Читать книгу Force Decisions. A Citizen's Guide to Understanding How Police Determine Appropriate Use of Force онлайн

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Once in a great while, you will hear, “Thank you.”

This is the real secret: The people who do this job well for a long time don’t do it for the rewards or the recognition. They don’t do it (after the first year or two) for the rush. They don’t even do it to make the world a better place.

They do it because they can and most people can’t. Every shattered body they see, every terrifying brawl in the dark, and every interminable wait for blood tests to see if they have been exposed to a disease that might change or end their lives, are experiences that no one else needs to have.

Rookies need to learn to do the job, and do it like a professional, not like a TV hero. That way lies madness.

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Litigation is a hallmark of modern society. From their earliest training, officers are taught to fear lawsuits. They are taught that anything they do can be twisted in court, and cost them their house, their savings, and their retirement.

In reality, that is rarely the case. As long as the officer stays within his or her agency policy and law, any liability stays with that agency. Reality doesn’t make the fear any less real. In the excellent book, Deadly Force Encounters, Alexis Arwohl and Loren Christensen point out that in actual shootings, with bullets flying at them and their lives in imminent peril, officers were almost universally plagued with the thought, “I’m gonna get sued.” That’s not a thought you can afford when your life is on the line.