P.O. Potatoes Profile picture
Sep 14, 2020 10 tweets 2 min read Read on X
I hear or read this a lot, that policing isn't as dangerous as a lumberjack or truck driver.

And it's TRUE. Per capita more people are killed in a myriad of different careers and professions and law enforcement.

But here is why things are very different...
Most police officers will go through a career never having been shot and killed. Many may never ever draw their weapon or need to use force. What separates out LE from other more "deadly" professions is the human aspect.

A logger goes to work w/ specific tools and a job to do
Somewhere they may have an awareness they could get hurt and killed. But their work is more predictable.

Trees, chain saws, and heavy equipment will operate in a certain way. The "deadly" part comes from failures or misjudgments. Tools break, trees fall the wrong way
And workers get killed.

Truck drivers deal with weather issues, drunk drivers, mechanical issues, sleep deprivation and so on. However things are attributed to death are found to be predictable and measures are taken to prevent future mistakes and deaths.
Within LE we don't get that luxury. Yes we have our tools, wear items to reduce potential injury, get training on how to better handle a situation but the real danger comes from the human aspect.

After a deadly event investigations take place and we try to draw conclusions.
Why did this officer die? Why did this civilian force a deadly confrontation?

We can't say a chain broke, or a tire blew out, or a 10 cent seal ruptured and that's what caused a catastrophe and someone got killed. Humans don't come with pieces that can be found faulty.
Some might argue one's mental state might be found to be faulty, but people can go through an entire lifetime before the proverbial wheels come off and they snap, leaving many to wonder why it happened.

I would argue that other jobs are more dangerous, but not more deadly.
No one runs up and tries to, or succeeds, in killing someone because they chose to work in a certain profession. A logger sitting in an excavator doesn't have to worry about getting shot for just existing as a logger.

Yes, MOST cops don't have to worry either, but the
Unpredictability of another human creates an awareness LEOs need to possess.

So while I'd have a greater chance of being killed by a falling tree as a logger or in a traffic crash as a trucker, the human component of LE causes a dynamic shift that a more socially "normal"
Career an unfair, and IMO biased, comparison when talking death rates per capita.

Whenever you have humans as the center focus of a profession the "deadly" nature of the job increases even when the "dangerous" aspect doesn't.

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More from @PO_Potatoes

Jul 11
If it wasn't bystanders it was a micro managing sergeant or lieutenant that showed up dead last and would yell at cops to get back in service and answer calls.

So now your time to compose yourself was driving to a call, trying to read call notes, and (far too often)
it was another shooting or murder scene. So now, as that officer, you have to compose yourself again and try to linger on a scene before, once again, getting shooed off to another scene.

I learned that if you need a break you take the paper or block traffic somewhere.
That way you can sit in your car with your thoughts and marinate in them for a while. Sometimes you have a chance to talk to your partner about it, but let's be honest, we don't REALLY talk about what bothers us about a scene while on a scene as cops.
Read 27 tweets
Mar 18
Several years ago I was dispatched to a call of a CSA (criminal sexual assault) on a child. It involved an adult male and a juvenile....a very young child.

Upon arriving on scene mom didn't really want to talk. She became evasive and started to relive her own trauma
right in front of me. It was a weird situation because I hadn't experienced someone being physically present but wasn't actually present as the mom talked about her sexual trauma.

At some point the mom, who eventually gave us the synopsis, had her child come and talk to us.
Mom didn't know specific details and the kid (being so young) wasn't well equipped to explain it to mom. Luckily the supervisor on scene was a prior detective and knew a thing or 2.

While he was talking this child stopped and came up to me to hold their hands.
Read 16 tweets
May 20, 2023
So many people lack perspective and do not seek out avenues to broaden their perspective.

That is why such little things seem so insurmountable.

If your life seems tough or hard, it probably is with your limited perspective. If that's all you seek to understand, that's how it
will always be. You're blinded and held hostage to your lack of perspective.

When you find a broader perspective, especially that of others less fortunate, it may allow you to see past your pain and discomfort. It may allow you to recognize your "insurmountable issue" is
nothing more than a very minor, and very easily overcome setback.

I learned from a very snobbish girl in 8th grade that someone will always be better than me. What she didn't realize was I've taken that as a life lesson and internalized it.
Read 14 tweets
May 18, 2023
For the last 3 years people begged, bitched, pleaded, and voted in politicians that would move to a "restorative" justice model where low level offenses, no matter how egregious, would be cite and released.
Simple battery/assault is a low level, usually municipal offense that many places CANNOT jail for.

Yes I watched the video, and many times IF that guy was arrested and booked supervisors are calling and asking why we are wasting time on booking when we can cite and release.
THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED.

THIS IS WHAT YOU VOTED FOR.
Read 5 tweets
Mar 14, 2023
If you know my real name and Google it you can read all about my civil rights lawsuit against me, other officers and the city.

HOWEVER....
There's is video footage that completely refutes the claimant's story and exonerates myself and the other officers AND the city of Chicago. The original lawyers and law firm removed themselves from the lawsuit because the video is completely against the client.

HOWEVER...
Despite there being no case, and the individual lied on the lawsuit, the city attorney said they will pay out some "nominal" fee as a sorta "FU, go away" few because it is easier. Was told it would be sub $20k, probably around $10k.
Read 7 tweets
Mar 2, 2023
I'm sure many of you have seen this photo, using it as a avatar or picture on posts on social media. But I'm sure many of you don't know but that was my actual star.

The one I had pinned on my chest when I graduated, the one I wore for years, and the one I turned in last year. Image
On Feb 13, 2018 I was in the locker room at the 011th district and getting dressed for work.

Far back row where we only had 1/2 a length of bench.

But I threw down my wallet, star, and phone like I always did. But that day I took a second glance.
You see that morning Commander Bauer was taken from us by a known, long-rap-sheet having felon. Which was the whole reason my band was even on my star to begin with.

But for whatever reason my star caught my eye and I took the photo.
Read 8 tweets

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