So I'm going to try something a little different here; I'm going to write about things I know a little something about. I will still be posting on The Coop, but this is going to be about my real job. It's about things we see, the things we deal with, and the things we suppress in order to maintain our sanity. There are good cops, there are bad cops, and there are cops who are only there to collect a paycheck. I won't be naming my department, because my opinion may or may not differ from that of the agency, but suffice it to say I work for one of the larger agencies in Texas and am very proud of it.
Being a cop is more than just pinning on a badge, strapping on a gun, and saving the world one donut at a time. I mean that part is really cool, and the vest makes you look really buff (unless your gut pokes out from underneath. Those guys look like an overstuffed chair whose stuffing shifted south and is coming out of the cushions). Those are the same guys you see at the local Chinese buffet finishing off their fourth plate of fried dumplings as they eyeball the hot plates for the next trip. Some of these guys take longer to get out of their cars than it did to drive to the scene. Now I admit, I'm not the picture of svelte police couture, but I can still see my toes without a mirror...
No, being a cop at it's core is about loving what we do. I know, you ask a group of cops why they started doing this job and you'll hear anything from " I want to help my community" to "I wish I knew", but the truth is at one time or another, we love what we do. There are a lot of cops who are burned out, there are a few cops who are lazy, but at one point in their career they really enjoyed the job. Now to be fair, that point in many officer's career was right out of the academy, before they realized that in 95 degree Texas summers a vest will turn your insides into pork roast (pun intended), or before they stood in the first thunderstorm directing traffic around a wreck all the while hoping that they aren't the tallest thing in the area, thus becoming a lightning rod by default.
Unlike some careers, being a cop can take many different directions. One can spend their whole career working in the jail, or can promote through the ranks and run an entire division. You can make as much or a little out of this job as you want to. Me personally, I enjoy the homicide investigations and can't imagine doing anything else. It can be hard on the family since anytime the phone rings there is that possibility you will be gone for days on end, but that doesn't happen that often. I do get to do some pretty cool things on the job, such as meet professional athletes, sit on stake outs, even travel to other states for the investigations. As much fun as it is, coming home to my family is always the best part.
Cops are in the news a lot lately, and a lot of it isn't good news. Please understand, the bad cops account for less than 1% of officers in the Great State of Texas. We aren't going around looking for folks to shoot at, and when we do have to take a life, it is usually the worst day of our life. Not exactly the career goal television makes it out to be. I have personally known men who were great officers, who had no choice but to take a life, and they were never the same. Whether it's fear that it could happen again, or just an unwillingness to take that chance again, they changed. And not for the better.
Just so I don't end this first post on a down note, how about a cop joke. If we can't laugh at ourselves, well, someone else will. So I guess it's best to get the first laugh in...
A man purchased a new Mercedes to celebrate his wife leaving him and was out on the interstate for a nice evening drive. The top was down, the breeze was blowing through what was left of his hair and he decided to open her up. As the needle jumped up to 80 mph, he suddenly saw flashing red and blue lights behind him. "There's no way they can catch a Mercedes," he thought to himself and opened her up further. The needle hit 90, 100.....Then the reality of the situation hit him. "What am I doing?" he thought and pulled over. The police cop came up to him, took his license without a word and examined it and the car. "It's been a long hard day, this is the end of my shift and it's Friday. I don't feel like more paperwork, I don't need the frustration or the overtime, so if you can give me a really good excuse for your driving that I haven't heard before, you can go." The guy thinks about it for a second and says, "Last week my nagging wife ran off with a cop. I was afraid you were trying to give her back!" "Have a nice weekend,"
Be safe,
Lonestar Lawman.
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