The Summer Update

I am completely amazed at how quickly the last six-odd months of my life have sped by.  Academy has become a rock-solid part of my life’s routine, which has had both good and bad effects.  On the good side, the constant exposure to law enforcment training has slowly transformed me from computer nerd/slacker into something resembling a police recruit.  On the bad side, some of Academy life has become a little too routine.  I’ve been guilty of neglecting to bring required equipment to class on an occasion or two, and have committed other slips of the mind which wouldn’t have happened had I been more focused on the task at hand.

The most exciting activity recently was an opportunity to volunteer for a local police department during their city’s July 4th celebrations.  I was able to stand around looking very official and help people with various things while disappointing others by informing them that X road was closed.  I directed traffic with the classic red-coned flashlight, and perhaps most exciting event of the evening was when I was able to put my voice over a live police radio for the first time ever.

This week was an especially important one in my town, as we observed the one-year anniversary of the city’s most recent line-of-duty police officer death.  The fallen officer had deep local roots and so his passing was felt very powerfully throughout the community.  My Academy squad walked down to the city’s headquarters and observed a long moment of silence infront of the memorial, after which we heard a lieutenant’s recounting of the tragic event.  Walking home I felt a deep sense of pride and responsibility, reaffirmed in my desire to live and work in a city where a good man once died to help others.

Acts of God

The last six weeks have been particularly intense. Balancing the Academy with the other aspects of life has been the main challenge. Between PT, the classroom, the firearms range, my job, my friends/family, the doctor (physical therapy on a knee injury), and whatever other scraps of time I have to spare on myself, life has been very busy lately. On the plus side, plenty of new stuff has been learned.

We’ve completed our firearms course, and have become very familiar with Glock 22s and somewhat familiar with Remington 870s and Smith & Wesson M&P 15s. Today we completed our main PT requirement by passing the state-regulated battery of tests for which failure would mean dismissal from the Academy. As far as police physical requirements, my state isn’t the easiest but it’s not the toughest either.

Moving into May the Academy schedule is a bit lighter, and I am quite happy to simply still be in it. Today I was literally one push-up away from being a very sad regular guy instead of being a police recruit. The fact that I was able to pass was partially due to two weeks of intensive preparation and primarily due to the intervention of the Most High.  The fact that I nearly didn’t was due to the annoying fact that I simply seem to have a weak upper body.

Becoming a Poh-leece

Tonight I sat down for the traditional hour of COPS on Fox. Even though the show adheres to a strict pattern and is heavily edited, I still really enjoy watching. As I learn more and more about the profession, I notice more and more things about what I see on the show that I didn’t before. For example, I just learned this past week what it means to double-lock handcuffs; tonight I saw it happen for the first time on TV, even though I previously had watched handcuffs being double-locked on the show a dozen times or more.

It’s a lot like percussion. As a drummer, I notice so much more about music that I listen to than I ever thought possible. This is both a blessing and a curse. Being a drummer is a curse because I can no longer just listen to music and enjoy it (unless it’s the Beatles). I hear the drums. That’s all. I interpret the music from the perspective of a percussionist, no longer just a listener.

This phenomenon is beginning to happen to me with law enforcement. As I watch COPS, I now see the officer taking notes on his hand because he forgot his notebook that night. I see the slight tremor in an officer’s hands as he attempts to double-lock handcuffs after a fight with a suspect. I wonder to myself why the nameplate is attached to the pocket flap rather than just over it. The little details that are lost on the average observer are beginning to stand out.

These days when I listen to a song, especially if it’s funk or jazz, I think about what I would play if I were the one with the sticks in my hand. I listen to the groove, the breaks, the fills, the accents, and make a note to try them out myself later on. Similarly, these days instead of watching COPS for entertainment, I think of every segment as a training video. It’s a bit of a bummer because I can remember watching the show and just wanting to drive fast with the lights on.

Make It Happen

A month into the Academy and I have confirmed that I really enjoy writing police reports.  This comes as no surprise to myself.  Many of the law enforcement officers I’ve talked to over the past months about the job have tried to warn me about the “boring” parts of the job, to include report writing.  To me, report writing is energizing.

I was saved by providential circumstances today, when once again I left my uniform belt at home.  Upon realizing this, my first inclination was to just not wear it in the hope that nobody would notice.  I then chastised myself mentally; you need your belt, I said.  It’s part of the uniform.  So suck it up and go get it.  What saved me was that PT got out early, allowing me to get the belt and be back in class with more than enough time left over.  And guess what?  Surprise inspection after class.

The Shining

Just over a week into the Academy and I’ve learned that shining a pair of boots takes quite a bit of work.  Layer after layer after layer of polish, seemingly without end, are applied to the leather of the previously-ok-looking (to a normal person) boot in quest of the ultimate goal: my own reflection.  I’ve decided to work on my boots bit by bit, doing a few dozen layers each night rather than sitting for three hours in a row (which, outside of class and work, I just don’t have).  Having been marked off on the first inspection for not having shined boots, it is my goal to have boots that are so shiny they’ll make the squad leader’s head hurt.

Beyond Academics

I have successfully made it through the first three days of Police Academy.  My first impressions are very positive; the instructors so far have been excellent, and I survived the first PT class.  On the first day we were issued a big pile of cool stuff including a full duty belt.  You’d be amazed how long it took me to get my 20-year old sister into handcuffs that evening.  I definitely need some practice there.

Yesterday was very interesting.  PT pushed me to my limit; I used up a lot of willpower in order to get through it.  I am definitely in the bottom 20% or so in terms of physical conditioning, thanks to my lazy computer nerd days.  Always good to have room for improvement.

I also managed to leave my uniform belt at home, and foolishly decided to attempt to retrieve it in between PT and class.  After much running through the facilities, duty bag in hand, I got to the classroom about 30 seconds after roll was called, making me the first tardy recruit of the squad.  I suppose it had to happen to somebody, and it might as well be me.  So it was a big day of firsts, and hopefully some lasts.

6 Days

Less than a week out of the Academy and I’m nursing a foot injury sustained while playing indoor soccer on New Year’s Eve. Having played very little soccer in my lifetime, I learned that day that soccer really works you. If you think you’re in decent shape, play 90 minutes of indoor soccer with a bunch of Canadian lads and you’ll probably have to re-evaluate yourself.

Needless to say, valuable lessons were learned. First of all, don’t over-work yourself if you can help it. No soccer game is worth compromising your health. Second, wear appropriate shoes for what you’re doing. I was wearing a crappy pair of old runners loaned to me for the game and that’s what I believe lead to a rather painful muscle strain in my left foot. Third, don’t think that you as an I.T. soft-belly can keep up with guys that have been playing in local soccer leagues since their elementary school days.

Resolutions of a Police Recruit

Without further ado, here are my resolutions for the great year of 2008, in which I hope to become a police officer.

1. I resolve not to quit. Many hurdles have been jumped over just getting to 2008, including yesterday’s foot injury (muscle strain, most likely) and no doubt many more difficulties will be faced. The key is waking up every day with the determination to make it through with God’s help. Not quitting is a survivor mentality; if you are fighting for your life with a suspect, or lost on a snow-covered mountain, your best chance of survival is never to give up. Keep on fighting, keep on running, keep on not quitting.

2. I resolve to be first in my class. It’s important to set high goals. This isn’t just a competitive “I want to prove that I’m the best” type of thing. If anything, I want to prove to myself that I have been given the proper gifts to do this job, and I want to do it the best that I can. I believe that my best is enough to be at the top of the class, so that’s my goal.

3. I resolve to look out for my fellow recruits. The Academy, in my opinion, isn’t about muscling your way up the ladder of individual accomplishment. It’s about banding together with the people you will hopefully soon be working alongside. Law Enforcement is a job where teamwork and unity is critical to accomplishing the mission. The old phrase “You might out-run me, but you won’t out-run my radio” comes to mind. Who’s on the other end of that radio? Your fellow officers. So it’s my desire to encourage, uplift, and enable my fellow recruits to succeed.

4. I resolve to live a healthy personal life. I’ve been reminded often that you need to take care of yourself. Late nights, heavy drinking, promiscuity, bad eating habits, and dangerous recreational activities are things that can really hinder one’s ability to perform at a high level. A man needs to get his life in order so as to accomplish his goals (see number 2), and that is what I am resolved to do.

5. I resolve to be hired locally before 2009. This is one that I don’t have a whole lot of control over, but I am still shooting for it. I live in an area where it’s tough to get a job as a police officer. Many guys get out of the Academy and find themselves having to work other jobs while the months tick away as they try to get a position in a department somewhere. I will have the 9.5 months of Academy plus the 2.5 months afterward to find a job, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

6. I resolve to give God all the glory. The main reason I’m even doing this is because I have felt very strongly a call from God to be a police officer. Additionally, as a Christian I find it my duty and my foremost reason for living to glorify God in all that I do. It’s a wonderful motivating factor, and it’s also my secret weapon going into the Academy.

Fare thee well, 2007. Bring your worst, 2008!

All Dressed Up

This week I got my academy uniforms in.  It was a nice confirmation that yes, this whole thing is actually happening.  Basic uniform really, white shirt (just like Cincinnati!) with blue pants, a patch over the left pocket and a nameplate over the other.  I’d be happier about it if I didn’t have to spend ungodly amounts of money on them, but I am happy nonetheless.

Fuzzy Logic

I have many different circles of friends, one of which I lovingly refer to as the “skids”. These are mostly kids that have either abandoned or been abandoned by their families in their late teens, and find themselves frittering away their college years on drugs, booze, sex, and metal. Skids aren’t hardened criminals, by and large; in general they stick to engaging in vice-related minor crime. My relations with the group have cooled noticeably since I announced my L.E. aspirations, and the conversations are always entertaining.

Skids doing their thing.

A typical one starts out with, “You’re going to be a cop?! Duuuuude, I hate cops!”. Being the understanding type, I calmly ask them what makes them feel the way they do. What normally happens at this juncture is I listen for the next 20 minutes while the individual rattles off a long litany of DUI stops, busted hotbox parties, MIPs, and bogus “police brutality” stories involving their ex-ex-ex-boyfriend that tried to run. At the end they put all the blame for these negative experiences squarely on the shoulders of the police officers doing their job.

The fuzzy logic, which I point out to them as often as I can, is that they are abdicating responsibility for their own actions by blaming police officers for problems they are creating for themselves. If they didn’t drink or drive, or possess and consume controlled substances, or drink underage, or try to run from the police, things like the above rarely happen. Oddly enough, even the most anti-intellectual skid will often agree with this assessment.

The problem here is that skids actually hate the law, not cops. The law-hating behavior began when they were children and weren’t taught to respect their parents’ rules, and manifested itself later on as not having any respect whatsoever for society’s rules. They definitely don’t know what to do with me, because in general I’m rather friendly and can make anybody feel comfortable. Cops aren’t like that in their world of petty misdemeanors.

“I guess that means you’re straight-edge, huh?” – Skid
“I’m so beyond straight-edge it’d make your head hurt.” – Me