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CSB Special Report
Police - Behind Our Badge
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An Aggressive, Compelling and Compassionate Investigative Story
The Patrolmen
The Department
Duty... Country and Flag
Then me...
My family and I...
by Keith Wilson
“Honey, don’t wait up - I might not be coming home tonight”
Law Enforcement:
Believe me, there is nothing more challenging than Law
Enforcement. At the same time the opportunities it offers are very
satisfying.
Those seeking a career in Law Enforcement are on the cutting edge
which includes
life and death decisions.
The hype and glamor of being a police officer generally begin to fade
away after a year.
It’s a wonder the people wanting to enter the force even pass the
psychological exam, since “you’ve got to be insane to put a police
badge on your chest in today’s society”.
Their motives have to be right and they WILL be tested.
There are those who dare to go for it anyway.
Despite the considerable challenge that police work presents;
Despite knowing that every shift could be his/hers last tour of duty;
Despite these spellbound and chilling facts; - they do it for the love of their families
and because of the awesome possibilities that
come with the duty of serving and protecting.
They choose a career in an honorable profession - commonly referred
to as “police officer”.
If you believe nothing else, believe this:
Contrary to what you might have seen on TV concerning police and law
enforcement,
police officers would like nothing better than to execute the duties
of their office, serving and protecting the public - and then go
home at the end of his/her tour of duty.
Simply go home to their families.
Make absolutely no mistake: if a life threatening situation arises, a
police officer will draw their weapon and if necessary, discharge
that weapon in the interest of public safety, or their safety.
It is not the mindset of even the most “borderline” police officer
to shoot a person because they are black or of some other ethnic
background.
Police officers are only prejudiced to one fact as a uniform code of
conduct, and that is the threat of opportunity.
A threat has no color.
A threat shows no emotion.
A threat must be neutralized.
A threat which is not immediately apprehended, will transform itself
into an executed opportunity. The police officer now finds himself or
herself boxed into a fatal situation.
However, if properly executed, time-tested law enforcement procedures
will secure the public’s and the officer’s safety, thus neutralizing
the subject’s attempts to inflict harm on others, himself or the
police officer.
When the public drives by a police scene and sees five males forced
to lie down on the ground, some immediately question the use of what
appears to be degrading police procedures.
Citizens who are unfamiliar with the various tools and tactics that
most law enforcement departments employ, will often (wrongfully)
criticize police safety measures and misinterpret police safety
procedures as police abuse.
People should step back and check their judgement about what they
perceive to be cruel and unusual punishment by the police.
It’s extremely important that police officers follow these procedures
for their own safety and for everyone else’s.
Police officers need to use all the tools available to them.
Imagine yourself in a gun fight with a convicted felon, who is armed
with a fully automatic rifle. You are armed with your department-
issued semi-automatic handgun, with nothing between you and the
gunman but air and opportunity.
Now, allow me to fill in the blanks.
You’re pinned down behind a garbage dumpster and the assailant is not
attempting to flee but instead, is engaging you in an exchange of
gunfire.
Oh, I didn’t tell ya, you’re only 20 minutes into your shift and
you’ve received a Code #2 dispatch call. This call is advising you
that a man is walking in traffic with a “gun-like” object, waving
it
up and down.
Upon your blue light/ red light arrival, you receive two armor-
piercing shots through your patrol unit windshield. Bang-Bang-Boom!!!!
Now at this point you realize that you have a “dead man walking”
situation. Any individual who has abandoned his or her will to live
and wants to commit “suicide by cop” because they want someone else
to do what they don’t have the guts to, is particularly dangerous to the public and to the
officers on the scene.
What does he have to lose at this point in his life?
So he grabs a 2 month old baby and points a gun to the child’s head.
Such a deranged mind wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
“Last call before lights out”.
So imagine yourself in a full gunfire exchange with such an individual.
Back-up is racing to assist you, but trust me, it feels like back-up
is taking forever to reach you.
Meanwhile, bang bang pop-oopp.....you’ve been hit-!!
Pop pop again...the rapid fire exchange.
You naturally return fire. Bang bang bang....click. Oh yeah, this
morning, and this morning only, you forgot, or felt you didn’t need
to, bring along the extra magazine clip.
Every other morning you went to work, you always carried the extra
clips, but today...
Picture yourself pinned behind that garbage dumpster, now with an
empty glock, your police radio and a sincere desire to live.
In the far distance you hear multiple sirens, but “Mr. dead man
walking” is not trying to flee in any way. Instead, he re-loaded his
assault rifle. Now he has begun a second assault on your safety zone.
You could have simply chosen not to confront this man in the first
place, you could have driven off, you could have kept driving as if
you didn’t see the subject...right or wrong.
There’s only one small problem with that theory. You’re a cop.
Police
officers rush towards life threatening situations while others flee
from such insane circumstances.
Remember that 2 month old baby? That child and perhaps his Mom would
have had to deal with this deranged gunman as hostages, and then
later as victims.
But because you are in the course of duty, in the course of
servicing and in the course of protecting, removed that threat from
the community at large and placed the threat squarely on yourself.
Now you find yourself pinned down behind a couple of garbage bins,
taking on “rapid fire”.
Then, like a blue streak of light, gun fire seems to erupt everywhere.
Bang bang. Boom Boom Boom Boom pop pop pow.
Then...silence.
The sound of ejected shells bouncing off the ground.
While you’re crouched down, safely concealed, the bullets stop. All
you see are black
patent leather shoes and brown pants with brown stripes. It looks
like an “army of angels” to you.
It’s then that you remember your morning prayer before you left your
family to go to work.
You said: “Oh Lord, my God, as I venture off and leave my home today,
as I embark upon another day of service to my community, I ask, Dear
God, secure my health in your hands.
Shield me from all hurt or harm; give me strength and ability to
assist my fellow coworkers as they may need, from time to time. Bless
my unit. Return us to ours. This we pray in Jesus’’ name and law
enforcement. Amen.”
Picture yourself in a face to face stand-off with a person who would
rather die than comply.
Incidents of that nature can happen at any given point during your
work shift.
Your day might unfold like this:
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At 10.30 a.m. you’re issuing a speeding ticket.
At 11:00 a.m. you’re eating your lunch at McDonald's
At 12:00 p.m. you’re responding to a call, which involves a man
beating his wife, but, as it turns out, it’s the other way around.
The woman was beating her husband so badly that he’s hospitalized.
At 7:30 p.m. (half an hour before you were scheduled to end your
tour of duty you make a U-turn out of the police station parking lot.
You decide to respond as a back-up unit to a new recruit officer
(a felony traffic cop)
At 8:00 p.m. A call went out over all police radios. A tone
“beep”...
3 to 15 officers need immediate assistance.
One of the four subjects was involved in the felony traffic stop
(for which you were only a back-up unit) and produced a firearm
pointed at an officer on the scene.
Your response is to immediately pull your weapon and shoot the
offender - killing him.
In this bizarre turn of events, when only a few hours earlier you
were laughing and eating lunch at McDonald's, just before your duty
ended, you were forced to take a person’s life.
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Now ask yourself:
Can YOU wear that silver badge??
Would you even want to?
“No” you say.
Those who choose to serve and protect
deserve your utmost
support and respect.
Next time you see a police officer
in uniformexecuting his duty,
understand this:
The very same officer who
you feel is an asshole
for writing you a speeding ticket
wouldn’t think twice about putting
his or her life on the line
to save YOURS
in a life threatening situation.
That you can be sure of.
Note by the editor:
A police officer has a good day when he or she is able to go home
at the end of their tour of duty.
Anything in between is a nightmare in living color.
Stay tuned!
Behind our Badge will continue.
In production now: The Video Series of Police
All input is welcome!
e-mail info@blacknewsmiami.com
