad guys who are high on crystal meth, and who are nearly impossible to control. When a crazed meth head charges at you with a knife, the only realistic response is to pull out your pistol and fire a few rounds into the center of the target. The pollyantic fools who cry, “you should have shot them in the leg!” have no concept of the reality of combat. There isn’t a Police Officer alive who has the training and skill to reliably make a “leg shot” against a crazed charging assailant. And no, a Taser is not reliable enough to deploy in this situation either.
Armchair critics are quick to judge and condemn the use of violent force, without having the faintest idea of the reality of a combat environment. Many will recoil at the word “Combat”, by saying, “Combat is for a battle field, not for our streets! Our Cops are not soldiers!” And, they would be wrong. Combat is a violent “must win” altercation. When someone is violently resisting arrest...that absolutely qualifies as Combat. It’s not the police who initiate the Combat...it’s the person being arrested who creates the Combat situation, which the Police have no choice but to respond to with force.
Listen to this podcast for the rest..and some ideas on how to muscle through this time.
