Ground Zero to NLEOM Ride – Police Week 2011

 Charity, Police  No Responses »
Nov 232010
 

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Please join us for the inaugural 9/11 Blue Valor Run, sponsored by the P.O. Ken Tietjen Memorial Foundation in conjunction with The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and the Twin Towers Initiative.  The 9/11 Blue Valor Run is a one day, 226-mile charity motorcycle ride from Ground Zero in New York City to Police Week in Washington D.C. on May 12, 2011.

For this ride, law enforcement officers and civilian supporters from across the country will unite to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, where 72 law enforcement officers sacrificed their lives saving others. It will also bring recognition to the Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, which pay tribute to all officers who give their lives in the line of duty each year.  The funds raised from this ride will go to support the NLEOMF and the P.O. Ken Tietjen Memorial Foundation.

To ride in or volunteer for the inaugural 9/11 Blue Valor Run and show your support of law enforcement officers everywhere, please fill out and submit the attached application or visit www.kentietjen.org. Please feel free to share the attached flyer with your family, friends, colleagues, etc. Space is limited, so please submit your application asap. Applications are being accepted now through November 30, 2010.

For more information, visit www.kentietjen.org or call (732) 887-0645.

Registration

Volunteer

Fraternally,

John E. Shanks
Director, Law Enforcement Relations
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
202-737-8529 (Direct)
202-737-3405(fax)
202-253-4516 (cell)
www.LawMemorial.org – john@nleomf.org

Win a 2010 Harley-Davidson Peace Officer Special Edition Road King
Call 1-877-622-BIKE (2453) or  (202) 737-3402, Mon – Fri, 9 – 5.
www.LawMemorial.org/HarleyRaffle

TECHNIQUE FOR PICKING UP A FALLEN MOTORCYCLE

 News, Safety  No Responses »
Nov 132010
 

Put the bike in gear so it doesn’t rock forward or backwards onto you   If it is on its right side, then put the kickstand down to prevent the bike from  going too far when you raise it up.  Grab the bike as low as possible at sturdy, non-hot, areas forward and aft.  Walk the bike back using leverage and NOT your back! If it’s on the left side then put your hands on the handlebars and place your hip up against the seat. Push up and use your hips at the same time to balance the leverage push. Using available soft ties can also provide better hand holds and grip for hot or slick grabbing points.

You might be a Cop if…….

 News, Police  No Responses »
Nov 092010
 

1. You have the bladder capacity of five people

2. You have ever restrained someone and it was not a sexual experience

3. You believe that 50% of people are a waste of good air

4. Your idea of a good time is a gun run or a car chase

5. You conduct a criminal record check on anyone who seems friendly towards you

6. You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac and birth control pills

7. You disbelieve 90% of what you hear and 75% of what you see

8. You have your weekends off planned for a year

9. You believe the government should require a permit to reproduce

10. You refer to your favorite restaurant by the intersection at which it’s located

11. You have ever wanted to hold a seminar entitled: “Suicide…getting it done right the first time”

12. You ever had to put the phone on hold before you begin laughing uncontrollably

13. You think caffeine should be available in IV form

14. You believe anyone who says, “I only had two beers” is going to blow more than a .15

15. You find out a lot about paranoia just by following people around.

16. Anyone has ever said to you, “There are people killing other people out there and you are here messing with me.”

17. People flag you down on the street and ask you directions to strange places…..and you know where it’s located

18. You can discuss where you are going to eat with your partner while standing over a dead body

19. You are the only person introduced at social gatherings by profession

20. You walk into places and people think it’s high comedy to seize their buddy and shout, “They’ve come to get you Bill!”

21. You do not see daylight from November until May

22. People shout, “I didn’t do it!” when you walk into a room and think they’re being funny and original

23. A week’s worth of laundry consists of 5 T-shirts, 5 pair of socks and 5 pair of underwear

24. You’ve ever referred to Tuesday as “my weekend”, or “this is my Friday”

25. You’ve ever written off guns and ammunition as a business deduction

26. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, it sure is quiet tonight.”

27. Discussing dismemberment over a meal seems perfectly normal to you

28. You find humor in other people’s stupidity

29. You have left more meals on the restaruant table than you’ve eaten

30. You feel good when you hear “these handuffs are too tight”

31. Been there done that

When A Cop Retires

 News, Police  No Responses »
Nov 082010
 

When a good man leaves the job and retires to a better life, many are jealous, some are pleased and yet others, who may have already retired, wonder. We wonder if he [she] knows what they are leaving behind, because we already know. We know for example that after a lifetime of camaraderie that few experience, it will remain as a longing for those past times. We know in the law enforcement life there is a fellowship which lasts long after the uniforms are hung up in the back of the closet. We know even if he throws them away, they will be on him with every step and breathe that remains in his frame. We also know how the very bearing of the man speaks of what he was and in his heart still is.

These are the burdens of the job. You will still look at people suspiciously, still see what others do not see or choose to ignore and always will look at the rest of the law enforcement world with a respect for what they do; only grown in a lifetime of knowing. Never think for one moment you are escaping from the life. You are only escaping the job and we are merely allowing you to leave active duty.

So what I wish for you is that whenever you ease into retirement, in your heart you never forget for one moment that Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called children of God, and you are still a member of the greatest fraternity the world has ever known.

What NOT to say when you are pulled over

 News, Police  No Responses »
Nov 072010
 

BY Jennifer Waters

In what he calls an “educational video” that’s widely circulated on YouTube, comedian Chris Rock offers advice on what to do when you get pulled over for a traffic violation.

“Obey the law” he says. “Stop immediately” and “stay in your car with your hands on the wheel.” Finally, “if your woman is mad at you, leave her at home. There’s nothing she’d like to see more than you getting your [you-know-what] kicked.”

It’s a dead-on spoof of a hard truth: Respect authority. If you don’t, you increase the odds of a pricey ticket.

“Everything in that video is absolutely true,” said Sgt. Matthew Koep of the South Plainfield, N.J., Police Department. “It’s funny, but it’s accurate.”

Citizens who are generally law-abiding are likely to come into contact with the police only under two circumstances: If you’re a crime victim or you get pulled over for a traffic violation.

Police officers are not out to make your life miserable, but to make sure you’re following the rules of the road and not endangering yourself or those around you.

With a few exceptions, and an egregious traffic violation is top among them, cops aren’t mandated to write tickets. Most would rather send you on your way with a friendly warning — that can save you time and money.

Play Nice

First rule: don’t argue.

“I get this all the time,” said Karen Rittorno, a nine-year veteran with the Chicago Police Department. “‘What are you stopping me for? I didn’t do nothing.’ If they try to take charge of the traffic stop, they’re not going to get out of it without a ticket,” she said. “We ask the questions, not them.”

Accept that the police have caught you doing something that’s against the law, such as speeding or gliding through a stop sign.

“All we do is react to what people do when you pull them over,” said Dennis Fanning, a homicide detective and veteran officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. “We don’t instigate the stuff, but we will react to you. The situation will escalate or de-escalate depending on how that person reacts.”

To argue with cops is akin to calling them idiots. Don’t do that. “That’s implying that I pulled you over for no reason and that bothers me,” Koep said.

Keep It Honest

Don’t lie, either. Cops are trained to note the human characteristics of lying, including twitching and looking to the left, and they know the right questions to ask to suss out the truth.

Fanning estimates that nine out of 10 people lie to him. “It’s an attack on our intelligence,” he said.

Moreover, the truth can set you free. Koep recalled an incident when he pulled a young guy over for speeding.

“He looks straight at me and says, ‘You know, officer, I wasn’t even paying attention. I just had the best date of my life. I just met my future bride. I’m just on cloud nine right now.’

“The guy was completely serious,” Koep said. “How are you going to write that guy up after that? Who makes that kind of stuff up?”

Of course, don’t use pejoratives when addressing the police, unless you’re eager for a ticket. But other words may backfire, too. Rittorno works in a crime-ridden section of Chicago where the majority of people she pulls over for traffic violations don’t have licenses or insurance, she said.

“So I get a lot of, ‘I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean it, sweetheart,'” she said. “I hate being called ‘baby’ or ‘sweetheart.’ I’m ‘officer’ to you.”

The police don’t like being talked over, either. “Be polite,” said Chicago Officer Mike Thomas. “You have your rights as a citizen, too, but it doesn’t do you any good to talk while he’s talking.”

Cops know that people are nervous when they get pulled over, and they expect a certain amount of jumpiness when they approach a car. Rittorno even admitted she’s intimidated in the same situation. “I’m the police and I get scared if I get pulled over,” she said.

But did you know they’re on edge, too? You know who they are, but they don’t know whether you’re a good guy or a bad guy. “The only thing on his mind when he approaches you is safety,” Thomas said. “You know you don’t have a gun in your lap, but the officer doesn’t know it.”

Rittorno, for one, said she assumes everyone has a gun. “I’m always on 10,” she said, referring to her high level of vigilance. “I take it down depending on their demeanor or what I see.”

Stay Calm

When those headlights go on, it’s best to pull the car to the right, stay in the car, turn the interior lights on if it’s dark and put your hands on the steering wheel.

Don’t make any quick movements, and don’t turn to grab your purse or put your hands in your pocket or under your seat to retrieve your license — until the officer instructs you to. Then, do it slowly.

Don’t move to open the glove box either, until directed. And do that slowly, too. Let the police shine a light inside the box before you reach in. Many criminals hide guns in glove boxes.

“What’s going to cause the situation to get worse is for the fear factor to rise in that officer,” Koep said. “The officer is more likely to cut you a break as long as you can reduce that fear. …If you’re friendly with me, not arguing or denying what happened, that lowers the fear factor and will make me a lot more cooperative with you.”

Don’t boast about who you know, either. That can infuriate cops. They consider it a veiled threat to their livelihoods. Fortunately, most municipalities have laws in place to insure that an officer is not fired or reprimanded for ticketing, say, the mayor’s daughter.

Finally, never try to buy off a cop. “In those instances where they’ve offered me a bribe,” Fanning said. “I loved making those arrests.”

Jennifer Waters is a MarketWatch reporter, based in Chicago.

What De-Motivates You

 PoliceONE News  No Responses »
Nov 062010
 

REPRINTED FROM POLICEONE NEWS

Regardless of where you are in your law enforcement career, there’s something that motivates you — or de-motivates you — to do the job the way you are doing it. Some possible motivators are:

• striving for promotion
• having a good boss or good working conditions
• hitting specific job performance expectations (i.e., stats)
• enjoying the contentment that comes from doing a good job
• needing to do well enough to keep your present assignment

Or if it’s a matter of de-motivation, maybe:

• you’re tired of your good work being unappreciated
• you’ve had enough of banging your head against the wall that stands between you and that promotion you know you deserve
• you’ve got some justified cynicism
• you feel a lack of support from the community
• your chain of command, or someone in it, doesn’t have your respect

Each of those examples are righteously justifiable motivators (or de-motivators). You can probably think of guys and gals who fit each. Maybe a few fit you?

 

Insufficient Ethical Frameworks

Many motivators/de-motivators in police work are insufficient ethical frameworks to support and maintain a healthy long-term work (and life) disposition. This can be a compounding problem, because if a fluctuating attitude about your job is the primary determinant of how you perform your job, it will be the circumstances you are under at the time — and not core principles that you live by — that control what you do and how you do it. Furthermore, since we are really not capable of compartmentalizing this type of thinking, other aspects of your life outside of work can be similarly affected. Personal wellness and happiness, a secure and balanced home life, and vital relationships with others (both at work and beyond work) can be compromised too. With the wrong thing motivating or de-motivating you, those things can be at risk.

 

If what motivates/de-motivates you as a cop is based on something transactional (in other words, based upon giving or getting something in return), you may be setting yourself up for disappointment, and ultimately, some level of dysfunction. Transactional motivators are those in which there is an expectation for certain results to come to you because of something that you do or don’t do.

For example: “If I do a good job on this case, I can use it to help make detectives” or “if I go the extra mile for my demanding sergeant, he’ll lay off” or “as long as I get my forty movers (rolling traffic cites) for the month, I’ll keep my motors assignment” or… you get the idea. These are all transactional motivators. Similarly, transactional de-motivators can be things like not wanting to produce because of lousy work conditions, or even, “Why bother busting my hump? My paycheck will be the same regardless.”

Either as motivators or de-motivators, these kinds of perspectives can ultimately lead to an emotional dead end. Like a stiff drink, they may provide some short term relief or satisfaction, but they can also lead to ruin. This is primarily true because by entering into this kind of thinking, the principles and core values you live by can take a back seat to situations and events that are often beyond your control. And since our profession is the ultimate in workplace paradoxes, this is especially true for law enforcement.

The noble ideals that our corps rightfully claims — things like truth, justice, fidelity and courage, often collide with the realities of injustice, corruption, systematic dysfunction, and treachery. And that’s just inside our walls. What we internally believe about truth, about justice, fidelity, and the like is not always played out on the stage in front of us. After seeing this over and over again, our commitment to our principles can really take a hit. Transactional thinking can start eating away at our core values. After a while, instead of being the predictable white knights of life’s chessboard, we can allow ourselves to become mere pawns of circumstance.

 

The Cancer of Compromise

When you allow your core values to be up for barter, that is to say, when you are willing to compromise how you respond to what you believe in based upon what happens, you are exposing your flank. If your principles can be compromised for the sake of temporal results at work, you’d be surprised what can get inside your armor. The things you call principles may cease to be, as they’re slowly replaced by situationally-based dependencies.

Principles are so-called because they are applied universally. Too many people (and particularly, law enforcement “leaders” it frequently seems) want to selectively apply what they call principles to a situation, but it’s dependent upon the situation they’re dealing with at the time. In doing so, their ethical framework changes from being principle or virtue based, to being situationally based. These are really two opposing philosophical paradigms (duty or virtue ethicism, i.e., principle-based thinking, versus consequentialism, i.e., “the ends justify the means” thinking). It’s easy to claim to live by a set of principles, virtues, or core values, but unless they are universally applied — regardless of the situation — the cancer of compromise will be creeping into your armor and before you know it you and your values will be changing for the worse.

Because of this, all of us in law enforcement need to make up our minds about what motivates us. In fulfilling our role as guardians of the law, we need to decide for ourselves if there are indeed things that are fundamentally right, and things that are fundamentally wrong. In other words, is there a moral “true north”, or is truth itself relative and dependent? Aspiring to principled living, virtues, and core values, especially as a cop, means trusting in a true north — right and wrong — to guide you. Trying to apply principles situationally is like trying to find true north with a weathervane.

 

Why Avoid Situationally-based Ethics?

Law enforcement is a profession full of high purpose. Universal principles and immutable core values are our best motivators, and the best means for fulfilling our vital role. When you decide to perform your work duties out of a motivation that cannot be swayed by this-for-that reciprocities (be them positive or negative) your work life just gets simpler. Also, you’ll be less prone to be emotionally buffeted by whatever happens around you, good or bad. The stuff that gets under your skin now, won’t.

In fact, our job may be the best one out there to stay wedded to our core values. That’s because, unlike other work, most all the real power and authority, where values are most important, is exerted at our lowest hierarchical levels. The ‘Brass’ mostly stay in their offices and then go home at night. Yet even the most junior cop, once he hits the street, is the one out there independently implementing our government’s greatest power and authority. Will you do so based upon what you believe in and the honor of your role, or will you let the circumstances and transactional thinking decide these things for you?

Doing the right thing for the right reason regardless of the situation avoids hypocrisy and makes you authentic. It covers your flank, guards your heart, and regardless of what others who live transactionally might be thinking, saying, or doing — ultimately, it puts you in line for true success.

Also, it’s a great model for your kids, and maybe even your boss.

So, decide what you believe about your job and your role in society, and then live it. You’ll soon see that the things that used to affect you when you worked transactionally, won’t. Principle-based motivations will keep you above the fray. And more than likely, you’ll find that over the long haul, things will start working out for you for the better. Transactionally speaking, living a principled life just seems to do that.

Now that’s a great motivator.

About the Author
Dave Edmonds, a patrol captain at Sonoma County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office, is a 27-year law enforcement veteran. Captain Edmonds writes about the cop culture and winning at work and in life. He welcomes your feedback at leo@360armor.org.

About the author

P1 First Person essays are the place where P1 Members candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which our members can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. Want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members? Send us an e-mail with your story.

California Motorcycles get “Muffled”

 Motorcycle, News  No Responses »
Nov 052010
 

Last week, California Governor (and motorcyclist) Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law the Motorcycle Anti-Tampering Act (SB 435), originally introduced by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica). What does this bill mean to bikers in California?  It means that all motorcycles produced after January 2013 will be required to have a visible EPA stamp that ensures the exhaust is clean burning and doesn’t exceed a noise level of 80 decibels (which is roughly as loud as a vacuum cleaner).  For those bikes not displaying the stamp, fines of $100 for the first infraction and $250 for subsequent violations will be imposed.

“The noise caused by illegally modified motorcycle exhaust systems is a major quality-of-life issue across the state,” Sen. Pavley said. “Basic common sense and decency dictates that when a motorcycle drives by and sets off every car alarm on the street, it’s too loud.”

It’s interesting that motorcycles are the only target in the bill’s 80-decibel limit (which is roughly as loud as a vacuum cleaner). A point could be made that an equal amount of noise is generated on a regular basis from car alarms, police and news helicopters and loud car exhausts. Is this a case of motorcyclists being unfairly targeted again — or is it a matter of a few morons racking up their pipes in residential neighborhoods and tarnishing the reputation rest of the motorcycle community?

Regardless of how you feel about the new law, it will ensure that the state’s 800,000-plus registered motorcycle owners adhere to both noise and air pollution standards. Please leave your comments here. We’d love to hear what the motorcycle community has to say.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Written by Patrick Garvin – J&P Cycles

Patrick started working for J&P in April 2008 as a product specialist in the purchasing department. He now toils in e-commerce, where he utilizes social media, analyzes product performance, and lends motorcycle technical knowledge to the website. Before working at J&P Cycles, Patrick owned and operated a speed shop where he specialized largely in fuel injection and power adders (nitrous and turbo). Patrick started out riding Harleys but has since branched out into Sport Bikes. He currently has a 1976 Suzuki GT 250 café racer and an everyday rider — an extensively modified, nitrous-injected ZX-10R. Patrick is married and has a son, whom he loves riding dirt bikes with; he also likes sports, finding twisty roads with no speed limit, and spending time with his family.

“Crotch Rockets” "&" High Speed Police Pursuits

 Motorcycle, PoliceONE News  No Responses »
Nov 042010
 

Reprinted from PoliceOne

Many cops aren’t even allowed to attempt a purist of a perpetrator riding a high-speed motorcycle — the problem is that these criminals know it!

Editor’s Note: In early August, Washington State Trooper Brian Salyer encountered a group of motorcyclists — increasingly brazen in their driving because they know a single patrol car is no match for their high-speed bikes — and ended up overturned in a ditch beside the interstate. Happily, he was treated for traumatic head injuries and a laceration to an artery in his neck before being released from the hospital, but bag guys on bikes pose myriad dangers. Below, PoliceOne Columnist Andrew Hawkes asks our members for help with the question, “What can we do?”

Having been on the street in some form or capacity for the majority of my career, I’ve learned to take things in stride and not get too upset about policy changes or changes in the statutes. As law enforcement officers, it’s our job to enforce the law impartially — without prejudice — whether or not we agree with all the laws we are required to enforce. However, there is one change we’ve seen on the streets in the past several years that just plain chaps my hide. It is the fact that most agencies now do not allow their officers to pursue café style motorcycles — more commonly known as “crotch rockets” — and the perpetrators riding these bikes know it. It just plain pisses me off is that these criminals know we’re all but helpless in enforcing the law when they speed past us, popping a “wheelie” at 100+ miles per hour.

Even when an officer does hit his red and blues to conduct a traffic stop, the motorcyclist looks back, shrugs his shoulders, and takes off. He has just committed a felony and there are absolutely no repercussions for it! It’s to the point in my state that it’s practically and epidemic, and no one (other than us cops) is even discussing it, let alone doing anything to stop it.

The very notion that these individuals will run from the police should be an indicator as to what type of culture these “motorcyclist” are involved in. They are not merely riding these motorcycles for transportation or for leisure. If they commit a felony and disregard a police officer it should be an indication that they probably are involved in other types of illegal activity as well. But we are just supposed to turn our heads as if it never happened.

I understand that trying to catch these guys is nearly impossible unless they wreck out or you have a helicopter that can assist, but there has got to be a better solution than just giving up and turning off your lights.

The fact is not only do they criminals instantly win, but now the officer can face internal trouble and even criminal charges for pursuing these bikes.

So what is the solution? What can we do? I guess that’s what I’m asking our readers here on PoliceOne. Let’s brainstorm and do something. Can we get the legislatures involved somehow? Could the manufacturers of these motorcycles help in some way? Could the state department of motor vehicles impose certain restrictions? With today’s technology, surely there is some type of system that we could track or identify someone who fails to yield to a police officer. Let’s make this column into something of a discussion forum. Someone out there has a solution to this problem. I want them to make themselves known in the comments below.

I’m certainly open for suggestions. Of course, when these guys run from us, 99 percent of us would just like to…well, I think we all know what we would like to do when these guys try to run, but maybe I’ll leave that to the reader comments as well.

For now, however, next time I see one speeding down the interstate at 100 mph doing a wheelie, I’ll just wave and smile at the felon as he flips me off, then I’ll punch my steering wheel and cuss a blue streak till I calm down.

About the author

Lt. Hawkes is a 19-year police veteran. In addition to his years of highway drug interdiction, Lt. Hawkes has worked in patrol, K9, investigations, narcotics and administration. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Dallas Baptist University and is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. He has been the recipient of both State and Local awards. His book, Secrets of Successful Highway Interdiction, which can be purchased here, www.highwaydruginterdiction.com, contains eleven chapters on Highway Drug Interdiction.

Blue Knights AZ IX Avatar

 News  No Responses »
Nov 032010
 

The subject of how to get a profile picture on this web site came up at dinner the other night.  Apparently there is no option in each of our user profiles to do this.  The fix is simple.  Visit Gravatar.com and click on “Get Gravatar Today”.  When prompted for an email address, use the email address you use on your profile for this web site.  The Gravatar site will send you a message and the rest should be self explanatory.

If you run into any issues, post a comment and we will get it sorted out.

-Management

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