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Yes, in the FTO program you can get hurt, killed, sued, and all of the nasty things of a cop's life up to and including termination. Do not get faint of heart. Just know that this is still a learning program and you will make mistakes!
Read More →I remember a training officer I had once, back in my cub days, who decided that the best way to break in a new guy was to act all tough and hard, and to intimidate me with his experience and his disdain for me and for what I thought I knew.
Read More →All through the academy, your recruits are told horror stories of their future training officers and the “FTO program.” Police work is like most vocations where there are rites of passage. People beginning this career wonder about the rites of passage and trials of fire that they will face as they join the profession.
Read More →When you look at another officer’s uniform and see an FTO pin, what thoughts come into your mind? Sure you know that FTO is an abbreviation for “field training officer.” But just what does that mean?
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Patrol training is the obligatory stepping stone to street work for many a new cop. It is weeks (or months in remedial cases) of short meals, long nights, and court in the morning. And this time spent with a veteran field training officer (FTO) can result in some of the most curious pairings of individuals since Pat Boone married himself to heavy metal. Still, this mentoring process is critical to the development of new officers.
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