Ashlie: (00:17)
Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.
Clint: (00:23)
And I'm your cohost Clint Walton.
Ashlie: (00:26)
In today's episode, we're going to talk about how a lot of officers have come and gone in your department Clint, but how the grass isn't always greener on the other side. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content.
Ashlie: (00:42)
Clint, your department in particular, I know especially after the recession, there's been a lot of financial turmoil. There's been a lot of officers that you've seen come and go as a result of that and I wonder if you could just take the listener through a little bit of what you've experienced during the process.
Clint: (01:03)
The biggest thing that I've experienced throughout this time is that we're just such a young department. Our department's been established and around for so many years and now I see all these new faces, all these young guys. There are the veterans. The senior officers are pretty much nonexistent and we're a busy department so it's kind of scary in some ways. But that goes down to the retention aspect of any police department. I've seen guys come and go and then some even come back because they actually see that the grass isn't greener on the other side.
Ashlie: (01:48)
I have to say we have personal experience with this because after the bankruptcy and after that chatter going on in your department, you also decided to seek out other agencies to see if the grass really was greener on the other side. You went through the process of applying with BNSF. We went through the entire process and I say we, because we had the detective here at our home and we've even talked about that before. You were even offered the job but you turn it down.
Clint: (02:24)
Yeah. After realizing that they're a great department…it just it wasn't for me. I didn't want to start all over and I think I finally had that realization of if I go somewhere else, it doesn't mean all the problems are going to be gone. There's always going to be insecurities. There's always going to be people you like, people you dislike, and the politics surrounding any police department can drive anybody. You could go somewhere for higher pay, better benefits, but does that really mean you're going to be happier there? And that's what I think a lot of guys think that will make them happier, but not all the time because a lot of times those guys aren't sure what they really want or they don't know what the true truth is behind why they're leaving. I know like 15 guys processing out with us right now to go to different departments and these aren't just new guys. These are guys with 12-15 years on.
Ashlie: (03:43)
We were talking about this a couple of days ago, how there are 17 people coming out of the academy right now and how you might even be pulled out of your detail because you're an FTO to help with training them.
Clint: (03:56)
Yeah. And that's going to take away from our team because there's not going to be anyone to cover necessarily what I do in my area. It's not a permanent problem, but it's something that for that timeframe, they're going to have to adapt to whatever it may be to help alleviate it. I mean, you go back three OR four years ago, we pretty much got rid of all of our details because of staffing levels. Now because of the retention rate, just going away again with use of budget that these guys are seeing that they're leaving for, but they don't even know the truths behind that. And I encourage any of you, if you're worried about budget concerns, actually talk to people who know and don't just go off of rumors because it's cancerous. It really is. It just will demoralize any department or any place of work.
Ashlie: (05:10)
So for those officers that you know of that are in the process right now of switching departments, is there any other reasoning behind that apart from what the gossip is inside of the department?
Clint: (05:24)
Well, there's always the disgruntled nature behind administration behind choices for details. Everything in the police department will have the politics. If you're not one of the in crowd, you're not going to get that spot. Which is not true. I mean, I used to think that until I actually started busting my ass to get to the position where I'm currently at, which I rightfully earned. I think it's easier to pass blame onto other people instead of accepting it yourself. And not in all cases but in some of the cases I believe that's what's happening now. Could there be better communication with administration to the patrol level? Absolutely. There always could be better communication, but at the same time that communication can also start spot fires that you just don't want to have to put out because it's that telephone game. One person hears it and one guy called off sick, so that person relays that message and it's not the correct information.
Ashlie: (06:43)
That goes back to the point that you made about having the willingness to take it upon yourself to seek out that information on your own. It's not always comfortable to go to the administration or to ask these types of questions, especially as an officer if you don't have a ranking and you're not necessarily in that scene on a day to day basis. It's not comfortable to do that. And I know how uncomfortable that is because I've seen you go through the motions of going up the ranks to get the information that you need for yourself. I just wonder Clint, from being in that situation yourself and even being in the process and having a position available to you with a different agency completely and then turning it down and seeing so many people who are in the same predicament and going through that same struggle, what advice would you give them on that type of decision?
Clint: (07:38)
Honestly, what it comes down to is trusting your gut instinct. I trusted my gut instinct in reference to that job and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've looked back at it from time to time and it always comes back to a no. There was too many cons in relation to that and especially for like BNSF who I was applying for. They have so many benefits and great incentives to work for. Most people wouldn't turn it down because it's a highly sought after job. For me it just wasn't calling to me. I enjoy what I do, where I do it and that's why I stay where I'm at and instead of removing myself from that instance to try helping those insecurities. I adapt to those insecurities and adjust to them to actually make myself work through them.
Ashlie: (08:44)
If an officer is deciding not to go through with the process of lateral transfer or seeking out a different agency and they're going to give their department one more shot, what advice would you give to them?
Clint: (08:59)
Really look deep within your own self about what it is that is truly the problem. If it's within yourself, see what you can do to fix it. If it's out of your hands and it's through, say, budget concerns or through communication or misinformation, seek the real answers behind it. Are there possibilities something can go wrong? Absolutely. But you'll never know if you don't stick with it and go through it.
Ashlie: (09:34)
I think that's really great advice. And I know as you listen, even if you're not a police officer or a first responder, we've all been there. We've all been in a situation where something within our place of work makes us unhappy. And it starts to create that doubt. And what it boils down to a lot of the time is turning inside and asking yourself, okay, what do I really want? And once you understand that, then you are able to put a why behind the how. Because if you don't have a reason why, there's no way for you to create that plan or whatever that strategy is to be able to drive you forward in the how. The how will always follow. And we don't always see that because we're too caught up in not having that ability to discover that why first. And I think once you're able to do that and you understand that a lot of times the answer that you seek is truly inside of you. If you're able to pause for a moment and just sit with it, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.
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