Carol H Tucker Passionate about knowledge management and organizational development, expert in loan servicing, virtual world denizen and community facilitator, and a DISNEY fan
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beladona Memorial Be warned:in this very rich environment where you can immerse yourself so completely, your emotions will become engaged -- and not everyone is cognizant of that. Among the many excellent features of SL, there is no auto-return on hearts, so be wary of where your's wanders...
I ran across a piece written by a former police officer for a "major metropolitan area in California" entitled 'Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop' that is haunting me and hurts my heart.
Frank was not a police officer, he was a cop. Yes he, and the others around him, believed in "it's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6". Yes he saw himself and his fellow officers as the thin blue line standing as a bulwark between the bad guys and decent people. But he, and every other cop I met, were angry at and contemptuous of police officers who they consdered "bad" .Did he, or his fellows ever report thise "bad cops" officially? Now that I don't know - I don't know if he was ever put in the situation personally where he had to make that choice. There was indeed a strong culture of "we protect our own" in the department, so the author is correct on that score. Frank spent 23 of his 33 years on the force in the Crime Lab - and I do know for a fact that if there was any tampering with evidence once he collected it, that was reported as soon as he discovered the break in the chain of custody. On a personal level, I know the impact of the stress is unremitting and the surges of adrenline make you physically ill. Knowing that you are becoming viewed with hatred, suspicion, and even loathing is an additional burden and I fear that finding good, dedicated people to do this job for the right reasons is going to be increasingly difficult.
And when I think of cops, of the thin blue line, I think of Frank, the offficers and detectives he worked with, and the guys of Barney Miller. as being far more typical than the killers that grab the headlines, but I am more than a little shaken by the rising death toll.
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