OC, OC, OC!!!

So, yesterday I was certified in OC Pepper Spray for the 3^rd time, and I gota tell ya… STILL HURTS! I spent the rest of the day after being sprayed in a corner, crying, sucking my thumb, and wishing my mommy was there to make the pain go away.

In all seriousness, that is by far the worst pain that I have ever felt, and I have felt some serious pain ladies and gentlemen! I have had kidney stones to the point of borderline kidney failure, and OC tops that. After taking a 3^rd direct hit for training, I’m not sure I could ever bring myself to spray anyone in the field!

The academy is progressing slower than I would like it to. We are eight weeks in, and all eight weeks have been spent in the classroom so far, hence the lack of postings. Just haven’t had anything really to write about to be honest. Starting next week though, it looks like things are going to pick up. Next week is all firearms, then we go straight into driving, defensive tactics, officer survival, and all sorts of other hands on type stuff. What I like to call the meat and potatoes of the job. I understand that all of this academic stuff is necessary, but to be honest, some of it just has no real world use in the field. I am looking forward to the roll playing scenarios where I get to actually act like a cop again! Until then, stay tuned and I’ll see what kind of entertaining stuff I can come up with.

Crazy like the rest of you????

My friend, Mrs. Fuzz over at http://apolicewife.blogspot.com/, is starting therapy with her husband, a police officer, and asked people’s input and insight into law enforcement and therapy or personal ways of coping. My response is below, but you tell me…am I wrong? Am I spot on? Or am I just crazy like the rest of you?

There is an “experimental” program in some areas of the NYPD that is taking an hour after every shift and locking the shift in the basement. They are required to go down there, talk about their shift, things that happen through the day, and get everything out in the open. In the few short months that they have been doing this, use of force reports have gone down, sick time has been reduced, and the officers report being happier.

I believe that the old mentality of “asking for help is weak” is on its way out the door, and quickly. I think that we officers have come to realize that it’s not normal to see death and destruction every day, it’s not normal to deal with the worst of the worst day in and day out, it’s not normal to go from zero to 160 in half a heartbeat, but it is normal to need to talk about that stuff. There is simply no room for that old school mentality in today’s police force.

As a general rule, I don’t tell my wife much of anything that goes on at work. I believe that there are two different people living inside every law enforcement officer out there, up to and including myself. There is a part of me that she will never know which has to do what he has to do, just so that her and the part that she does know, can coexist in this great world. In order for all of this to happen, she has to let this guy that she doesn’t know do what he does. I also think that it is hardwired into every LEO to protect all persons, especially those who we care about. Within that is a need to protect her from the things I see, the things I experience, and the nightmares that I have.

How do I cope with stress from work? I go back to work…If I am able to keep my mind focused and know that day after day, I am able to pick back up, return to work, and do what the citizens pay me to do, then I have won. The day that I don’t go back in is the day that I have been beat by the bad guy. At times, if it has been an especially rough night, the guys and I will go out for a few drinks. While there we tell funny stories, make fun of each other, and have a few beers. While this might just simply seem like casual conversation to most, it also reminds us that there are good things that come out of this job. The “you should have seen your face,” “Remember that time when,” and “Remember that call where” stories and laughs shared give us reason to pick up tomorrow and drive on.

All around, I think we have our own form of therapy without paying for it. The barbeques, the time together with the shift, the nights spent mirrored up for an hour just talking about times passed, that is our therapy. We get the bad out and replace it with stories of good. Not only is that something that helps today, but something that we can hang on to when we leave because at times, those stories are all that we have. And when you do finally leave, be it the department or the job, the best you can hope for is a couple of guys standing around a grill, drinking a beer or two, and hopefully your name gets brought up in a good light.

Yeah, I’ll post something every week….. Um, about that.

First, let me apologize to my adoring fans (actually I’m not sure anyone is reading this at all). I know I said that I was going to try to post something once a week, but that obviously didn’t work out too well. I’m not going to make excuses though, just going to say I seriously underestimated the amount of work that I was going to have to put into going back through the academy here. I figured, “You’ve been a road cop for a few years, you got this!” Boy, was I mistaken. 

Here’s the deal. 80% of the crap that you learn in the academy is in no way, shape, or form going to assist you when you get out there on the road. Why do I truly care who Sir Robert Peel is? (the father of modern day policing) If I ever pulled someone over and they said “Officer, do you know who Sir Robert Peel is?” I would smack them in the face with my ticket book. But, someone who is much smarter than I am decided that was something that we as police officers needed to know, so there I sit learning about it. The rest of the day is filled with slightly relevant facts and laws and some kick butt physical training. The person in charge of the academy is a former Marine Corps Drill Instructor, and that man loves him some physical training, or PT for short. I thought I was in good physical condition after graduating my first academy…HA! I should be ready to take on the world by the time I get out of here! 

Once I get home, around 5:30 pm or so, I take a shower, rub some Ben Gay on my old, sore muscles, grab something to eat, and then spend the rest of the evening sitting at the computer and typing my class notes from the day. Having typed notes is a requirement to graduate. You have to keep a notebook together which believe it or not, makes up 20% of my grade.

After all of that is done, I really don’t feel like sitting back down at the computer and hammering out a few words to post on here. But I tell ya what, I will at least post something every month… now shooting for every other week. 

So far I don’t have a lot to talk about. This was only week two of the academy (day 6 yesterday), and people are just now getting settled in and beginning to learn how things are going to work for the next 18 weeks. I am sure I will have some humorous stories to tell, gripes about how things are different from Ohio, and complaining about the physical training and how the majority of the class is at least 10 years younger than I am, but just not yet. Cut me some slack, it’s only week 2 ;-)

As always feel free to message, e-mail, or smoke signal any questions or comments.  

-Hollywood

Let's back up for a second.

After posting yesterday about what I am planning to do, I realized that I failed to take a step back and tell you what I have already done. I had a post on here last year when I first started this thing, but deleted everything because I am dumb like that. So, let me take a second to tell you a little more about me and what I have done with my life.

After high school I joined the Air Force, but didn’t fulfill my complete contract because of an injury I sustained which ended in a discharge. After that I kind of milled around a little, with no true direction, just trying to stay out of trouble. After a few years I decided that it was time to follow my childhood dream and become a police officer. So, with that thought and determination I headed down to the local community college, the place that offers the police academy in Ohio, and located the “Homeland Security” building. The “Homeland Security” building here housed the Police Academy, the EMS School, Corrections Academy, and private security certification course. After finding the correct building on campus I walked in, marched directly upstairs, walked into the office, and told the lady sitting at the front desk that I wanted to become a police officer and I was here to sign up for the police academy. She give me a little hint of a smile, turned in her chair toward a group of office cubicles, and yelled “Hey Tom, it’s for you.” Right then a tall gentleman walked out from behind his cubicle and introduced his self and says, “Tell me son, why do you want to be a cop?” So I did, I explained to him with all of the enthusiasm that I could possibly muster. He kind of smiled and said, “Well that’s fantastic, you should probably go tell that to the people downstairs in the police academy.” I was in the EMS office… So we kind of laughed about that for a second, and then he helped me out. He said that the police academy just started a new class and wouldn’t be accepting applications for the next six months or so. He told me that the Basic EMT course was only three months and that being certified as an EMT could give me a huge leg up on other applicants when looking for a job because a lot of police departments in the area require at least a “First Responder” certification. Even though I walked into this building knowing what I wanted to do, determined to become a police officer, I walked out signed up for the Basic EMT course, a decision that would forever change my life.

I started the basic EMT course a few weeks later, and wouldn’t you know, I loved it! I was learning things that I never thought I would and started to take my life in a new direction. While in the class I became friends with a few other students who had just finished their level 1 firefighter academy. They enchanted me with stories of walking into burning buildings, torture that they learned to love in the fire academy, and the strong bond and “brotherhood” that firefighters hold dear to their hearts. On top of all of this, I also learned that the level 1 firefighter academy was also only three months. Seeing as I had another three months before I could apply to the police academy, I decided to sign up. I started the firefighter academy, and completely fell in love with the job! It was unlike anything that I had ever experienced before, and believe it or not I was pretty good at it. So, after graduation from the academy with an EMS and Firefighter certification in hand, I made a hard left turn and became a firefighter for the next six years.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a firefighter. Even being in the military and later becoming a police officer, I have never experienced a brotherhood like bond like there is in the fire service. I was able to help my community, serve in a very dynamic career field, and learn more about myself that I ever thought possible. The fire service is where I believe that I grew up as a person, matured, and what taught me about life. Even with that, I still had this nagging feeling that I wanted more, like there was something missing from my life, and that something was being a police officer. Not able to shake the feeling, I was now more determined than ever to become a cop. So, I went back to the local community college, walked into the correct office this time, and signed up for the next session of the police academy. After graduating the police academy, I was lucky enough to land a job as a cop with the same city that I was working as a firefighter for, which was amazing. Being a police officer was everything that I had always dreamed it was, and more. Even though I still consider the fire service as where I grew up and matured, I also believe that being a police officer has taught me more about myself and life than I had ever known.

I guess that brings us up to my last post. I worked as a cop for a few years, my wife transferred out of state, and here I am, going back through the academy in another state so that I may once again follow my dream. As the next few months progress, I will try to keep you as informed about my progress, the differences in the academies, and what it’s like having a little bit of experience and going back through the basics all over again (for those of you who care ;-). Fingers are crossed that my old set in my ways self is able to make it through without any issues and secure my future as a Deputy Sheriff.

As always, feel free to comment, e-mail (behindthedashcam@gmail.com), question, or whatever your little heart desires. And thanks for reading!

Now you see me, now you don't......

Ok, so I started this blog last year when I was working as a police officer in Ohio. I posted only a few times, and then my life was kinda turned all sorts of sideways. Believe it or not, I had a really good reason for not posting about the life and times of a police officer in these fifty states anymore. Simply stated, I wasn’t a cop anymore. My wife had been offered a major promotion at her job, which required her (us) to move out of state. After accepting the transfer and the promotion, her moving out of state with me soon to follow as soon as I found a job, I then find out that my Ohio certification is no good in the new state. How AWESOME is that? So, I found myself without work and holding no state certification to do pretty much the only thing that I know how to do. 

So, I decided to go back to school full time for my bachelor’s degree (yeah, her promotion was a pretty good one) until I figured out what I was going to do. Nine months later, going out of my mind with boredom, I finally got another job in Law Enforcement. I have just been hired by a local Sheriff’s department here in my new state and will be starting soon enough. The down side to that is that I have to go back through the basic police academy all over again, which I am not looking forward to. The up side is that I will be back in a job that I love…and they are going to pay me through the academy, so I guess I can’t complain too much. 

Going back through the basic academy after being on the road for a few years is going to be quite the experience I bet. Every cop knows that there is the “academy way” and the “way that works.” More often than not, these are two different ways, depending on the people that you deal with in your municipality. So, I have some bad habits to break, I have some new things to learn, and I have a lot of BS that I am going to have to put up with, but in the end, I am still thankful to have a job and be back in the game. 

So, I guess this blog might just be going from life and times as a police officer to life and times of going from police officer, to academy cadet/recruit, to deputy sheriff. I don’t expect the academy to be too tough seeing as these are all things that I have done before, but you know what they say about assumptions. This is my final week of freedom before starting the new job. I hope to post once a week or so once things get rolling, so stand by! In the meantime, feel free to leave a question or comment for me.