Well everyone this week brings me to the end of my first ever Blog.  It has been a very enjoyable couple of months and I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog and reading your comments.  Please enjoy the final week of my blog and I welcome any comments you may have.

I'm sure all of you have seen the image above.  I always wonder if the general public knows what the image represents and what they think of it.  For those of you who have never seen this image this is what law enforcement refer to as the "Thin Blue Line."  Many law enforcement officers have license plates that bear this symbol while still others have bracelets that have the design above.  The thin blue line, as its known,  does not mean the same thing to everyone.  For me the thin blue line means the separation of law enforcement officers from the criminal element.  The blue line itself is how I envision police officers being separated from those that violate the law.

The way I envision this concept is that law enforcement officers make dozens of decisions everyday.  Each of these decisions affects a persons life and ultimately can have far reaching affects.  The decisions that law officers make and the ethics, morals and judgement that they use to make these decisions is what separates us from the criminal element.  The thin blue line is symbolic not only because its color matches the uniforms that many in law enforcement are known for wearing, but because the line is "Thin."  Think about that concept for a second.  The thin blue line is very meaningful in that what separates law enforcement officers from the criminal element is our willingness and desire to do what is right.  We all know that as law enforcement officers our decisions will routinely be called into question and from time to time we will make decisions that are wrong.  What separates us however from the criminal element is the intent and legal foundation of our decisions. If we have nefarious intentions and we act in a way that is against the law then we have crossed the proverbial thin blue line and have entered the world of the criminal element.

This is an important point for police officers to keep in mind everyday.  What separates law enforcement from the criminal element is not something that we can measure or reach out and touch.  Rather the separation occurs because of the ethical and moral principles that guide our decisions as law enforcement officers.

For the general public that goes to work everyday and enjoys the weekends with their families they really have no idea what police officers have to deal with on an every day basis.  I recently returned to patrol after being in an administrative position for the last several years.  One of the first calls I responded to was that of a man who wanted to kill himself.  This subject was armed with a knife and was known to be violent.  Think about the circumstances of this call for a minute.  How many and what kind of decisions do you think an officer has to contemplate before they arrive at a call like this.  Well as the supervisor for this particular call I can tell that I made close to a dozen different decisions alone on this particular call.  The reason why I use this example and the reason I bring this up is to give everyone some insight on just how many decisions law enforcement officers have to make on a daily basis.  These decisions are not always the right ones and sometimes we do really stupid stuff(See all of my previous weeks blog postings).  However on the other hand the men and women whom I have had the privilege of serving with over the last 20 years are good people.  They knew this job would be tough and they knew the would never be millionaires.  They know when they come to work everyday they may not make it home to see their families.  The fact is that myself and the officers with whom I work are interested in serving the greater good.  We go to work everyday and we try to leave a positive impact on our city and its citizens.  Some days are better than others, but you can bet that when we return to work we will do our best to represent our citizens, our families and our fellow officers in a manner that would be respected by all.  As I close out this blog I ask you to take solace in these facts and remember to thank an officer the next time you see them.  I'd like to remind everyone that the stories you read in my blog over the last several weeks were the exception and not the rule.  Law enforcement just like any other profession has bad apples.  The facts are however that most officers are good, hard working people that are trying to combat all the ills of society.

Hello again everyone and welcome back to my blog.  This week I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about an article that hit home with me.  Every couple of years I am required to completed re-certification for a variety of different topics.  The re-certification process is usually a mundane task that is accomplished by studying material and then answering relatively easy questions.  Just this past week I had to get re-certified on our criminal database.  The learning part of this process took over an hour while the test itself took six minutes.  Needless to say I got a 96% on the test and I will not need to worry about that topic for the next two years.  The reason I bring this up is because I recently saw an article that caught my eye.  The link to the article is located below.  Please take a couple of minutes and read the article.


http://www.officer.com/news/11320457/officer-quickfire-recap-fourth-week-of-february

As you can see from the article a large number of Pennsylvania State Troopers are at risk of losing their careers over their efforts aimed at cheating during an exam.  As the article states a fellow trooper, who had taken the exam on a previous day, used his cellphone to send answers to troopers who were taking the exam the following day.  What the trooper did not count on was the fact that the exam was formatted in many different versions.  This led to multiple officer missing a large number of questions because they did not check the authenticity of the answers that had been supplied to them.  This is yet another poor example that has been set by our nations law enforcement officers.  These officers risked their livelihoods by cheating on a test that they probably could have past without any help.  As I mentioned above I routinely take re-certification exams.  These processes usually involve topics that I am very familiar with and in twenty years I have yet to fail one.  I cannot imagine cheating on one of these tests and risking everything I have worked so hard for over the course of my career.  Unfortunately there are bad apples in every profession and these officers have tarnished a very noble profession.  

If we want to assign blame in this case I'm sure most of you would target the officer who sent the other officers what he thought were the answers.  While I would absolutely lay most of the blame at his feet, it seems to me that this was pre-planned and that the officers who received the answers surely knew that the officer who had taken the test the previous day would help them out.  These officers had the entire day to think about whether or not they would use the information and they certainly could have deleted the text message that contained the answers.  This is certainly a disturbing case, a case that brings in to question the integrity and ethical makeup of the officers involved.  Can these officers be trusted by the public after this fiasco?   Can the local prosecutor use their testimony in future cases without fear of their integrity being called in to question.  These are issues that will have to be answered.  These are issues that would not have become issues if not for the wayward acts of a couple dozen Pennsylvania State Troopers.  

I look forward to your comments regarding this article.  I also want to thank all of you for continuing to visit my blog.  Next week will be the last week of my Ethics class and thus will bring an end to this blog.  For my entry next week I will not focus on negative actions of officers, rather I will focus on what sacrifices officers make and how they face ethical and moral decisions everyday.  I will demonstrate just how difficult law enforcement is and how thin the blue line can be.  Please join me next week for the final installment of my Troy graduate blog. 

After scouring the internet for a topic for this week's edition of my blog I came across the video below. Please take a look at the video for a quick overview of the discussion to follow.

As you can imagine my first reaction to this was, WOW!!!...What would make a police officer arrest a firefighter while the firefighter was still actively working the scene of the crash.  Was this simply a case of the officer being disrespected because the firefighter didn't move fast enough?  Did this officer talk to his supervisor before taking such drastic action?  Did any of the officers ask any of the other firefighters to move the truck before this "Arrest" was made?

When we think of ethical dilemmas that police officers face everyday, does a situation like this come to mind?  At first I didn't think so, but as I gave this scenario a little more thought I came to the conclusion that the officer certainly had to justify this arrest in his head before he took action.  He certainly had to reason it out and know that there were ethical implications involved.  From everything I've read and the videos I've seen it appears that the officer acted on his own.  Is this another case of an officer being disrespected and the actions that follow are his way of getting his respect back?  I can't help but believe that is exactly the case.  As a police supervisor for 20 years I have been to countless accident scenes.  During my experiences there have surely been disagreements with firefighters on where they parked, how long they were taking, what hospital they were going to, etc.  However, I've never even remotely considered arresting any of them for failing to obey an officer.  Firefighters and police officers have extremely difficult jobs as it is.  There is no way I would consider arresting a firefighter for something of this nature.

I can think of a number of steps the officer could've taken to avoid this public relations fiasco.  The first thought that came to mind was whether or not he asked a supervisor for their assistance.  Police supervisors are tasked with protecting the agency and its officers from decisions just like this.  The officer who made this choice clearly could've taken the extra couple of minutes to call for a sergeant to come to the scene.  Upon the arrival of the sergeant the officer could've relayed his concerns and they could have worked on a solution together.  If I were the sergeant at the scene I would have asked to speak to the firefighter's supervisor and together I think we would have worked out a solution that would not have involved the type of fallout we see here.

Here are some questions many of you probably had as you watched this video:

 Did the officer ask any of the other firefighters to move the truck?  That would have been my first course of action.  I would have found someone else to move the truck and then I would take the issue up with that firefighter's supervisor.

Why was the officer in such a hurry to clear the scene?  While the hopeful part of my brain says that he was in a hurry so they could open the road and clear the traffic jam.  The cynical part of me thinks it might've been close to shift change or maybe he was running late for his lunch break.

Finally, since this "Arrest" only lasted several minutes what should the ramifications be for the officer?  That is a good question and one that I'm sure will generate numerous comments.  As far as I'm concerned I think the officer should be reprimanded for his actions.  Although the video only shows the result of what happened when the firefighter did not obey the officer we don't know exactly what led up to it.  Either way I can think of no way to justify what the officer did.  As I mentioned above this is an issue that should have been handled after the fact by the fire department.  This was still an active scene and the officer's rush to arrest one of the firefighter's seemed to be an emotional one not one based what the public would expect from a reasonable and prudent officer. This officer needs to understand that the bad publicity he has brought to himself and his agency could have been easily avoided.   It could have been avoided if he would have done any of the things mentioned above.

This is just another instance where police officers end up being their own worst enemy.  I wonder what percentage of the public took the officer's side in this case.  Like you, I bet that number is extremely small.  Officers continue to bring bad press to not only themselves and their departments, but also to our profession.  We all need to think long and hard before we take away someone's freedom.  We should give even more thought when we consider the ramifications of an event like this, which is sure to generate coverage form both the public and the media.

Thanks again for taking a few minutes to read my blog.  I appreciate all of you stopping by and I am looking forward to reading your comments regarding this incident.  I hope you all have a great week.

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of my blog.  For those that have followed since the beginning I want to thank you, for those who are reading for the first time I'd like to welcome and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Since my last entry generated so much interest and so many questions I want to dedicate this week's entry to addressing the excellent questions that were raised.  Before I get into your questions I'd like all of you to take a look at the video below. Since my last posting the judge in the case has released the video of the crime as it occurred.

As you can see from the video above the murder of Chad Oulsen was captured on the movie theater's surveillance system.  Although the video is grainy it appears that there is some sort of confrontation followed by what is believed to be Mr. Oulsen throwing popcorn on Mr. Reeves.  This is immediately followed by Mr. Reeves firing one round into Mr. Oulsen.  Now after seeing this video my first question to all of you is, does this change your opinion on this incident.  As you can see the shot fired from Mr. Reeves is almost simultaneous with Mr. Oulsen's actions.  This leads me to believe that Mr. Reeves had his hand on his gun before Mr. Oulsen's action.  As a trained police officer it is my opinion that Mr. Reeves had to have had his hand on his gun before Mr. Oulsen threw popcorn on him.  With that in mind I have an even more difficult time believing Mr. Reeves claims that he acted in self-defense.  I think this video shows that Mr. Reeves actions were pre-meditated, even if for just a split second.  It is clear that what took place was some kind of verbal argument which led to Mr. Oulsen throwing popcorn on Mr. Reeves.  It appears that when the two men started arguing Mr. Reeves readied his weapon.  Now, that in and of itself is not wrong nor is it illegal.  However his over-reaction to what took place next is why this murder occurred and why Mr. Reeves is still in jail today.

I'd now like to take a moment and address some issues that were brought up in last weeks post.  As we continue to see violence spike in this country one of my readers asked why someone would need to bring a gun into a movie theater.  Well after reading this blog and after the recent violence at movie theaters I hope that question has been answered.  I will tell you that as an officer I bring my gun everywhere I go.  For me that hasn't always been the case.  However with the violence that has overtaken our country I have resigned myself to the fact that I will not be a victim to some criminal.  I will continue to carry my gun whether it is to the grocery store, movie theater or restaurant.  I will not allow myself or my family to fall victim to the plight of some criminal element.  If I can make a difference I will defend myself and other civilians, who without my intervention may become victims.  Now I'm sure there are those out there that would question my need to bring a gun everywhere I go.  I in turn would ask each of you that if you were faced with a life and death situation and there was a police officer nearby wouldn't you hope that he brought his weapon with him?

As I read your comments from last week I was certainly surprised that several of you have had run-ins at a movie theater.  As should have happened in this case, most people either move seats or leave the theater completely.  I think we would all agree that nothing is worth what occurred in this case.  There is no text message, no disrespectful act, or petty argument that should lead to the outcome that happened in this case.  Isn't it sad that we are unable to go back in time and show both men what resulted from their actions.  Unfortunately this is not possible and both families will forever be forced to live with the consequences of this confrontation.

 I'd like to leave all of you with the following.  Knowing what we know about this incident and other similar incidents around the country do you think it is time for comprehensive gun reform?  If you do not believe that we have reached the point where we need to limit access to guns, is there a point where you would say enough is enough?  I for one can tell you that my thinking changed after the Sandy Hook school shooting.  The families in that community endured something that no one should have to endure.  If we aren't willing to change the way we think about guns after that incident, what will it take?

Hope you all have an excellent week, thank you again for reading my blog.

What is this world coming to?

Those were the first words that came to mind after I saw this story a couple of weeks ago. As more of the story comes out and we continue to learn what happened I am reminded that we live in a very violent country.  As you saw from watching the video a retired Tampa Police Captain shot and killed a young man after the victim was texting on his cell phone.  Please click on the link below to listen to a family member of the alleged murderer argue for a reduction of his bail. 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/05/justice/florida-movie-theater-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

As you saw from the link above this murder is alleged to have taken place because the victim threw popcorn at the suspect.  The victim in this case, Chad Oulson, was texting his daughter's babysitter.  The suspect, Curtis Reeves, was apparently upset that Oulson was texting in the theatre.  During the incident Oulson is alleged to have thrown popcorn at Reeves who in turn shot him one time in the upper body.  Reeves is now claiming that he shot Oulson in self-defense.  

As you saw in the video above, Oulson's death has left a woman without her husband and a 2 year old girl without her father.  This was over texting!!  The shooting was committed by a former Police Captain.  As I mentioned at the top of this post, What is this world coming to?  Do we de-value human life so much that we resort to violence over such insignificant issues.  This was a carer law enforcement officer.  Someone who worked his whole life to achieve the rank of captain.  How can he go from dedicated public servant to a cold blooded killer in one fell swoop?  If the reports are accurate and Mr. Oulson did in fact tell Mr. Reeves that he was texting his daughter's babysitter, how could Reeves shoot and kill a man whom he knew had a young daughter at home?  This was a man, Mr. Reeves, who has probably faced more life and death decisions than most people.  How could he have justified in his mind that Mr. Oulson was presenting a lethal threat? 

Maybe Mr. Reeves is receiving good legal advice and the fact is that he was embarrassed by having popcorn thrown at him.  Maybe the only way he could get his dignity back was to pull out his gun and shoot Mr. Oulson.  That brings me back to my original point, do we now as a society resort to violence when someone challenges our manhood or embarrasses us in public?  Do we not consider the consequences of our actions?  If you would, please take another look at the video above.  Can you count how many peoples lives have been changed forever because of this split second decision.  A decision that was made without hesitation and without consideration for what would happen afterwards.  

I also wanted to express my feelings on one other aspect of the video above.  Take a listen to Mr. Reeve's daughter argue for his bail to be reduced.  She states that he has medical issue and arthritis and that he has ties to the community and would not flee from justice.  I wonder if Mr. Reeve's daughter looked at Mr. Oulson's widow and wondered how the rest of her life would be.  Did she consider what Ms. Oulson tells her daughter every night when she puts her to bed and her father is no where to be found.  Did she consider how her daughter will never have her dad watch her play soccer, graduate from high school, walk her down the aisle, etc.  How could Mr. Reeve's daughter stand up there and aruge that her father should be let out of jail.  The fact is that he is facing 25 years in prison which is essentially a life sentence.  What in the world would keep him from fleeing justice?  Why in the world would the judge lower his bond?  

I realize that I have asked an awful lot of questions, but this story hits home with me.  I have been in law enforcement for 20 years and I have young daughters.  I, like most of you, cannot imagine the pain being felt by the widow and the pain that is yet to come for that little girl.  As we go through life we are offered so many choices that will play a part in determining our fate.  I can't help but wonder what could've been if Mr. Reeves would have left his gun at home or if Mr. Oulson wouldn't have been able to find a babysitter. Sometimes life changes in the blink of an eye and the only thing helping to guide our choices is our morals and our ethics.

As this case continues to evolve we are now learning that Mr. Reeves had an argument with another couple several months earlier.  The argument was at the same movie theatre and also involved texting.  I can only imagine how lucky this couple feels to have escaped what could've been their fate several months earlier.  

Well here we are, another law enforcement officer on the wrong side of the ethical conundrum.  I wish it were more difficult to write these postings, unfortunately stories like this are becoming more and more prevalent.  As I leave you for this week I'd like you to consider a few things.  For as much as we say we live in a civilized society, do we really think that is the case?  Why do we put such little value on human life?  As I mentioned above, if the reporting in this story is accurate and Mr. Reeves knew that Mr. Oulson had a daughter at home, can you think of anything more heartless and cold blooded?  

I'd love to hear what all of you think about this case.  

Another Week, Another Victim of Unethical Behavior

As we enter week 4 of my blog there has been another local story that caught my attention.  This one has to do with Police Chief Steve Singletary of the Plant City Police Department.  For those of you who haven't heard, he was recently fired from his job.  His firing was the result of his unethical behavior during a nearly three year affair.  Please take a look at the clip below for a quick overview on this case.

When I first heard about this story the question that came to mind was whether or not he was fired solely because of his affair.  Well that question was very easy to answer as I have seen my share of extra-marital affairs over the course of my 20 year career in law enforcement.  While not one of my co-workers was fired for cheating on their spouse there were several who were terminated due to the unethical behavior that occurred either during the affair or immediately afterwards. 

I'm sure that some of you are wondering what type of behavior caused these law enforcement professionals to lose their jobs. As you will see below Chief Singletary lost his job for many reasons.  He is alleged to have used sick time to take off so he could see his mistress.  He is also alleged to have met with his mistress on city property to continue their sexual relationship.  While in the course of my career the prevailing theme for why officers lost their jobs after being caught in an extra-marital affair boils down to untruthfulness.  I've seen officers get caught up in affairs and then lie to investigators.  While the affair is ethically and morally wrong, the officers would've kept their jobs if they would've told the truth during the investigation. 

As I read through some documents that were released by the Plant City Police Department(Please see the link below and click on the related documents) it became apparent that the Chief's moral compass was completely off kilter.  What started out as an extra-marital affair morphed into the abuse of sick time, using city property for personal reasons, and trespassing on private property for the purpose of meeting up with his mistress. 

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/24565143/2014/01/28/plant-city-police-chief-fired

As I close week 4 of my blog I will leave you with a couple of questions.  The first one is this: Should a law enforcement official lose their job because of an extra-marital affair?  What if the affair involved the Chief or Sheriff of that particular agency, would that change your opinion?  

I look forward to reading your responses and I will respond next week. 

What Happens Now?

Since my post last week embattled Lakeland Police Chief, Linda Womack, has announced that she will resign on May 1st.  Please see below for a short excerpt written by Chief Womack to the City Manager of Lakeland.  

 After full and careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that it is in the best interest of me and my family to transition out of my position of Chief of Police of the Lakeland Police Department. I am very proud of all the things we, as a department, have been able to accomplish in the three years I have been Chief.

I would like to thank you for the strong support you have shown me and the Police Department during my tenure here. Throughout my career, I have not worked for or with any other City Manager who has shown such integrity and strength of character.

My transition from my position as Chief of Police will be effective May 1, 2014. I will continue to move this department forward with 100% commitment until that time. And, I will assist in any way I can to make my departure as seamless as possible.

Thank you for the honor of being the Chief of Police for the Lakeland Police Department.

So what are we as a society to make of this?  Should we point the finger at Chief Womack or her officers?  Is this the fault of the city council and city manager for not properly vetting Chief Womack before hiring her?  After all Chief Womack was involved in another sex scandal at her former department in Elgin, Illinois.  In that case then Chief Womack and her department were investigating an assistant chief who was alleged to have had sex with another officer.  

Regardless of what you believe it's clear now that what occurred in Lakeland was nothing less than tragic.  Several employees have lost their jobs while still others have had their names tarnished.  Meanwhile the victim in this case has hired an attorney and filed suit against the City of Lakeland. 

My hope is that other municipalities and the police departments they employ will take a long list at their hiring process.  In this case there was smoke for quite a while.  As we ultimately saw there was also plenty of fire to go right along with all that smoke. Now I certainly don't believe that Chief Womack should shoulder all the blame.  However as the chief executive of her department that is exactly where the blame should land.  I have to believe that while this was occurring there were whispers in the halls about what was taking place.  How is that no one acted sooner?  Why is that those who knew didn't get the Chief involved?  If they did get her involved and she failed to act then shame on her.  Either way I hope that city managers across this country use this as an example to continually take the pulse of the department heads whom they supervise.  When a scandal this big takes place it is a failure of an entire organization not just one or two people. 

In the not too distant future my department will be replacing our long serving police chief.  As I write this I can't help but wonder how our city leaders will choose a replacement.  How important will the ethical history of a prospective chief be?  Will city leaders reach out to our prospective chief's former employers and inquire as to what type of ethics this person has?  I wonder if that will even be a consideration.  While at this point I'm not quite sure what the answer is, I sure hope that what takes place in Lakeland plays a part in how we find our next chief of police.