AZ_Infantry
Active member
Agree. I do have discreation but there are times such as in this scenerio that no matter how much I agree with the action the law has to enforced with an eye to the totality of the circumstance.
If you shot a bank robber here. You wouldn't go in cuffs. You'd be investigated and interviewed and probably be cut loose with a job offer provided the shoot was clean. The DV issue. were it me you and your wife would go.
I agree with your other sentiments. Like I said I look at this scenerio and see a laundry list of headaches I'd rathar not deal with.
Yeah, the DV example was poor, at best.
My ex (Camy) is a cop, so naturally most of our friends were officers in one regard or another: I know guys from ICE to patrol to detention officers (which is what Camy is). Some were some of the finest men and women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Others were beaten up in high school and now have a superiority complex and want to lord their new power over us peasants (Camy). Just like in the Army, the few bad apples give the tree tainted fruit.
Unfortunately, I haven't many good things to say about officers, as my interaction with them has been primarily negative. And that really is a shame because, again, like the service, it is an honorable profession. Those I do respect in the field of LE I speak about with the highest regard.
I do understand the purpose behind mandatory arrest laws. I know y'all have a tough job with tough decisions, and it sucks that you could cut someone some slack just one time and turn around and be sued/fired for it. In that you and I will never disagree. I don't blame y'all, the officers - I blame the policy makers and the politicians for making our justice system such a farce that normal citizens such as myself have lost all faith in it.
I have a few stories of my own to share, though I'll not detract from this thread any further than what I have already so rudely done. Suffice it to say that I have been both looking in and looking out from the cells. When you've seen both sides, you get a unique perspective. I was never law enforcement, but again, my life has generally been filled with those who are - I've caught more than the casual glimpse into the world you live in.
All I can really say is that I do not envy your position. Had dude cut the flag down in front of me, I'd have probably been fired for refusing to arrest him. PROBABLY. But that's the folly of the mandatory arrest laws: While they keep justice even for all regardless of personal opinion, they remove officer discretion to know when a situation warrants custody and when it doesn't. And even with the bad dealings I've had with individual officers, I still trust y'all way more than I do the judges and policy makers that shape the laws you must enforce. At least y'all have a shred of humanity left.
I hope to talk with you more in the future. You seem like good people.
Keep your head down and remember: Complacency is a killer. Don't get comfortable out there, brother. Watch your six. Go home after your shift, knowing that you showed respect to those entrusted to your charge (us).
And thank you for your service! Both in the military and as an officer. You watch your back out there, man.