DOH! irresponsible gun owner A COP

[TAB]

BTW it never said what she did during her 27 years on the force, so for all we know she could have never spent a single day on "the street".


In my line of work, if you make a mistake, you pay for it, or you lic is yanked. A big mistake and I'm done for good. Its that simple. A small mistake can cost me 10s of thousands.

Why should a public offical be any diffrent?


I don't have to think about, She would be gone that day. It would be the same if one of my employees lost a a hazmat container, gone that day.

 

[Yosemite**Sam]

TAB said:

BTW it never said what she did during her 27 years on the force, so for all we know she could have never spent a single day on "the street".

What does working the streets have to do with anything? Ever hear of a courtroom shooting?

For all you would be Cop bashers out there, think about this:

The officer made a mistake and the officer represents her department. More importantly she represents the community from which she was hired. She was not born a cop but was rather attracted to a career in law enforcement. Being a cop doesn't mean that one is perfect. Wearing a badge doesn't mean that a cop is not human. We all make mistakes. Yes, I agree she should be disciplined. She shouldn't be fired.

 

[sacp81170a]

I think I hit a nerve,

Just a gentle reminder that a lot of the folks who lurk and post here are LEO's. If you have specific complaints against your local department you might want to be a little clearer about that.

It seems to me that termination in this case is not warranted. She should be punished, but not terminated. JMO.

Suspension, a review board and maybe some remedial training would definitely be in order. It's easy to MMQB, but I work the street and the court. If there's one place you can guarantee there will be bad guys and convicted felons, it's the courthouse. You have to be even more on your toes there than you are on the street. I know it's easy to get complacent, that's why an example needs to be set. It's not just for the officer's sake, it's for everyone else who works that court.

 

[TAB]

TAB said:

Quote:
BTW it never said what she did during her 27 years on the force, so for all we know she could have never spent a single day on "the street".

What does working the streets have to do with anything? Ever hear of a courtroom shooting?

that was in responce to the post directly before it.

Just a gentle reminder that a lot of the folks who lurk and post here are LEO's. If you have specific complaints against your local department you might want to be a little clearer about that.

you're the one that took my statement about MY local LE agency to mean that YOU are worthless. I don't know you from adam, and have never delt with your agency, so I honestly can't say anything about you. What I can say is the agency I live in is basicly worthless, the 3 other local agencys that I deal with for work related issuses are the exact opposite.

Yes the're good cops out there, but IME they are outnumbered 5 to 1 by bad cops. I would be more then happy to List my complaints about my Local LE agency, but this is not the thread for it.

Lets just say that professionlism one several levels is lacking.( including crimal aspects.) For the record, I have never been arrested, other then 1 parking ticket and 1 "fix it ticket" for a burned out tail light I have a perfectly clean record.

 

[tydephan]

BTW it never said what she did during her 27 years on the force, so for all we know she could have never spent a single day on "the street".

It never said that she didn't, either.

I prefer to give her the benefit of the doubt. You don't, and that's our prerogatives.

 

[bluestarlizzard]

i've got a couple things that have come to mind reading this thread. formost i can understand taking off the gun belt to use the restroom. if i had to wear that thing i would be paranoid about something falling in the toilet.
what i can't quite understand is how she could forget the belt. if i'm not mistaken, those things are pretty big and pretty heavy. you don't just forget it. and if you do you may need to speak to someone about short term memory loss.
i do think a good dressing down is in order. i agree that accidents are accidents, but that doesn't mean it sould be treated lightly.
i think this one goes back to the whole mentality behind AD/ND/UD. leaving your duty belt with a gun on the tissue dispenser in a bathroom is tatamount to a ND.

 

[TAB]

I'd never said I did or did not giver her the benefit of the doubt. I think she should be termanted, I don't see a diffrence between some on that has been on the force for 27 years or 27 mins. She made a very big mistake, one that I'm sure she will not do again. I honestly don't think having her going thru some type of training is going to help her, just waste more money. I also don't think suspention and/or demotion is firm enough punishment( after all if that was going to happen she would just retire and it would be the end of it.) There needs to be a statement made, lose your weapon, lose your job.

 

[pbearperry]

response to Tab

OK Tab come clean,why do you love picking on Leos?There must be a reason you are not telling us?Are you a wannabee or are the police stopping you from a certain lifestyle you really want to enjoy?Every time I meet a Leo basher,it's because of a grudge.

 

[TAB]

I'm neither, as I said above, I've had 1 parking ticket and one "fix it ticket" for a burned out tail light. I do deal with LE agencys on a frequent basis for work, and some on a personal level, its my EXP with them that I draw from.( IE vic/ wittness and not of minor things, felonys some of them violent)

Out of the 4 I deal with, 2 out of the 4 are a joy( both are relativly small and I beleave under paid, yet they are the best to work with_, one is annoying, but not bad and the one I live in is horride.

 

[bluestarlizzard]

i don't think she should be fired if this is the first blotch in her jacket. and considering the fact that this has gone public, i doubt she would make that mistake again.

 

[Yosemite**Sam]

pbearperry said:

OK Tab come clean,why do you love picking on Leos?There must be a reason you are not telling us?Are you a wannabee or are the police stopping you from a certain lifestyle you really want to enjoy?Every time I meet a Leo basher,it's because of a grudge.

TAB it's pretty obvious from your next post that you have a certain dislike for LE officers. If not, you wouldn't feel the need to discribe them and size them up as you did.

TAB said:
Out of the 4 I deal with, 2 out of the 4 are a joy( both are relativly small and I beleave under paid, yet they are the best to work with_, one is annoying, but not bad and the one I live in is horride.

 

[MakAttak]

pbearperry said:

Quote:

OK Tab come clean,why do you love picking on Leos?There must be a reason you are not telling us?Are you a wannabee or are the police stopping you from a certain lifestyle you really want to enjoy?Every time I meet a Leo basher,it's because of a grudge.

TAB it's pretty obvious from your next post that you have a certain dislike for LE officers. If not, you wouldn't feel the need to discribe them and size them up as you did.


Quote:
TAB said:

Out of the 4 I deal with, 2 out of the 4 are a joy( both are relativly small and I beleave under paid, yet they are the best to work with_, one is annoying, but not bad and the one I live in is horride.

In TAB's defense, I think he's meaning Police DEPARTMENTS, not actual police officers. (Since I HOPE he doesn't live inside a police officer...)

 

[Funderb]

another reason to give yourself the pat test, aka the drunk pat.


when you are leaving a bathroom, for a normal person,
pat pat pat
cell check, knife check, wallet check.
For her:
pat:
belt ?
oops!

 

[highorder]

no kiddin...

I have a regular pat/press check that when done openly, probably looks ridiculous.

 

[jakemccoy]

It wasn't just the gun. It was the whole damn belt and everything. She must be going through something in her life to have that type of mental lapse. I am not making excuses, just trying to understand it.

 

[ilbob]

Its never easy to understand how someone can make a mistake like this, at least until you make one of your own of the same magnitude. Most of us are fotunate enough not to make such a mistake.

 

[ilbob]

Of course, if it is dark then it takes 3 cars with 2 cops per car to pull over a teenage girl in a pink neon.

They do the same thing around here. I suspect boredom has a lot to do with it (not all that much crime around my village after dark), coupled with a desire to backup a fellow cop.

I'd just as soon have them back each other up as sleeping away most of their shift somewhere like the Chicago cops used to do. At least they are out showing the flag if nothing else.

 

[ilbob]

A female who has been a cop for 27 years would have started in 1980. Depending on the department, she might well have been a street cop for some period of time. I think the article said she was a Lt, so she probably is not a total dunce.

IMO, it does not matter much if she was a cop or Joe security guard. She not only left her gun, but her gunbelt in a toilet stall. I used to work as a security guard. I can understand taking the belt off. Its hard to sit with it on your pants, with your pants down around your ankles. And females don't get the option of standing for either kind of nature's call. I just can't see anyone being so proccupied that they would forget it. After you wear one for awhile, you get real used to the weight on your hips, and it feels real strange if it is not there.

 

[Old Dog]

A sure sign of a thread's degeneration is when everyone jumps on to the pig-pile and starts remarking on the perceived lack of competence or widespread corruption in their own local law enforcement agencies or all law enforcement agencies in general.

One's own opinion of all LEOs really doesn't belong in a thread of one LEO's mistake, no matter how egregious that mistake was ... Whatever your occupation, you wouldn't want to be judged based on the errors or incompetence of the very worst workers, least competent employees, least honest persons or worst scumbags in your company -- or your line of work -- be you a plumber, construction worker, firefighter, accountant or the clerk down at the corner 7-11 ...

Does it really take 3 pages of posts to spotlight the fact that one career cop screwed up badly? Really, a thread this long simply signifies that a lot of folks enjoy repeatedly posting their negative views of law enforcement. Same sort of people who love hearing themselves talk. About the same thing, over and over and over ...

 

[highorder]

One's own opinion of all LEOs really doesn't belong in a thread of one LEO's mistake, no matter how egregious that mistake was ... Whatever your occupation, you wouldn't want to be judged based on the errors or incompetence of the very worst workers, least competent employees, least honest persons or worst scumbags in your company -- or your line of work -- be you a plumber, construction worker, firefighter, accountant or the clerk down at the corner 7-11 ...

well put.

 

[Blackfork]

on the other hand...

Police aren't plumbers, clerks, or used car salesmen. They belong to and are accountable to all of us. It's not just a job. It's a job we have entrusted with the power to destroy the republic, if done improperly, as is all too common these days.

 

[ilbob]

It's not just a job.

Actually it is. TV and movies have created an expectation for police officers that no one can really meet.

One's own opinion of all LEOs really doesn't belong in a thread of one LEO's mistake, no matter how egregious that mistake was

Threads mentioning lawyers tend to elicit opinions on lawyers. I'd bet if there were threads on plumbers the same thing would happen, and the plumbers would be in an uproar claiming no one is not a plumber should be able to judge them.

 

[Old Dog]

Police aren't plumbers, clerks, or used car salesmen. They belong to and are accountable to all of us. It's not just a job. It's a job we have entrusted with the power to destroy the republic, if done improperly, as is all too common these days.

Sigh. It is just a job. And the reality is, the gun is simply a tool. Quit making it into a magic talisman as though misplacing a firearm is the most heinous mistake in the world. Bad driving, bad political decisions (hey, there's a war going on, ya know?), incompetence in our social services, financial institutions, auto shops, food inspection, all cause more loss of life, more heartbreak and denigrate more peoples' quality of life than a few bad cops.

And -- if one is to be a good citizen, one might want to believe that one, and one's work, no matter one's occupation, contributes to the greater good and have no problem being held accountable to the rest of society if one, through one's incompetence or dishonesty in the course of a day's work, screws things up for even one other person.

 

[Baba Louie]

One "Oh Sh..eesh" effectively wipes out 1000 "Attaboys" (or in this case "Attagirl") doncha know.

Can you imagine the ribbing Lt. Rhodes is gonna be taking for years and years from her fellow officers?
Punishment enough.

(There but for the grace of g-d go I... since I know no one here at THR ever suffers from brain farts)

And that WAS one bad smelling BF. Whew

 

[jenrob]

I'm not LEO but I think a Suspension is in order no need to terminate. She will not live this down for the rest of her career. for those that think a little 16 year old in a pink neon needs 2 or 3 cars. Go on a ride along at night in a major city then go to a small town and think about this. It might not happen in the small town as much but the bad guys don't stay at home all the time. The ones with a bad attitude towards LEO have usually gotten it from being disrespectful. I'm not saying all LEO deserve respect but if you give it right of a lot of times you will get it back. I've been pulled out at gun point and bout had to clean my shorts, but after finding out that somebody driving the same color pick-up I was driving had commited armed robbery I understood.

Lets see you make a mistake and run a red light you should lose your license you could have run into somebody and killed them, Or should the officer just ticket you. You could have killed a van full of kids. Yes it could have been a deadly mistake it wasn't yes you could have killed somebody with your bad driving but it was an accident not life altering Suspension (fine) her don't terminate (revoke your driving priveleges)

I don't know how she forgot that big bulky duty belt but give her some time off to think about it. Heck we don't know that she could have just had a family member pass away, her dog could have died, her husband left her. Oh it's starting to sound like she might be a human not a robot. If you've every made a mistake you should'nt cast any stones. Ever drop your hammer off the ladder somebody could have been standing under you. Cast that stone but look at your mistake first no matter how big or small we have all made them.