BigRedBowtie
Member
Matt, It seems the beef is over whether or not you might be armed in this position. Well, has that detail changed in a year and a half? If not, no thank you... I'll find another way to serve.
You'll mostly be doing this anyway, and the training and experience will be great in the long run.From what I understand now, there are tasks -- search and rescue, directing traffic for community events and accident scenes, etc. -- that woud not require being armed.
I'd say the answer is "Yes." You would probably be placing yourself at risk. How much? Dunno.And finally, my question:
On the other hand, would I be placing myself in the way of extra harm, while being required to be unarmed?
That's the big one. I can carry as a citizen, but not as a reserve volunteer. (They do carry aerosol spray and ASPs.)
Search and rescue also doesn't require being a policeman. In my corner of the U.S. -- and I do mean my corner, not just my state or county, but this entire corner of the country -- SAR is mostly handled either by the fire departments, or by dedicated SAR units (which may be affiliated with or attached to fire departments, or which may be totally autonomous). Directing traffic only requires a yellow vest. Accident scenes? Around here the fire department directs traffic and the police write the reports on how long the skid marks were.From what I understand now, there are tasks -- search and rescue, directing traffic for community events and accident scenes, etc. -- that woud not require being armed.
bugs (people who really want to be cops, but can't pass either the physical exam, (BTW, we've all seen your picture on here)
My cousin is doing it to lend a hand. He was an LEO for awhile, shortly after returning from WW2 (That's correct -- he is currently 85 years old and serving as a volunteer deputy sheriff), then went on to a long and successful career in a non-LEO related business. After he retired he found he had time on his hands, wanted to do something constructive, so he went through the whole POST routine again, got himself qualified, and is now an unpaid volunter deputy. This is a man who couldn't care less about notches on his belt -- he was a fighter pilot in WW2 and in Korea, and flew military transports into Vietnam as a National Guard officer. He has nothing to prove, to himself or to anyone else.entropy said:I noted that most Reserves fell into three catagories: Retired cops who didn't really want to retire; bugs (people who really want to be cops, but can't pass either the physical exam, (BTW, we've all seen your picture on here ) or the psychological exam; or cops-in-training, people taking POST courses in college. I really don't recall anyone doing it to 'lend a hand' or doing'civic duty'. Perhaps some were.
Yeah, me too. It would be quite ironic to be armed except when acting as a police officer.I carry 24/7 when outside the house.
I would do armed, unpaid police work in a minute. It's a noble calling, and would provide a genuine service to the community.There's no way I would give this up to do unarmed, unpaid police work...leave to policing to the pros who are paid and equipped for the task.