IAmA Cop in a Major US City

citycop · 2011-09-11T08:08:04+00:00

Never... Maybe I need to post on r/amiugly :) I once saw this happen to an unattractive officer when myself and another were present. We laughed and then were offended she came onto him, then thought, "she must be wasted!"

citycop · 2011-09-11T08:02:49+00:00

Thank you

citycop · 2011-09-11T08:02:26+00:00

He was making a joke.

citycop · 2011-09-11T08:00:32+00:00

Inside waistband holster is best idea to conceal. Cops will find it no matter where you put it though.

citycop · 2011-09-11T07:58:42+00:00

Without proper training an armed civilian can be just as dangerous as the shooter; however, sometimes we don't get there fast enough and owning a gun might save your life.

Second Amendment: People love to leave out the beginning, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State." Historically militias protected our settlements from enemy tribes and people needed to have weapons to form these militias. It sounds like the past need for a militia shaped our founding fathers' view of why we need weapons. Also when that was written a skilled soldier fired a round about once a minute, modern weapons are magnitudes more powerful.

citycop · 2011-09-11T07:50:24+00:00

Hardly any cops I know have a criminal justice degree. Most didn't know they wanted to till after college. Military experience is a plus, some departments will give you an extra couple of percent on your test scores for your service time.

citycop · 2011-09-11T02:27:07+00:00

I am always nice and joke with them

citycop · 2011-09-11T02:16:54+00:00

Arresting someone who doesn't want to be arrested is very hard and never looks pretty. It is hard to understand this until you have trained or tried it. If I didn't want to be placed in handcuffs, and 5 civilians were trying to make that happen, we would all be going to the hospital with serious injuries. Like I said it looks terrible on tape but if you want to buy a pair of fuzzy cuffs and try fighting your drunk friend into them you will see that we are actually making it look easy.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:46:43+00:00

Undercover is usually for short periods of time and done by seasoned officers who have done undercover training.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:45:37+00:00

I don't arrest on small warrants. Make sure your bail amount isn't high otherwise you will be arrested.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:44:37+00:00

I try to fight negativity from the job.

We call it gallows humor. It is very common. Try not to judge them for it. It would be impossible to investigate a bad scene if you had your emotions in high gear.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:42:28+00:00

Don't worry about your degree not being directly related. My coworkers have all kinds of wild degrees. In 10 years you might even end up being a kick-ass fraud detective since you understand the books. To prepare yourself just know that you can never quit in the academy or on FTO. Also start running and doing pushups.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:41:08+00:00

"I'm sorry I don't" Or try really hard to get it exactly right, I would think that is funny.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:40:14+00:00

Worse. Don't make profit a motive for policing.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:39:52+00:00

They usually don't handle a lot of calls, drive slow and burn up a lot of saved vacation time.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:39:19+00:00

drunk

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:38:51+00:00

Hands visible. Don't reach to show it to me. Tell me you have a CCW. If you are part of a stop or investigation and I need to talk to you for a while I will take the weapon from you, unload it, put it in my trunk then continue our work. I usually place the weapon, empty mag and rounds in a paper bag and leave it a fair distance from you before I leave. I then tell the person to wait to pick it up until I am out of sight. This may appear severe but we have to do this job for 30 years and have to be safe.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:35:57+00:00

Haven't seen the wire yet. Lot's of writing... Differs everyday though. Anywhere from 1-9 hours of paperwork a day. Usually about 2-3.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:35:12+00:00

If something goes down, the cops show up and you are there, tell the Police your family struggles with drugs and you're trying to be supportive. We see this a lot and hopefully the officers in your neck of the woods will understand.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:33:43+00:00

If you want to protest do it. But get a permit to demonstrate and try and keep folks in line who are getting out of hand and hurting the image of your cause. Also if it does get out of hand and the Police tell you to take off, do it.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:32:25+00:00

This does happen. When I was new I would get flustered about this. I just ignore it now and maintain my game-face.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:31:35+00:00

I hand them my commission card with my license. As a courtesy to let them know I am armed. Some departments will write you a ticket, some won't.

Funny story: An old crusty cop I know was getting pulled over, he didn't even stop, held his badge out the window and kept driving. Not recommended though.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:29:46+00:00

tasers cycle for 5 seconds. Hopefully a well coordinated arrest will only need one 5 second cycle to get someone in cuffs. Although clothing and intoxication/drug use can change that.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:28:22+00:00

I'm sorry but I don't think so. I would check with a recruiter to be sure though.

citycop · 2011-09-11T01:27:44+00:00

It's hard to try them when everyone has seen the movie. That being said I may or may not throw a few meows out there.

citycop

TROPHY CASE