Community for Cops
Doug Wyllie has authored more than 1,000 articles and tactical tips aimed at ensuring that police officers are safer and more successful on the streets. Doug is a Western Publishing Association “Maggie Award” winner for Best Regularly Featured Digital Edition Column. He is a member of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), an Associate Member of the California Peace Officers’ Association (CPOA), and a member of the Public Safety Writers Association (PSWA).
Acts of heroism happen all the time in big cities and small communities alike. Officers with departments of all size rise to the occasion on a daily basis to ensure the health and welfare of the civilians they serve.
The blowback on Facebook against Starbucks was especially vitriolic, leading an outside observer to conclude that mistreatment of law enforcement officers in the company's stores is a pervasive problem (spoiler alert: it's not).
Let's contemplate the words of some of the people who helped shape this great country.
During this one extraordinary week you will experience every emotion, and it’s both exhausting and exhilarating.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch made the totally outrageous decision to share on its website the live Facebook stream of a dying officer posted by a citizen.
According to Knox News, Detective Grayson Fritts—who is also a pastor at a local church—delivered a sermon in early June in which he said that the government should execute members of the LGBTQ community. You read that right—he called for state-sanctioned mass-murder of an entire population of people. His comments were reprehensible and anathema to the oath LEOs take to protect and serve their communities.
An organization recently made available to the media a significant database of social media posts—that they deem to be potentially offensive—from thousands of officers from places such as Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, St. Louis, and elsewhere. Internal investigations have been launched at several of those agencies. Here's why cops need to use social media cautiously.
This week's column is about my deep appreciation for the family of the Thin Blue Line allowing me—a civilian scribe from a city and state not well known for supporting police—to be your adopted brother.
The threat of ambush is ever-present. There is a growing war on cops in America, and the probability of being the victim of such an attack is increasing. Be vigilant, always.
Memorial Day Weekend has effectively become the unofficial start to summer. So this is an excellent opportunity to offer some reminders on how to safely conduct your police business as the months get warmer and the vacationers hit the nation's highways and hotels.