Many people are spiraling into a pit of paranoia because they saturate their minds with all the bad news spewed forth in the 24 hours a day news cycle. The reality is that America is a safe place to live. Venture out and live life. Let your kids meet their friends in the park and play ball. Go to the store, and visit your friends. The news is not balanced when it comes to crime. There is nothing to report if nothing happens. Keep your perspective. Use common sense. Avoid high crime areas. Don’t act like a victim. Something may happen to you, but the odds of it, in reality, are very low. If you are a victim, learn from it, and go on. Do not let it subjugate your life. You are alive, but are you living life?

There is nothing great or enlightening about drugs and drug abuse. Nothing good has ever come from it. It destroyed all these great people, but it has also destroyed thousands more that no one remembers. Imagine how many more will be lost if we legalize drugs. Don’t let your loved one be done too soon.

Being nice, or heaven forbid, saying you are sorry for causing someone an inconvenience will not undermine your control over a situation. It will not diminish your “power” over someone. Showing some courtesy could even help aid you in bringing people under control. Not every situation is so volatile that it needs to be controlled, so why act like it does? Is there a need to treat someone on a traffic stop like they were a suspect in a violent crime scene? Not everyone police contact needs to be treated with a heavy police hand. Lighten up. If you stop someone and discover you made an error, tell them so and say you are sorry. Show that you have some manners, and that you are capable of recognizing a person has dignity and deserves respect.

We police officers can demand people do certain things on crime scenes. They will do it because they have no choice. We, however, cannot demand the citizens in our community respect us or support us. That, we have to earn. Most people probably never thing much of it, but respect in its simplest form is easiest earned by showing courtesy and respect to others.

I went to the vehicle, which was unusually spotless inside for a drug dealer. I contacted the mother and asked her if she had any illegal drugs on her. She said that the only drugs she had were her hormones because she had a hysterectomy. I asked her if I could look in her purse. She clutched her purse tight to her chest and told me I could not search it. I had her exit the vehicle so I could search the vehicle. She was wearing a light colored dress. I had her step several feet away during the search. As I mentioned earlier the vehicle was spotless. I did not find anything in the vehicle; even the glove box was empty except for the insurance form. My C.I. said that he saw her with the meth so where could it be? The only logical conclusion was that the mother had the meth.

I called my Sergeant to the scene to get his advice. He arrived and we began talking about the situation. We did not have a dog available and the mother refused to allow me to search her purse. I did not want to burn my informant. While we were talking the damndest thing happened. I looked over to the mother. She was facing us and into a strong wind. The wind was blowing the dress between her legs conforming to the shape of her body. There was a large bulge in her groin area. I pointed it out my Sergeant and a big smile formed on his face. We walked over to the mother and informed her that we observed the unusual shape. She immediately stated that she was on her period. I informed her that that was impossible since she told me she had a hysterectomy. The sergeant had me call for a female jailer to come to the scene to search the mother. I entered my patrol car to do this as the mother was escorted in front of my vehicle. I saw her shuffling her feet as she approached. She then widened her legs and a bag with 80 grams of meth fell to the ground right in front of me. She was arrested and her purse was searched. I found several bags of marijuana and assorted pills. Mary and the mother were questioned and both were arrested for trafficking. Mary’s cherry condition 1960’s Chevy was seized for forfeiture.

It is very easy for an officer to garner a dislike, or even a loathing or hatred for a criminal. Officers tend to take it personal when a criminal in their community is preying on and victimizing the citizens the officer is charged to protect. The success of the criminal is seen as a failure of the police officer. Officers have pride. They don’t like failing. They will marshal more and more resources and bring them to bear on the offender until he is caught.

An officer that diligently pursues and successfully sees a criminal go to jail probably has a high level of distrust in that person when he returns to the community. A healthy amount of distrust is a good thing with recidivism as high as it is. The officer, however, needs to remember that the ex-con paid his debt to society. If he is out of prison, he is entitled to live his life in peace. You, police officer, are sworn and honor bound to respect that. Do not use your power and authority to hound the person back into prison. Don’t seek criminality where none exists. Respect his freedom and encourage his new opportunity to be a positive and productive citizen. Give him space and time to earn the trust of his community. Give him time to earn your trust. Not all of them will succeed, but more of them will if you do this. If a person chooses to return to crime, let it be of his choice, not of your actions. If a person makes that choice it is again time to do what you do best. Send him to prison.

Officers carry different items on their belts giving them use of force options. The most common options are pepper spray, batons, Tasers, and pistols. Years ago, pepper spray was the big thing. Today, the Taser is the latest and greatest less-than-lethal force option. Officers rarely use pepper spray any more. The issue that is arising in the courts across the country is the minimal level of suspect aggression or criminality in which a Taser can be deployed. On the Use of Force Continuum the use of a Taser is now being considered by the courts as a mid-level weapon on par with a baton. What this means is that a Taser should not be used unless the person is at least actively resisting arrest or is physically aggressive. The officer is also required to consider the seriousness of the crime before using a Taser. An officer is not justified in using the Taser to stop someone fleeing to avoid a jaywalking ticket, for example. Many times officers forgo using pepper spray in situations that are below the acceptable standard for Taser use, but well within the standard for pepper spray. Officers tend to shy away from pepper spray because it goes everywhere. The officer using it or other officers in the area of the use almost always get some of the spray in their faces and eyes. Innocent bystanders also get affected. Pepper spray, however, is considered by the courts to be a lesser level of force than a Taser. It can be used in more situations. To avoid the effects of pepper spray, officers tend to use the Taser in situations where pepper spray is the proper tool. This is where officers really get into trouble. The Taser must be used in situations that legally justify its use. If an officer uses it improperly it is an excessive use of force. The officer must use common sense and knowledge learned in training to properly use the tools he is given to do his job.