Perceptions of the Police

Most of you that know me know that I was a Police reserve for the city of Bloomington, Minnesota for 9 years. The experience that I gained through that job were some of the most rewarding and eye opening in my life. It is an experience that I wouldn't trade.

Because of my relationship with a police department I have many people ask me questions about the police and want to tell me about their situation. I have found that there are people that have very skewed perceptions of the police and what the police can and cannot do. Some of the stories that I am told are far fetched at best--stories in which the person telling the story has done nothing wrong but the police treated them without respect or actually were verbally abusive. These stories suprised me because every cop I know is a regular human being who uses the appropriate amount of respect in every situation. The difference is that a police officers job is to remain in control of the situation and they will only exert just enough "force" to remain in control of that situation--no more.

Most police officers I know will put up with an attitude from someone for a short period of time then they will put a stop to it. Imagine that while you are working some of the customers you deal with are treating you poorly simply because you are doing your job. How long would you let that continue?

The police have a demanding job. Remember when dealing with the police that they are normal human beings. My experience tells me that if you treat a cop with respect, they will treat you with equal respect. If you were speeding or ran a red light just pay the ticket and get on with your life. Cops don't pull people over and give them a ticket unless it really happened--they have better things to do!

-Paul