What do you call a brand new baseball player? A rookie.
What do you call a brand new recruit to a new business? A rookie.
What do you call a brand new cop? A roo…NOT SO FAST!!!
Surely a police officer that is subjected to all sorts of derogatory statements and push back from criminals and other ignorant factions that stand against law and order is able to handle the fact they are new to a job and that rookie is an actual description of their job experience or status, right? Well, not everyone agrees, that’s for sure.
In an ever increasing kneeling to the gods of political correctness and false-perceptions, some police departments are actually changing policies. One department, that for now shall remain nameless, has actually enacted a policy that prohibits officers from ever being referred to as “rookies,” “boots,” or any other similar term. What was once a right of passage acclimating recruits to their new career is now “offensive.” At this particular department a rookie was bothered by the term and so now it is considered hazing.
I truly believe this dark cloud of political pressure will continue to follow law enforcement agencies around and that it will become worse before it gets better. Community members will be left wondering why the caliber of officers they encounter continues to decline in what is actually a self-fulfilling prophecy that has been coming true, in no small part, since the complete and utter fabrications that came out of the context of the Michael Brown shooting and found even our elected officials perpetuating outright lies as truth.
What do I mean by self-fulfilling prophecy? Well, when you consistently are bombarded with the message of: All cops are bastards, cops are racist, cops are in it for the money, cops are corrupt, there are no good cops, etc. eventually you’ll get what you want because the good ones decide that dealing with your problems, your deceased, your criminals, isn’t worth a barely livable wage and shitty pension, if a pension is even an option. They will leave for greener pastures, whether in law enforcement or a new career, because at some point: it’s just not worth it to them.
But to those who are supporting the shift to a “softer” police officer, please consider what that means: you are expecting them to do your dirty work of dealing with all the situations and people you want to be protected from or not bothered by while simultaneously attacking them from behind. You want to take away all the tools, physical – mental – emotional, and then condemn them for not “doing their job” as you envision from ignorance how it should be done.
You see, keeping peace requires a particular mindset and willingness to do what others won’t. If you want soft officers, you’ll get soft results and it’s something I think many are going to regret.
Harvey Weinstein Comes Down with Incarceritis
Good read. When I went to the police academy I was taught a “warriors mindset”. I already knew that from the Marines Corps but my point is it was taught as well. The new officers are taught to be “care takers”. While I’m all for taking care of the public when needed. But I think this is a dangerous mindset in a every changing violent world we live in.
Well said!
Good read. Being a LEO is one of the greatest and fulfilling, yet thankless jobs out there. The politicians playing god with department policies and political correctness are going to reap what they’ve sown someday.
Absolutely correct. FNG and boot are earned after the academy and starting FTO. If they can’t handle that how are they going to handle all the rest. The need to coddle these babies is sometimes overwhelmingly stupid. Let them grow up into strong police officers men and women, able to stand up and say send me I can do it.
I notice your handle. That’s how you like to think of yourself? You’re a “conqueror”. That mindset is what makes so many cops push people around—not just murderers and rapists—but even people who get pulled over for traffic violations. if a person signs up for a cop’s job just to flex his biceps, he is a thug and is part of the problem. Geesh!
Seriously Clinton? Spoken like a person with Hillary Clinton attitude. Have you ever looked at a car trying to run you over? Have you ever walked in a door and had someone try to punch you from the side? Have you ever watch a fellow coworker get their head bounced off the road by a drugged out psychopath? Conqueror is a mind set, survival is of the upmost importance when you go to work everyday in a uniform. Despite your lack of understanding of life as a “cop”. When I went to work everyday there was only one thing that was of the upmost importance, I was going home to my children, period. Does that take the mindset of a conqueror? A warrior? or a Bad Cop because you have no clue, people like you ARE THE PROBLEM!
You have no idea what you are talking about.
Karen, well said. Clinton, you have no clue!
Boy if rookie bothers them, then FNG will blow their mind
Lol
Excellent read – After 47 years I could see exactly what you describe happening
That’s been changed to fantastic new guy jajaja
OMG, referring them as FNG gets you a free trip to HR. Soft administrations with lack of real police work, hanging their useless degrees in their office have bowed down to Political
correctness
If you kick any dog enough they stay away. How many more kicks will the sheep dogs take. I just hope I’m around when it happens.
And of course the new guys will also get the newer cars otherwise you’re”messing with them.”
I’ve trained nearly two dozen officers for my department over 20yrs. Most were good, some were not, a couple complete poop shows. Guess who got “coddled” the most? The Poop shows. While motivated hard chargers were too often reprimanded for simple errors. That’s what happens when “leaders” spent too much time avoiding hard street work so they could study to get promoted, with no balls to push back on public opinion.
Friendly New Guy?
lol..the fucking new guy!!!!
Funny Nice Guy
Speaking as a Marine and retired LEO; when considering the protection of the sheep, which will the wolf fear more… the Doberman or the Poodle? The criminals are getting, tougher, becoming more emboldened and are starting out younger. The criminals aren’t getting softer, only the way in which we deal with them is. Society WILL surely reap what it sows.
Well said sir and thank you for your service!
Spot on
News flash…so is the Marine Corps these days. They spend too much time on humanitarian aid missions and not being warriors. This is the new breed. Semper Fi.
That’s insane. There’s even a TV show called “The Rookie.” It’s not even an offensive term. What’s next, becoming “officers of community protection” instead of “police officers”?
Somewhat reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s courtroom scene near the end of A Few Good Men. To those who would criticize police for doing the (sometimes unpleasant) things that NEED to be done, I would say “You can’t HANDLE the truth!”
What’s wrong with that? Do you even know the history behind the term “police officer”? Historically you don’t work for the people. Protect and serve is just marketing since it doesn’t hold up in court. You are all simply revenue generators for the politicians.
Yeah I got a lot of revenue for my city last night when I arrested a guy with a gun while he was kicking in his girlfriend’s front door.
Isn’t it possible to be a warrior caretaker?
Being a warrior in a garden is better than being a gardener in a war…
Semper Fi.
Thanks for this point of view. Compassion is a valuable tool as well.
I 100% agree with you. When I started it was Warrior Mindset, OODA loop and go home at the end of your shift and make sure your partner does the same!
Culture has changed. In my opinion a soft cop is one that I have to watch as well. There’s a difference between being nice and being soft. I am all about being nice but soft no time for it
Sadly, that’s exactly what newer recruits are taught now. Because I was in said recruiting class. And like you. I was a military veteran. Did boot at Ft.Benning. As well as fought professionally for 12 years. And our academy was easily the softest, saddest, and pathetic waste of 6 months of my LIFE. It did little to prepare for the harsh realities of today’s world. Thankfully I started at 32 so I was already prepared. But what about the fresh out of college kid? Or the fresh out of moms basement recruit? Hard transition. And the academy doesn’t do them just. Because police now have to cater to and foster a community who see them as the enemy. But will also rely on us in emergency situations. The irony.
I’m all about community and service and being an active/productive officer. I do a lot now. And have done a ton in my short career thus far. But I hate that the atmosphere and the softening of our police force makes me have to pray twice a day now. When I leave my house. And when I return.
A warriors mindset? That’s your problem. You guys are adrenaline junkies and our communities are your stomping grounds. If you guys could just stop treating everyone like an armed felon things could get better.
Apparently you have never worked in the hood. If you don’t go to work with a warrior mindset, there’s a good chance you won’t go home at the end of your shift All of us don’t work in pretty, friendly, civil bedroom communities
The obvious question is, “Why don’t YOU live in a pretty, friendly, civil bedroom”? Why did you apparently choose a profession that requires you to fight all the time? I don’t know; but I suspect you LOVE being a warrior. You LOVE bullying people. Forgive me if I’m wrong.
You are part of the problem. Cops are not warriors, they are public servants. The warrior mentality makes it easy to consider the very people you were sworn to protect as enemies. It hurts my heart to know you are a brother Marine.
I unfortunately your assessment is all so true. This once noble profession is being destroyed ! It’s being destroyed by lies , false narratives and hatred. Once the sheep dog is gone…..what happens ? I’m fearful we are going to find out sooner than later !
What’s being destroyed is the violence and theft cops perpetuate on communities. All thanks to camera phones. You gangs hate that because you have been exposed for what you are. A bunch of adrenaline junkies, bullies and violators of the Constitution.
Hey Jason
The reality is that almost every time, cops do their job without notice because there’s nothing exciting about the interaction or bad. The fact you live in a version of life that says “if I see a video it’s the norm” or “if I haven’t seen a video it doesn’t exist” shows how utterly ignorant you are of how the real world works.
Hope you never end up in a situation needing the police so you can live your lie. But guess what, when you DO need them, they’ll be there and they will help you even though you are an asshole. We do it all the time and that’s fact. You might feel better spamming my page with comments but you’re climbing up a mountain you’ll never summit here.
Indeed!
THANK YOU TO ALL LEOS and your families for your service
I’m sitting here reading ALL your comments. Those of you who are obviously out of touch with what’s happening. We have soft LE officer everywhere. If you we never a “COP”, THEN you should hush up. The new type of rookie that depts are hiring are cell phone, and computer playing geeks. They dont have the street smarts and comon since that give up the red flag warning in our heads. I, retired because of PTSI.30 yrs will do that. Being an FTO, I saw first hand what our dept, SoCal is putting out. In the academy, they give the recruits a red card to hold while in training. If the recruit feels hes had enough yelling, he holds his card up, and the staff is told to stop. I hope the bad guys know this, so when the rookie is in at an active shooter location. He can hold it up as they are walking over dead bodies. As for the ones calling us bullies, you are clueless to the profession. God help you.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼. True words of wisdom, but unfortunately Jason isn’t wise enough to understand
In a number of instances blacks say they were mistreated by cops but the video clears the cop and shows that the complaining civilian was being the asshole. Video is the cop’s friend. It exposes lies.
I’m angry too
There will come a day 20-30 years from now when this country will look back in shame at how LEO’s have been treated much akin to the way the liberals tested our returning soldiers from Vietnam
Apples and oranges sweetheart. Don’t you dare put yourself in the same breath with war veterans. Those men were forced via the draft to fight a BS war with their hands tied behind their backs. Cops chose their profession. It’s that simple. Cops earn the hate by the way they abuse their communities for revenue. Camera phones are outing cops for what they really are and they hate it.
News flash i was not drafted… I joined on my own volition. There is not a draft. You have no idea what the war was like….
Law enforcement Officers are all that stand between us and total Anarchy ,look what happens when the police stand down during these protests and riots ,cities will will be looted and burned to the ground.Pray that day never comes.
Unfortunately that is exactly what it will take for these libtards in office to recognize their soft approach with rioters and looters who burn their city to the ground is not working. Let the hordes roam their cities looting and pillaging till the people have had enough and throw the liberals out of office and want LE to restore order again from the chaos.
Why are they standing down? Because they are order followers. If they were real “LAW ENFORCEMENT” they would enforce the law and ignore the unlawful order to stand down. Cowards. A real man does the right thing. Period.
What a TROLL you are. Get a life…
Well Jason with all your comments, years of experience in law enforcement , and your so called knowledge of all we do wrong. I was just wondering just how many run in’s have you had with officers? Have you ever done a ride along? Better yet with your extreme knowledge why haven’t you applied to become an officer? Is it because you know what we deal with every day or is it that you have been got rejected. The warrior mind set is not how your taking it to be. It’s a mind set that says my brothers and sisters will come home at the end of our shift, it’s the same kind set that says I will due my job knowing I might not go home to my family all so I can protect a family or individual I don’t even know. It’s a mind set of being out with a individual or individuals I don’t know, that I have no idea if they just committed armed robbery or etc and my nearest back up is 15 mins or min away from me. That’s the warrior mindset that you can’t seem to grasp but yet want to constantly criticize.
It is a sad state of affairs when you can’t even hire good candidates anymore because nobody wants to be a target once that uniform goes on! I have been in Law Enforcement 34 of my 55 years that I have lived. I have seen the swing against our brothers and sisters in blue and the crap that they have to take because we are supposed to be kindler and gentler! It sickens me to see a once prestigious job go in the direction it is heading! I wish all out there who are putting up a good fight stay safe and go home to your families at the end of your shift!! Stay safe and watch your six!
I think that day has already come. My concern is what will it be like when today’s rookies are the chiefs?
Today’s rookies already think they should be the Chief after their first 6 months on the job. There is no dues paying anymore or earning a spot .
30 yrs of bad policy and bad politics, I can live with. The job on the street didn’t change much. Pissed because I gave you a speeding ticket or thankful because I pulled you from a burning car. As long as I knew I did what was right and didn’t screw anyone over, i had a good day. Going at it It with really bad guys, what a strange rush. Biggest lesson I got was my first year, when a 25yr vet told me ” you feel good about yourself and believe in the brother and sisterhood thinking we got each others back, there is nothing further from the truth, when shit hits the fan you’re on your own” So true. Tooooo many cops looking to please the politicians and poor leadership hopping it will get them a promotion or some kind of favour. Those are your soft cops and future leaders. That is what I find is destroying the job most of us are proud to do
You would have great points if cops actually kept the peace and not the exact opposite #ACAB
Says the coward behind a fake name swallowing ideology like a sheep. #GrowUp
Great article Mike! And correct rebuttal to Mr. Ass.
With a name like that an saying what you said. You are a part of the problem. Turn off Face Book and CNN and go out and meet some real live LEO’s. Otherwise move along.
They’re already here and they ain’t working. This has turned into the easiest job to back in the door and collect a paycheck. The minute these soft targets take the oath they hire an attorney to protect them from the bad guys and also from the administration. They start a side business and if they’re really smart they put it in their jurisdiction so they can spend half their shift padding their income. Never be the first guy to a hot call, turn your head the other way when you see that vehicle that you know needs to be stopped because your gut tells you there’s dope or guns. If your department has some kind of quota make sure you meet it by giving that ticket to the blue collar guy busting his rear working two jobs to make ends meet or the single mom that can barely put food on her table. Those people aren’t going to offer any real resistance and you can keep your weak commanders happy. I’ve seen these guys get promoted so many times that it’s sickening. Like one of the previous posters wrote, “the thin blue line”, sure……!
Excellent read, as a former LEO that still does some side jobs with some of the guys I use to work with, the change between old school and new school is like the difference between Marine Corps and peace corps, however I will always back the blue🇺🇸
That is A Perfect assessment of what we do today with no support from the politicians in our community
A recruit in my police academy class quit because we were asked to police the area. I would have picked up cigarette butts with my teeth to avoid D.I. time. in the care and keeping of Marine D.i.’s. God bless them for their dedication to our great nation, the U.S.M.C. and the training of Devil Pups.
Semper Fi
The had a class about 10 years ago titled “The Why Generation” for dealing with new cops. I changed it to “The Whine Generation” to make it more accurate.
When I was starting out, we had a Sergeant that wouldn’t talk to you if you hadn’t been there for a year. She said she didn’t want to waste her time. She turned out to be the best Sergeant I had. She always had her Patrol Officer’s back.
Cops have always had to adapt to the changing society around them. It now costs somewhere in the area of $250,000 to recruit and train a police officer to average acceptable competency. The job is hard enough without artificial hazing and efforts to test how willing a recruit is to be humiliated by his or her peers. Real professionals don’t encourage or accept such treatment.
I’ve heard the newbies right out of the academy called Rookies, FNG(Freaking New Guy/Gal) ,my little Biatch, and other names. That said calling them that once when they first start out doesn’t really bother me a bit. We all started out as the new guy. But if you continue calling them that if it offends them to the point it interferes with training then you’re wrong. Besides. I was know as the FOG(Freaking Old Guy).
The ‘politically correct’ think they can send a boy to do a mans job—and wonder why it does not work.
Haha…..the smart ones send women. Sorry I couldn’t resist.
In all fairness, it’s frustrating as hell to find balance between supporting and teaching. Just be a decent effing human and teach the fng to survive and still want to be a guardian. Everything is balance….well, except jason….he seems a tad unbalanced. The sheepdog doesn’t attack the sheep when they get too close to the wolf…..period. respect on the job comes when you prove you can do it and will do it even if you are asked to give your own life In doing so. But human decency does go a long way…..with new recruits and sheep. I can shake your hand smile at you and make small talk, with a plan to stop you at all costs if necessary to save another’s life or my life. Guard up head on a swivel, and a smile on my face. I will never let you get the surprise on me, but I train to get the surprise on you. Too many times I see the fng do academy training and required annual training, but nothing on their own….firearms physical fitness verbal judo, nothing. That becomes the one that is more responsibility for the others that train. 5 years til I can retire. I am committed to ensuring the baton is passed to a ready crew…..
Hello All. In South Carolina LEO pay is ridiculously low. Most officers have to pull part time gigs to afford to feed their families, And you can than Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch for demonizing all who wear the uniform. Sadly politicians have abused the loyal officers for a long time, and in many areas have made them Revenue Collection Officers. Now they want to make a Kinder and Gentler Officer out of them. It fires me right up to see this and the general disrespect of those who are the ones who run towards danger, pick up the shattered bodies, deal with the emotional fall out of the families of victims. I pray to God that the people will wake up to what is happening and to the real world. And Mike I want to thank you for writing this, and to also thank you for all your videos and post, and mostly for speaking the truth. To all the rest, except Eat Ass, I want you to know some of us apricate your service to us. And now fellows go home each shift to your families. God Bless
My last 18 months on “the job” I was a training officer (retired in 2010 due to LOD injury after 21 yrs. of service) and I noticed a huge change in the attitude of the young rookie. I saw the beginning of the “participation trophy generation” becoming cops and not wanting to subscribe to the idea of seniority. Crying and bitching about every little inconsistency regarding their treatment. “Your day will come Kid!” is what I was told, I kept my eyes & ears open, my mouth shut and sucked it up when I had a stinky DOA, a footpost on the midnight tour, working holidays, etc.
Eventually I was a “senior guy” with time on the job and a shitload of experience from working various units within the department….. and it went by so fast! Too fast! I wish I could go back to my 1st rookie day out of the academy again! Knowing the journey my career would be, I’d savor every second!!!!!
Roadhouse Rules:
You’re nice til it’s time not to be nice.. then you gave a plan to deal with everybody at the party.
Just a matter of time before no one will be running towards the gunshots!
Great article, short and to the point. They won’t get the police they want, but they will end up with the police they deserve. ALSO, stop feeding the trolls!!
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally,
it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting
videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening
to read?
Excellent post. Keep posting such kind of information on your page.
Im really impressed by it.
Hi there, You’ve performed a great job. I’ll definitely digg it and in my
opinion suggest to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this
web site.
Excellent commentary. Twenty-one years ago I lived your life as one of 11 women in a force numbering three-hundred and thirty. There was no room for ‘soft.’
I’m sure Jason probably sits behind a computer screen all day in his Mom’s basement, waiting for his warm milk and cookies and is a pawn of the media, showing him how bad cops are and how racist they all are. Maybe he might grow some hair on his nuts and ride a shift someday to gain an appreciation of what really goes on. Oh wait, he can’t. He’s too fragile. Mommy won’t let him.
i have mixed emotions and thoughts about police officers and the duties that come with that job. No, I’ve never been a police officer, and I am reluctant to make categorical statements. My brother was a police officer; and he told me about experiences he had before he had health issues and was forced to quit. I am appalled by the apparent rise in murders of police officers. They are human beings; and I do NOT presume that all police officers are either good or bad. They are human beings and, as such, they are sinners for whom Christ died. I am a Christian in philosophy; and I try hard to live by the principles of Christianity. I don’t know what the answer is as it relates to crime. I do think we miss the point. If the answer is a cage for everyone who breaks a law, more police officers are the answer. I believe cages ARE necessary for criminals who are dangerous and are threats to the safety of the general public; but cages are not used just for serial killers, murderers, and other assorted violent criminals. They are used for first time offenders who commit “white collar crimes” that often arise from desperate circumstances that befall most of us at one time or another. I have known and heard about too many instances in which police officers used unnecessary force with grandmothers, teenage boys, old men, and even small children. I talked to a grandmother who was arrested for a first time offense. Her crime was a “white collar crime”. She was not violent or threatening in any way, nor did she have a history of such behavior. Still, SEVERAL brawny male police officers showed up to arrest her. They were trained in self-defense. They had guns. They had tazers. Yet, they felt the need to haul her off in shackles and handcuffs. They pulled her along the street so forcefully that she nearly fell. They threatened her, screamed at her, and humiliated her in a variety of ways. She didn’t even see a lawyer until the next day. Finally, she was sentenced to 10 months in prison. I know of another instance when two adult police officers pulled a teenage boy over and proceeded to beat him senseless. Fortunately, cameras caught them doing it. Finally, I was told about another police officer who handcuffed and beat a man who he believed was having an affair with his wife. Behaviors like these tell us a lot about why police officers are hated by so many people. Yes, there are times when they need and are forced to use force. But I believe there are far too many instances where men who shouldn’t be hired are driving around in “cruisers” or walking the streets with deep seated urges to flex their biceps. Too often, they have a psychological bent toward intimidation. They love the “rush” that comes from carrying a gun and wearing a uniform. Their very personalities are combative, confrontational, and driven by a misguided perception of masculinity. They love “conquering” , for lack of a better word. I’m not a shrink, but I really believe that’s how too many of them are. First, no one should be a police officer who isn’t sure of his own manhood. Second, I don’t believe CAGES are the answer for every person who commits a crime. Third, if we’re going to put people in cages, the same standard should be applied to politicians in Washington and slick lawyers who are condescending and similarly love bullying people. Finally, we need to make sure that police officers are not just THUGS in uniform.
We already ARE regretting it, Sir.
The damage has been done already in many of our cities, counties and states, and it shows.
We have yet to hit the low water mark, though. Buckle up, folks, it’s gonna get worse before it gets better.
God Bless America, and our men and women in uniform.