The road back.
Why is this blog here? It's not just to track my diet and exercise, although I'm going to use it for that. After all, the threat of your dietary lapses being seen by the entire internet is a pretty compelling motivator. But that's not it.
I'm a cop. Well, depending on how you look at it, you might say I was a cop. I used to work for a major metropolitan police department in California. I worked hard and did everything I could to take someone to jail every single night. I was constantly making felony arrests and had received numerous letters of commendation for my hard work and going the extra mile. If there was a fight, chase, or pursuit to be found in my district on any given night, I managed to find it and step right in to a mess of trouble.
And I was damn proud of it.
That all ended about 90 days ago, when I made a stop on a person who had had a bit too much to drink. He was straight-up honest about the fact that he had been drinking, that he had been arrested for DUI before, and that he was scared he would be arrested again. I was taken aback by the guy's honesty. After all, working the midnight shift in a big city, you get pretty used to picking your way through the lies of every crankster, chud, juvenile, and soccer mom. So, in a move that was very unlike me, I let the driver lock his keys in the car and walk home. He didn't come pick up the car for the rest of the night and I considered the matter closed.
Not so. Even now, I have the words of one of my academy instructors echoing in my ears. He said, "It's not going to be the people you fight that cause you trouble. It's going to be the ones who you cut a break." The driver went home and made an Internal Affairs complaint against me, saying that I had stopped him for no reason, and if he had been drunk, why hadn't he been arrested? Moreover, why had he been forced to lock his keys in his car and walk home?
Unbelievable. To make a long short very short, I was called in to see my Sergeant... and then my Lieutenant... and then my Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain, and ultimately fired by my department. Although I was shocked and hurt by what happened, I accepted (and accept) responsibility for my actions and wish with all my heart that I had done otherwise. I knew that I had a history of work to be proud of, and I sincerely believe that my career of good work stands strongly against my one bad decision. When dismissed, my Lieutenant commented that he believed I had a future in Law Enforcement.
Well, for about three months I nursed my wounds and worked full time in a job that doesn't exactly push my buttons, but pays the bills. However, three months of watching crooks ride by me and being totally unable to do anything has made me absolutely sure that I need to find another job in law enforcement. Hopefully, this blog will chronicle my trip back with a new department, and ultimately my work there. I'm in the hiring process with another department nearby and I'm crossing my fingers that all my references come through for me and that the department will take a chance.
I'll never know unless I try.
