Rabid Rabbit said:
I think there is more to this than the number of guns and a CCW permit. Particulaly the CCW permit, he would be LEO and come under HR318 law, the worst they would say is resign the permit and don't get another one. The number of guns I also consider BS unless the PD keeps track of every officer I seriously doubt the number of guns has anything to do with it. I suspect he just didn't make the cut for some reason maybe for something out of his control even but is providing an excuse. Too many guns and CCW just doesn't fit.
Yeah, that's my first guess.
Jeff White said:
I've worked for three different departments over the years and no one was ever concerned about how many guns I owned.
I will say that if he presented himself in the interviews as being fixated or enamored with gun and shooting, he probably didn't pass. No one wants to hire a real life "Tackleberry". Even if he didn't leave that exact impression, profiency with and an interest in weapons scares administrative types almost as much as it scares the antis. Maybe more, because they see liability.
There are plenty of police departments out there. He should apply somewhere else and don't reveal anything more about his aptitude with firearms then what they ask him about.
I agree with you, particularly in the part that I bolded from your post.
I have heard guys from outside of my department complain that my department didn't like gun-owning applicants, and that simply isn't true. I know a LOT of guys on my job (including command staff, FTO's, academy staff, etc) who own gun collections that are far more extensive than mine.
I believe I was asked during one of the interviews if I have ever owned or fired a gun. I responded "Yes, I grew up hunting, and did some competitive shooting in college". The BI's response was "oh, good". I was also asked if I had a CCW permit, which I didn't at that time. Given the extent of police background interviews, neither of those questions seemed out of line... After all, I was also asked about my credit, my finances, my friends, my family, my hobbies, etc. I was required to sign a release for my credit records, was put through very extensive physicals, psychologicals, a polygraph, and physical ability test. Plus, probably 100 people that I knew were contacted by the background investigators, and I hadn't talked to some of these folks in 10 years! I had to provide EVERY address that I had every lived at, and contact information for EVERY job I ever had
(in fact, they even gave me a hard time because there was no way to contact the owner of the company from one job I briefly had during college... The owner was my direct supervisor, and had died!!! There was no more company!).
Like any other job, remember that it is an INTERVIEW process. You need to honestly present yourself, but also
sell yourself to the interviewer... Highlight your good points, and try to turn things that might be considered "bad" points into good things (like: "yes, I do have a CCW permit. I got it a few years ago when I first had a family, because I feel that I have a duty to protect them and keep them safe"... rather than: "yeah, I've got a permit. It's my right!")
Just remember, police departments worry an awful lot about liability, for obvious reasons. If someone sounds like they are too into guns, or action, or partied too much as a teenager, or hates the government, the department might take a pass on that applicant... and folks often do get turned down for odd reasons, or even no reason (except, maybe, that a better applicant was available). Large departments get thousands of applicants for maybe 50 open positions, while even small departments might get hundreds of applicants for 1 or 2 positions.
I was turned down at one department before I got my job, and they didn't really have any reason for me, other than "there were other more qualified applicants". At that time I had no LE experience, and it appeared that there were around 500 people competing for 6-8 spots (and I'll bet at least 6 to 8 people in that group were lateral officers from other departments).
So, tell your friend to keep his head up, and keep applying! It is always a lengthy process, and sometimes takes a while to find the right department.
If nothing else, send him to CO. Our departments out here don't seem to be anti-gun. All the same, I suspect there could be more to it than that!
