I found this from another forum:
I'm a cop, and I have seen a lot of people on this forum who for one reason or another, do not like the police. It's fine with me, as it has been this way since the first police officer was hired.....nobody likes a party pooper. I just want people to know that there are officers out there, a lot of them, who are not evil, and have a sincere purpose in what they are doing. There are cops out there who don't care about 5mph over the speed limit, clear tailights and your loud muffler. There are cops out there who will die for you, who will die going 100mph to save you from a burglar, and who will die trying to keep your community clean. These are the guys you don't hear about, the guys who are simply doing their job correctly and putting their blood, sweat and tears into your community every day.
I am one of those cops, and it hurts me when I see police corruption, brutality (although I think this is over exaggerated many times), bad arrests, pointless traffic enforcment, and just plain bad cops. Seeing these things makes all of us that do honest work everyday look terrible.
Many people do not have any understanding what I do everyday. I'll provide a few examples:
-I've done CPR on a 15 month old child who drowned while the mother was screaming at me, the kid died in my arms.
-I've been in fights for my life with drug dealers over one little baggie of crack.
-I've seen dead people with maggots on their bodies, people who have shot themselves in the head with shotguns and the top of their head is gone. Hangings. Drownings. Overdoeses. I watched a 20 year old kid burn to death, trapped inside of a car, asking myself later if there was more I could do.
-Had knives and guns pulled on me by 16 year old kids.
-had to inform children that their parents were killed during a bar fight by a guy with a gun.
-I've seen kids, under the age of 6 for example, that have been raped by grown men.
I can handle all of this stuff.....I am being paid to do so, in order for the masses to live in bliss and NOT know about the horrors of life. I don't complain, in fact, I enjoy my work.
My main problem is that the media hangs the police out to dry on a daily basis so they can sell newspapers. America does not back it's officers when they get into a gunfight, or shooting. I hear things like "he only had a knife", or "he was shot because he was black". Most of these comments come from people who weren't at the incident, dont know the details, and have no idea what the law says concerning most of these events. Corruption, scandal, and fear sell, and the public is buying.
Something to think about :
Writing this reminds me of the way that our firearms instructors train grand juries for officer involved shooting cases. Many people think that the decision to shoot someone is extremely simple.....if you are a cop, and someone points a gun at you, you just shoot them and you win the gunfight. This is SO FAR from the truth. My department's firearm instructors teach grand jury members that the decision to shoot in so blindingly quick, that most times, officers involved in a shooting are judged on a decision they made in about 1/2 of a second. The lesson goes like this........I want you all to think about it.
The instructor stands at the front of the room with a group of about 15 jury members facing him. He has a fake gun, and gives all of the jury members fake guns. He instructs them that he is the "bad guy" and they are each the "cops", and he wants them to shoot him when they feel their life is threatend. The first time, the "bad guy" pulls out his gun, raises it slowly, points it at the group, and they all shoot him. The second time he does it a little faster, pulls the gun out, and about 1/2 of the group of "cops" is able to get a shot off in time. The third time, he goes very fast, and only about one or two of them get a shot off in time. He instructs them that most of them are dead, and the fact remains that he TOLD them he was going to pull a gun. He talks a little more, puts the gun back in his pocket and asks them if they are ready........he then pulls out a CELL PHONE very fast, and ALL of the group shoots him dead. He advises them that they have now ALL been indicted by a grand jury for murder .
