It's interesting to see the different perspectives of people with regard to police officers.

 

One important thing to remember.  EVERY police officer on the job is HUMAN.  Humans are by no means perfect.

 

Perhaps someone had a bad encounter with a police officer where they thought that the officer was being a "bully" or not being particularly "polite".  I would guess that the far majority of the general public don't really know what it's like in the day of a police officer, or how they are trained.  Much of the training is centered around self defense, and there is a reason for it.  When you put the uniform on you become an instant target, no matter if you live in an urban area, a rural area or a suburb.  Just one small example.  Ever wonder why if you get stopped at night the spotlight is shinning a particular way?  Ever wonder why the cop doesn't stand towards the front part of your car door?  Those are small subtle tactics that are used by police to protect themselves.

 

Police officers also deal with much more than writing tickets or dealing with thugs "just walking down the street".  When and/or if you encounter a police officer, you don't know what he has seen or had to deal with not long before your encounter.  I could list things that I saw during my short time as a Deputy Sheriff that would probably make some people squirm just a bit.  Here are a few examples that I had to do that are not particularly gruesome, but kind of gives the idea of what these men and woman do every day.

 

There is no describing how it feels to inform a mother and father that their teenage child was just killed by a drunk driver.  What about informing a family that you just saw their loved one take their last breath after putting a gun in their mouth and pulling the trigger?  How about just leaving a domestic dispute where one party beat the other so bad that they were in critical condition and it's clear that the victim would need facial reconstruction surgery?

 

I left the Sheriff's Office after a somewhat brief career because I did not want to deal with the stress anymore.  It wasn't so much about seeing the death and people hurt so much, it was more about dealing with the aftermath, then having to deal with the public who treats you like you are an "inconvenience" or a "bother".  It was about not knowing if the next car that you stop or the next call that you answer was going to result in more violence or sadness.

 

One other thing that is stressed during training is liability.  Any action that you take as a police officer must not only be lawful, but you are responsible for the outcome.  Move an accident victim and it results in further injury?  You are liable.  Wrongfully discharge your weapon and kill or injure someone?  You are liable.  That's why I posted earlier something to the effect that no police officer is going to shoot someone that is obviously surrendering or complying with your orders.

 

However, quite a few people seem to think that there are a bunch of people that become police officers because they "have a superiority complex".  They just don't understand or know what these men and women actually do.

 

As far as arming police forces more, I think in this day and age it's not a bad thing.  As I said before, when you put the uniform on, you become an instant target.  When an event happens in your jurisdiction that results in what you are seeing in Ferguson, then you need to be equipped to do as you swore, that being to uphold the law.

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