Ringing In

I've decided a couple of things lately.

1. I suck at keeping up with this blog. Part of it is lack of anything interesting to say, part of it is a genuine feeling of apathy. Quite frankly, my life hasn't been the most fulfilling of late, but I am taking steps to fix that.

2. I have set a deadline for some big life changes. I want to apply to my hometown police department in 2011. In the meantime, I will be getting in shape and losing weight, hunting for an apartment in Central VA, and getting back into Academy form in terms of my shooting.

3. I need to find something that makes and keeps my happy. A lot of the trouble I've been having with being motivated to improve things has been due to being generally unhappy. I have taken up gardening, or at least caring for plants, but obviously that's not terribly time consuming in the middle of winter. Perhaps part of my change to a happier me should include moving on to new employment until I am ready to reapply to the Police Department.

Reboot

So, it's been five months since I resigned my post at the Police Department, roughly two months since I found out that I wasn't welcome back. Besides that, its been a little over a year since some other major changes in my life. As such, this blog will turn from a chronicle of my time as a rookie Police Officer, to more of a general observation of my life; in other words, more of a journal.

If the past year has taught me anything, its not to take anything for granted. I lost a lot of things near and dear to me (my dream job, the love of my life) , thanks to lapses in judgment. As much as I would love to go back and reset, I can't. I have always said, the true measure of a man is how he recovers from setbacks.

So, I have started making forward strides. I am still working as a waiter for the time being, and trying to get back into University to complete my degree. More updates to come.

Set Back

So it turns out, my chosen department has decided not to take me back.

Thanks for all your support, but now I have to sit back and decide what to do next.

Re-up

I realized not too long ago that the past year or so for me has been one of constant change, most of it negative. First, I dropped out of college, which wasn't too much of a loss, since I didn't want to be there in the first place. The real loss there was the fact that I left without a degree, basically wasting three years of my life. Second, my girlfriend of three years left me. That struck me hard, as I saw a definite future with her, and in all honesty, I still do miss and love her. Finally, in a move I thought could only end well, I got hired to my local police department. Things went smoothly until I ultimately failed to qualify with my sidearm.

So, I have had around 13 months to think, evaluate, and act on these changes. As far as the first: I plan on going back to school at some point. Quite simply, if I plan on advancing in anything, I'll need that fancy piece of paper. Regarding the ex, well, that's for another blog.

Now my career, that I'll share:

Almost exactly a year after my first application to the department, I put in a fresh one. Since resigning I've wrestled with a lot of things, namely: is this what I really want to do? Am I cut out for this? Do I really want to sit through another 5 months of training? While I'm not thrilled about the prospect of repeating my training, I know this is something I want to do, and I know I need to make some adjustments to be successful this time:

1. I need to get into better shape. I started the last academy overweight and out of shape. While my size was a benefit in some cases (defensive tactics/ground fighting) it did not serve me well during our PT. I could make the excuse that I didn't really know what to expect, but the fact is I overestimated my ability, and underestimated the toll four years of a near sedentary lifestyle took on me.

2. Obviously I need to get out to the range. I've been skeet shooting a couple times, but shooting clay pigeons, and shooting for my sidearm quals are two different things. I haven't been able to yet, due to some financial restrictions, but I am trying desperately to get some rounds downrange.

3. I need a little bit of an attitude adjustment. I went into my last academy my usual cocky, laid back, flippant self. There are situations where that's alright, but I have to do a better job of recognizing when is a good time.

So, here's to hoping I get another shot (no pun intended). Maybe if this works, some other things will fall into place.

Publicity

So, we already know that if the media puts out stories about the police force, odds are its going to be in a negative light. I understand the marketing angle of "if it bleeds, it leads", however, wouldn't it be beneficial to not paint the city's protectors in sinister shades, causing more distrust from the already fickle public?

Grandma Rides the Lightning

OK, just because you're a senior doesn't mean an officer isn't going to do his job. The report here alleges the woman "dared the officer to taze her"...so he did. I think the TASER is a wonderful tool (that's probably because I haven't been taken for my ride yet), and I think the officer involved made the right decision. Could he have deployed his OC? Yes, but without any prior knowledge of the driver's medical history, that could be just as risky. The fact of the matter is: he was confronted by an unruly suspect and needed to gain control of the situation. An old woman is just as capable of injuring or killing an officer as anyone else. However, the public doesn't get that angle, all they know is the big mean police officer just shocked gramma, adding to complaints that they shouldn't be deployed by police forces.

Four year old bitten by K9

While this story is pretty sad, it still falls within the realm of hazards of duty. While searching for a murder suspect, the K9 was released, whereupon it found the child sleeping, and proceeded to do what it had been trained to do: attack anyone it found hiding. The family has hired a lawyer, obviously, but this is a situation that really isn't any one's fault. It is unfortunate that the child now is even more afraid of dogs, and now possibly the police, but watching the video makes me feel like at least one of those biases is going to be reinforced by the family. The aunt makes it sound as if it were a savage attack. From the look of it, yes I'm sure it was traumatizing, however the child's wounds appear superficial, not to mention it really could have been avoided if say, you had turned in his father or provided some possible whereabouts, since he is wanted in the death of a 20 year old man.

Every story has multiple sides, I just want people to understand we aren't the bad guys. Sometimes things look a bit heavy-handed, but considering what could happen if officers were to think constantly about what the media will say, I guess we'll have to settle for being painted as bullies.

So my latest post isn't nearly as happy as my previous ones: I've washed out of the Academy.

It's pretty heartbreaking, seeing as I was four weeks out from graduation, and only had a handful of certifications to go. The culprit: weapons qualification.

So I have to decide what to do now. Do I wait until I'm eligible for my chosen Academy, try one of the local jurisdictions, or go to my city's Sheriff's Office?

Home Stretch

For the end of an Academy, it sure has been busy. Most of what we've been doing is real world simulations, preparing us for situations we may encounter, mixed in with more certifications.

April 13-17- This week was a fairly random week, with situations we will most likely not encounter in our careers, as well as being fitted for our WMD gear. We were taught how to respond to bomb threats, and how to conduct surveillance. Our class also managed to break the pre-existing Academy push-up record of 365 over eight hours, accomplishing 736 in the same time frame.

April 20-24- This was a fun week, consisting of our shotgun quals, ballistic shield work, and officer rescues/bunkering a police vehicle. I did surprisingly well with the 12 guage, prompting jokes that I may just carry a shotgun at all times, since I was having trouble qualifying with my .45.

April 27-May 1- This week involved a lot of travel between our range facility, our dojo, and our training center learning how to conduct high risk stops, ground fighting techniques, and basic patrol techniques.

May 4-May 8- We started learning some pretty intense things this week, such as active shooter scenarios (kicked off with footage and 911 calls from Columbine), unusual shooting positions (shooting from our backs, while seated, and from a vehicle), and finally receiveing our new weapons (goodbye S&W 4586, HELLLLO S&W M&P, I am in love with that gun)

May 11-15- We started the week marching in our city's Memorial March to honor our fallen officers, learning gang intelligence, and how to conduct K9 ops.

Which brings us to the present. With only five and a half weeks left in the Academy, I'll be hitting the street soon, and cannot wait.