Advice For All New Officers

[texas_tactical]

I was an FTO on the street for years. Several times during the shift I would ask the PPO what street we were on. If they didn't know....they were walking back to the street sign to tell me (I waited till we were half way down the street before I asked). It usually only happened once during their time with me. I wasn't a dick about it, but they knew my rule. How can you call for help if you don't know where you are! Officer Safety was my priority. Paperwork and writing reports comes with time, but safety has to be learned up front.

[texas_tactical]

DO NOT walk up to a haz-mat scene with the fire department without wearing the proper haz-mat gear!

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?se...cal&id=8075160

Originally Posted by texas_tactical

DO NOT walk up to a haz-mat scene with the fire department without wearing the proper haz-mat gear!

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?se...cal&id=8075160

We love our Blue Canaries.

[Expatmedic]

Originally Posted by Mr. Tanner

We love our Blue Canaries.

We sure do.

Rule of thumb.

If you can cover the incident with your thumb, while holding it up, you are far enough away.

When I was in the sheriff's academy, all the instructors did was trash the firefighters. When I became a firefighter, all the instructors bashed the cops. Too funny!

[CB]

From an Assistant District Public Defender who has "won" more than a few cases he should have lost:

Maintain Situational Awareness.

Right now, as you sit on your ass reading this post:

a - Where are you? (street address? nearest landmark?)

b - What time is it? (Don't look at the clock, your watch, or that little box in the lower right hand corner of your computer screen) What time is it?

c - Who is in the building with you? Who should be in the building with you?

d - Where is the nearest entrance/exit/window you can open/window you can force?

e - Where is the nearest pistol? Is there one in the chamber? How many rounds are in the magazine? Where is your nearest ammo supply?

f - Where is your nearest heavy caliber weapon (rifle/shotgun)? Is it loaded, if yes, with what? If not -- [why not] -- where is the ammunition?).

2 - Imagine yourself on the witness stand, being questioned by a defense attorney:

a - Mr. XXXX, where were you?

What were you doing?

What first brought your attention to the incident at hand?

Did you have probable cause -- did you have reasonable suspicion... to believe ...?

b - Who and what did you FIRST tell about the matter at hand?

and so on.

I'm probably not wording this very well, but "pretend" something happened and you were required to recite the who - what - where - when. Could you do it?

Do you have a notepad to jot down license numbers, are you "with it" enough to key the microphone (knowing it will be recorded) and blurt out the make/model/plates
/number of occupants as you run toward the scene, even if you are not expecting an answer?

Are you looking "down from above" on the scene, knowing who is to your left, your right, in front and in back of you. Do you know where a criminal will run (back door, to the street, make a run for his car?)

Are you aware of -- and ideally CONTROLLING the situation? Or are you reacting to the situation?

Like a pilot who stays "in front of his airplane" instead of reacting -- constantly correcting -- while never correct?

=====

Anyway:

Assuming your local Public Defender is a good guy (or a good woman) talk to them. If they are honest with you, you will learn more weaknesses about your case that you will even hear from a District Attorney.

[Jager1]

And Most of all remember..............Your committment to you and your family is to go home after your shift.....STAY SAFE FNG. Well Said brothers.

[K9Platz]

Alot of good advice/info on this thread. If I may add one thing that has not been mentioned is remember this; The average person in a large city is recorded on some type of surveilllance camera 4 to 5 times a day not to mention that everyone nowadays has a built in video recording device on their phones.

You probably don't realize how often those electronic prying eyes are on you. They have become a part of our everyday life, but try and think about how often you're caught on camera during your own day. If you are uniformed LEO remember that all eyes are on you, do the right thing and act accordingly.

[Freebird]

Originally Posted by K9Platz

Alot of good advice/info on this thread. If I may add one thing that has not been mentioned is remember this; The average person in a large city is recorded on some type of surveilllance camera 4 to 5 times a day not to mention that everyone nowadays has a built in video recording device on their phones.

You probably don't realize how often those electronic prying eyes are on you. They have become a part of our everyday life, but try and think about how often you're caught on camera during your own day. If you are uniformed LEO remember that all eyes are on you, do the right thing and act accordingly.

My first Chief used to always tell us, "Don't do or say anything that would embarrass you if you saw it on CNN tomorrow". With the cell phones and other technology out there today, that is always very possible.

[Chris-Harper]

Great info.

I'd like to add a few.

1. Dispatcher's are your lifeline. Stop in and say hello to 'em every once in awhile

2. You don't have a big S on your chest or wear a cape. You will not save the world. Extinguish that blue flame shooting out your ass.

3. Develope very thick skin. Remember, you will be dealing with people at their worst.

4. If all hell breaks loose, screw proper radio procedures.

5. Everybody does not need to go to jail or be issued a summons to gain compliance. Know the difference between the 'spirit' of the law and 'letter' of the law.

.....and last, but not least, go talk with your prosecuting attorney and ask questions. He's the one who's going to be prosecuting your cases or not.

Stay Safe!

[Chimo]

Getting out of my lane. My father was a retired officer and always told me:

A. Never volunteer information, answer questions with short direct answers.

B. Always keep your body between anyone your talking to and your sidearm.

Thanks for all you do! It is appreciated.

Back in my lane

[Flying Pig]

When I.A. comes and starts asking you questions, and you really do know what they are talking about......tell the truth, they already know!

[Fox]

....and you have no idea what they want, you're a witness. If they call you and you know what they want, you're a suspect.

Originally Posted by Flying Pig

When I.A. comes and starts asking you questions, and you really do know what they are talking about......tell the truth, they already know!

[KSM]

Originally Posted by Sharc1

....and you have no idea what they want, you're a witness. If they call you and you know what they want, you're a suspect.

Ha, that's funny! Best way to prevent an IA is to get ahold of the Sgt. after a call and say, "You're probably gonna get a complaint on me in about 20 minutes. Here's what happened..." The few times I've done that, they never actually called in to complain, even though I was sure they would. I don't know why it works, but it does.

Only complaint I've actually had go to our IA folks was a totally crazy guy who called 911 reporting his neighbor broke into his house and stole his prescription meds (which didn't happen, by the way). We show up, and he freaks out wanting us arrested for trespassing because we didn't call him before we set foot on his property. No joke, that's actually all there was to it. I guess I just take it for granted that if you call 911 reporting a crime at your house, LE might actually show up.

Of course about an hour later we found out he had a warrant so we went back and arrested him. He was NOT happy about that, but it did help clarify things a bit.

[grog18b]

A good one that I lived by in the latter years of my career is:
Everywhere you go, act like someone is recording your every word and action.

Sometimes, you will be right.

[Flying Pig]

Originally Posted by Sharc1

....and you have no idea what they want, you're a witness. If they call you and you know what they want, you're a suspect.

Oh hell yeah.....Im putting that one on a plaque!

[g6445v]

Watch your suspect's hands

Keep your distance

Look at and listen to your Senior Officers, you'll learn what "to do" and more importantly what "not to do"

[Freebird]

Treat everyone with respect. Just because you're taking a perp to jail doesn't mean you have to talk down to him or treat him like the piece of crap he is. Depending on how you talk to him and treat him, you might just find that he is the one feeding you info next month.

[KSM]

If you ask someone a question, and the first thing that comes out of their mouth is, "Huh?", then the next thing that comes out of their mouth is going to be a lie:

"What's your name?"
"Huh?"

The same applies if they repeat your question back to you before answering:

"What's your name?"
"What's my name? It's (insert made up liar liar pants on fire name here)."

Responses like that make me feel a little giddy inside, because I know I just got into something good.

[DoorKicker]

Keep your intergrity. It's not only what you do when people are watching, it is also what you do when no one is watching.