Patrol: Page 39

Video: A Book Review, Dumbass Video, and Two Rants

Today's cops must deal with jackasses baiting them into taking reasonable actions and old-guard officers bent on telling them how much harder it was in earlier times.

R Video Pee Prank

Put It in Writing

Your written product is often the single most tangible evidence of the work that you do, and if your readership falls off, it will result in unfiled cases, lackluster evaluations, and a generally all-around crappy reputation among your co-workers.

Four Ways To Build Trust After Trayvon Martin

The Trayvon Martin tragedy has made it clear that the relationship between many African Americans and officers is still based on suspicion and mistrust. Despite so much progress, a small crack of a possible action or inaction from a single officer or agency quickly brings on a national torrent of anger and frustration.

Trayvon Martin: The Gunfire Next Time

For a yoctosecond, I found myself initially jumping on the P.C. bandwagon believing that if Trayvon was white that he'd still be jabbering on his cell phone today. But as the back and forth allegations of "racist shooting" and "slanted media bias" gained momentum, I wondered if the string-pulling puppeteers of the three-ring big top—CBS, NBC, and ABC—hadn't gotten the better of me.

Look Closer

It is the prejudice of some cops to just accept things as they appear to be. A robbery is a robbery; a burglary, a burg. But sometimes it pays to remember the slogan from "American Beauty"—"Look closer."

5 Tips for Funding New Patrol Equipment

What should you do when you've been told there isn't enough money to purchase equipment? Re-allocation is often the solution. These five tips outline a budgetary fiscal-fitness program that can move equipment budgets from flabby to fit.

Photo: Sam Hulse

Two Campuses Deal With Active Shooters

Last week's clinic shooting in Pittsburgh and the Chardon High School shooting in Ohio in February showcased effective responses from officers and the campuses.

'Act of Valor:' Where's the Police Version?

If you've been on the fence about seeing "Act of Valor," I hope that you will plop down your 10 bucks and do so. Maybe if "Act of Valor" is a hit, they'll make more movies that honor the sacrifice of the military instead of deriding our warriors.

Photo: Relativity Media

Whatever Happened to Verbal Judo?

Today's up-and-coming cops have mastered texting, sexting, e-mailing, and Facebook but are less accomplished when it comes to face-to-face interfacing. That’s the art of conversation—and therefore the ability to verbally de-escalate situations—is dying out.

I Feel the Need...the Need for...an ER

A person has to know their limitations. No less than Dirty Harry has expressed his opinion on the matter, and I like to think most cops adhere to the philosophy.

If You Can Read This...Please Don't

Well, a couple of weeks ago I blogged about the attempted arrest of a Santa Maria (Calif.) Police officer that resulted in his shooting death. I'd like to think that a vast majority of the few thousand—we keep a running tally—who read the piece at least understood where I was coming.

Taking Down One of Our Own

Why did the Santa Maria (Calif.) PD attempt to arrest one of its officers on a public street? Was there some other precipitating factor at work? Because absent such explanations, I fail to see the need for the PD to take the officer down then and there at a DUI checkpoint.

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