Most cops don’t wake up one morning and decide they’re done putting in the work. It usually happens slower than that. They start out wanting to do the job well, solve problems, be useful, and maybe even believe that if they work hard enough somebody will notice. Then the department starts teaching them different lessons….
I’ve never believed the officer with the highest test score should automatically get promoted. Some people are excellent test takers who have no business supervising other officers. They can memorize policy, give a polished interview, and answer every question on an oral board, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’d trust them to run a shift,…
When I first became a cop in 1997, I was told that if I wasn’t getting complained on, that probably meant I wasn’t putting in the work. There was some truth to that. If you’re making traffic stops, arresting people, writing tickets, breaking up fights, and telling people things they don’t want to hear, somebody…