like you and me, but stupider.
December 5, 2004 5:05 AM   Subscribe

Just a week in the life of a san diego county police officer. Linked from YouCSD, a news alternative weblog for the UCSD community.
posted by radiosig (28 comments total)
 
are there more entries (i can't work out how to see them if so!)?
YouCSD seemed rather ambivalent about the whole thing. i can see why - difficult to snark when he seems to be a normal guy doing a decent job and enjoying it. on the other hand, it all seems a bit gung-ho. i guess self reflection and doubt comes later. that or bitterness...
i guess jonmc never signed up?
posted by andrew cooke at 7:03 AM on December 5, 2004


Here's the rest of the entries. :)
posted by meh at 7:24 AM on December 5, 2004


I really dig reading this stuff. Thanks for the link.
posted by mmcg at 7:54 AM on December 5, 2004


Why is this so interesting to read?

I wonder if this guy could possibly get in trouble legally somehow for keeping this blog (sounds like fellow cops are readers). I'll definitely admit that this does a good job of humanizing cops (that's a good thing).
posted by crazy finger at 8:49 AM on December 5, 2004


Interesting. He was pretty well hated when he was a campus officer. I'm pretty sure he wrote us up at least once for some noise violation.
The story of YouCSD.com is an interesting one- it was covered on slashdot.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 8:53 AM on December 5, 2004


"Okay, check this out. Here are some sample questions: "You respond to a report of  a child crying in a house. You knock on the door but no one answers. You look through a window and see the baby is fine and the mother is in the kitchen. You shoot the mother to gain entry. Is this a legal use of force?" Um.... Lemme see. Now granted, there were a few hard questions, but a lot of them were just like that..."

Hilarious.
posted by uni verse at 11:55 AM on December 5, 2004


Isn't use of force supposed to be an obligation, not a recreational activity to be viewed humorously?
posted by mervin_shnegwood at 12:07 PM on December 5, 2004


This guy was an idiot. Law student--they're all law students.

This is so true.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 1:16 PM on December 5, 2004


And Cops wonder why we do not trust or like them. Seems were are either a burden or some form of entertainment to them,

We may need A Voight Kamff Empathy Test in this world of ours. for poeple in power.
posted by Elim at 1:17 PM on December 5, 2004


intresting, i didn't think there were other mefites at ucsd. so who else here is a triton?
posted by joedan at 1:44 PM on December 5, 2004


Sunday we did motel registry checks. See, hotels/motels have to show police registries on demand. What we do is pick the shitbag motels in our area, check the registries and run the people for wants and warrants.

This is legal?
posted by Vidiot at 2:22 PM on December 5, 2004


first time ive ever seen anything worthwhile on xanga.

thanks radiosig
posted by tsarfan at 2:24 PM on December 5, 2004


Seems were are either a burden or some form of entertainment to them.

That just comes with any position where you have to deal with the public.
posted by mendel at 2:47 PM on December 5, 2004


Seems were are either a burden or some form of entertainment to them.

Elim - You try dealing with the type of scumbags and self-righteous pricks that cops have to EVERY SINGLE FRICKING DAY. How are you going to deal with it?

Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes before you criticize.
posted by SpecialK at 3:18 PM on December 5, 2004


D'oh, looks like he spotted the attention he's been getting and shut the site down. Oh well, it was a great read while it was up. I wish someone had mirrored it.
posted by SpecialK at 6:10 PM on December 5, 2004


joedan- looks like it's just you and me.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 6:29 PM on December 5, 2004


I managed to set "work offline" and saved about 6 pages of the journal. I'm somewhat loathe to put it on the web due to potential legal issues of a police officer discussing his job publicly like this.
posted by zsazsa at 6:49 PM on December 5, 2004


SpecialK, As a former Military Cop (SP) in Montana and Germany and the last Gulf War I have been in there shoes,

YOU should assume less!

I can tell you this posting 'individual' seems to lack empathy, professionalism, and a sense of honor to the public, and some are okay with that, I am not... We as a society can and should demand better....

If the Officer can not or will not follow his own rules, then he should leave or be given other career oppertunities...
posted by Elim at 7:44 PM on December 5, 2004


"scumbags and self-righteous pricks" seems to be applicable to Cops and others as well in my experience..
posted by Elim at 7:47 PM on December 5, 2004


I've been wrestling about starting my own blog after reading this... I can't see how there would be any legal problems. I"ll use a pseudonym and talk in general terms... we'll see... I'll post when I do it. And for those of you who care yes we do use you for entertainment most of the time ...
posted by quinn_stella at 9:02 PM on December 5, 2004


A gung-ho police officer with a "guilty until proven innocent" attitude who publishes the woes of others for entertainment? I'll pass, thanks. If he hadn't shut it down, I would have gladly sent a few e-mails to his superiors.
posted by trey at 3:33 AM on December 6, 2004


I'd like to look, but it's now offline. Any mirrors?

Oh, and I'm ex-UCSD Muir College (1997). Long time lurker, just signed up at the latest opportunity.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 8:29 AM on December 6, 2004


It never seemed like he had a 'guilty until proven innocent' attitude. Heck, did you see his comments about how many warnings versus how many tickets he gives out? Yes, he is/was gung-ho... I'm just as gung-ho about the software company I run, and companies that put my stuff in has a tendency to either slow down hiring or lay off administrative staff after my stuff gets implemented. Oh, and I outsource to china and india. If I talked about that in a thread that wasn't half-dead, I'm sure there'd be a vote in MeTa to crucify me as the antichrist.
Anyway, he followed rules as I understand them very carefully, and had more of a "Well, this isn't really mine to decide. You're going to jail because the rules say you do, and the courts will sort it out." attitude. He did comment a little more than I thought was necessary about the ... more disgusting aspects of the job, but every cop I know does.
posted by SpecialK at 11:00 AM on December 6, 2004


the curse of king Midasfilter

all the attention killed it.

why cant we do this to the president?
posted by tsarfan at 11:10 AM on December 6, 2004


Hello everyone. A friend of mine told me my journal was being discussed here and on YouCSD. My journal was originally intended to document the 6 months of academy training. After my friends said they wanted to see what it was like to be a rookie, I decided to journalize some more. My blog was never intended for people other than my friends and family for this reason. I'd like to answer some of the remarks on this thread. Everything I write is strictly my own opinion.

I have a particular sense of humor and I talk about things in a certain way. Remember, my blogings are often rants and vents at the end of a very long day. How I write in a journal is different from how I conduct myself in my profession.

As one of the posters above pointed out, it's very easy for someone to file a complaint or make an allegation that can make an officer's life miserable, even if the claim is completely unsubstantiated. One of the reasons I took down my blog is because I did not want someone making a complaint to my superiors based upon a blogging.

The guilty until proven innocent thing... In my experience, we have discretion on arresting and citing people. However, if we fail to arrest someone when there is probable cause and there is a likelihood the offense will continue if we letter person be, we become liable (DUIs, Domestic Violence, warrants, etc.) For example, say I find someone with a blood alcohol level of .08 and let him go--he crashes and kills himself--liability. I find someone with a warrant, I let him go, and he goes on to commit a crime--liability.

The gung-ho attitude. As a new officer, I am pressed to perform. Salesmen perform in terms of sales, officers perform in terms of contacts, interviews, warnings, tickets, investigations, and arrests. I have to be "gung ho" to show my competence.

Motel Registry Checks: Yes they are legal. That is why we do them. No officer I have ever met will do something illegal to get an arrest or a ticket. I know I value my career investment way too much to do something stupid or illegal to make some kind of bust. 1) People who have warrants are technically fugitives from justice 2) People on parole are technically still serving prison time outside of prison (that's the definition. parole is very different from probation) 3) People with 4th amendment waivers voluntarily waive their 4th amendment rights for a certain period of time in lieu of doing jail or prison time.

Use of Force: Is an incredibly serious subject. I made my remark about the exam question because to me, the answer was so obvious (of course it was an unreasonable and abhorrent use of force), I could not even believe California POST would use it as an examination question.

People being a burden etc: People are far from being a burden. I personally took this job because of my love for helping others in their time of need in a unique and challenging profession. Some people lead lives where they have never been exposed to crime, violence, death, or other things that officers (and medics, firefighters, ER doctors, soldiers) deal with on a regular basis. I don't mention all of the good contacts I have as an officer, the friends I make with local transients and shopowners, the people who I cut breaks and give warnings to, and stuff like that because to me that's routine. Arresting people, getting into fights, pursuits, etc. are common, but are outnumbered by the positive contacts. Why would I rant and vent on a blog about the hour-long conversation I had with a homeless man in the park and the referrals I gave him to a local shelter and the homeless outreach team? To me, that's a positive thing, not something I would rant about.

As for serving my community honorably, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I do my job every day with a smile on my face to the best of my ability. I believe I execute the duties of my officer judiciously, with compassion, and with common sense. My job is not to determine guilt or innocence, that is left to the courts. My job is to solve situations to the best of my ability at the time safely, quickly, effectively, and within the realm or policy, law, and liability.

I want to reiterate this blog was not meant to be an objective depiction of every day life at work. It was meant to be rambling, ranting, and venting about certain parts of my day. I took it down because I felt it was being misconstrued, misinterpreted, and in my opinion, misunderstood.
posted by Asharki at 2:07 PM on December 6, 2004


i can understand why you would feel the need to take down your blog for the reasons in your last paragraph, but let me add that it also showed an interesting perspective.

i, for one, loved your blog and im not typically the pro-cop sort of guy, if you know what i mean.

what i read were the honest thoughts of someone who was excited to go into dangerous situations and get bad people. your sense of humor was also really refreshing.

plus you had good tips for bad drivers who dont move when the sirens are clearly blaring. also good tips for people who are being pulled over. who knew you guys gave so many warnings as opposed to citations?

ultimately everyone's writings get misunderstood at some point. it's sad to see something good get taken away because of the few ignorant people out there.

if it was kosher with your superiors that your blog was out there, i would reconsider.

what i will miss the most are stories like the one when you guys went into the guy's house who had cameras all over the front door and marbles waiting for you on the kitchen floor.

i didnt see too much of that on tv.
posted by tsarfan at 3:46 PM on December 6, 2004


one final thought: you might want to make your blog password protected. and if you do, feel free to send me the password. i read tons of blogs each day and yours was one of the best.

busblog at gmail dot com
posted by tsarfan at 3:48 PM on December 6, 2004


Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment here!

This law-and-order liberal liked your blog quite a bit, read through the archives to about April, and was sorry to see it taken down.

My cousin's a cop in West Virginia, and he's made the same point before -- that no cop will risk a career/an arrest/an investigation by willfully breaking the law. I smiled when I read that on your blog, because it sounded so familiar.

I think this episode shows that your blog is of wide interest, but I can certainly understand not wanting to run afoul of the powers that be. Best of luck to you, whether you continue to blog or not.
posted by Vidiot at 10:01 PM on December 6, 2004


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