It wasn’t too long ago that you could be a police officer by getting hired. The training consisted of whatever your department considered important enough to train you on. You field training program also depended on what the department figured was necessary. Some older officers tell that when they started, they were given a badge, gun, uniform, leather, a flashlight, a map and a law book. They were then told to hit the streets and if they needed help, to call the chief at home. This was even before cell phones were around so to call the chief took a stop at a pay phone and a lot of praying that you wouldn’t get more than you could handle. This has all changed now. There are the various police academies, college classes and field training programs that can go for 4-52 weeks depending on the department. If you worked in a small department you could go years without a serious offense such as a homicide call, a rape or even an armed robbery. By then, common sense should come in to play.

There are a lot of really good, caring officers that do a great job, but we still have too many that “the thin blue line” protects when they shouldn’t. Too many states can still seal the file of an officer investigation and this usually means that they resign their position and keep their mouth shut. This saves the embarrassment and even a possible arrest. What this does though, is allow the bad cop to move on and apply for a position in another department or even state. This problem is not unique to law enforcement. It happens in almost every profession even though it does happen less than it used to. In Florida for example, nothing is supposed to be hidden. The laws are supposed to be followed that make any investigation public record once the investigation is completed and charges are filed or decided against. This is kind of a double edged sword. A good officer that does his or her job can have a concerted effort against him or her in an attempt to remove the officer. It doesn’t matter how good or honest an officer is, if he or she gets 15 complaints in one month for the same problem, such as excessive force, the officer will look bad no matter if he or she is cleared of the charges. It should be noted that this can happen to the citizen too. That is why it is my opinion that is you are charged with a crime and found not guilty, the charge should be immediately removed from the persons criminal history.

How do we fix this? First, every officer investigated should have the same rights as a regular citizen. He or she should have the right to face their accuser. All complaints should have to be in writing and notarized. If the investigation is handled in house, the evidence from the investigation should be corroborated by an outside, uninterested party. Finally, if the investigation is proven to be baseless or even worse, a total fabrication, the accuser should suffer the consequences. Just like an officer should be reprimanded or even charged if he or she does that to a citizen, it should be the same penalty for a citizen who is lying just to get attention or to cause an officer grief.

The whole idea of covering up an investigation or hiding it does nothing to establish trust and it certainly doesn’t do justice to all of the good, honest officers that are out their giving their all and doing their best to make a difference.