Author: Street Cop Training

Everyone is familiar with the now mainstream, and often hilarious, “Florida Man” news reports, which at times seem so ridiculous that you are forced to pause for a moment and consider if what you’re reading or watching is real. Well, a new challenger has seemingly stepped into the ring with a ridiculous news report of their own.

ABC’s Australian affiliate reported Monday that a South Australian magistrate has the decision by a man and woman to have sex during a high-speed police chase as, “extraordinary.”

Joshua James Childs was sentenced on Monday by a Mount Gambier Magistrates Court for aggravated escape from police pursuit in 2021 as well as an assault case from 2020. Mr. Childs was sentenced to 9 months of home detention for the two incidents.

Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos stated, “I have never in my time as a magistrate heard that whilst somebody was engaged in a police pursuit, they also engaged in sexual intercourse.”

The court listened to the account of how police attempted to stop Mr. Childs twice for speeding and observed a female passenger in the vehicle. Childs evaded police until a third time when police located the vehicle and were able to deploy road spikes in an effort to stop the vehicle, successfully puncturing 3 out of 4 tires.

Childs refused to stop and continued driving until the vehicle was driving on metal rims gouging the road’s surface. Police again deployed road spikes flattening the last tire on the vehicle. Childs again refused to stop driving.

With all 4 tires deflated and the vehicle running on the rims, police witnessed the female passenger climb over and straddle Childs in the driver’s seat blocking his view. Police then described observing the female beginning to move in an “up-and-down motion” appearing to be engaged in sexual intercourse with Childs. The vehicle eventually came to a stop and Childs was taken into custody without further incident.

Childs was sentenced to 7 months imprisonment to be served by way of home detention for the extracurricular pursuit. Childs was given 2 months for the September 2020 assault which took place when Childs knocked a man off his bike while he was dropping his child off at the Melaleuca Park Primary School. Mr. Childs allegedly chased the victim onto the school grounds and punched him in the head multiple times.

Accessibility is critical for the tools we carry. We have our guns positioned just so on our belts. We make sure nothing interferes with our Taser draw and that our batons and pepper spray don’t have anything that will impede quick deployment. Then, of course, there are the handcuffs, all our various keys, and somewhere in there, hopefully, we have a tourniquet positioned that we can grab for self-aid. 

We practice with these tools at in-service, test to make sure they’re correctly functional, and refresh our deployment process frequently to ensure that we’re ready when we need one of them. But do we neglect to practice with some of our other equipment?

Much of the medical gear we carry isn’t what would generally be associated with our job. Most of us aren’t medics. But (hopefully) most of us have some added medical gear in our cruiser. I’m fortunate to work for an agency with a pelican case with several medical kits in each car. If I grab the box, I have access to all of the tools I can use within my scope; AED, chest seals, BVM, extra tourniquets, etc. But if the first time I grab the box is when I need it, I’m wasting time sorting through everything there.

Deploying our medical kits needs to be, at the very least, a part of our practice. A couple of minutes at the beginning or end of the shift to familiarize yourself with the kit’s contents and ensure it’s accessible and not buried under the traffic cones and paperwork. Play out mentally or physically, practice approaching a victim, and talk out scenarios with other officers. As far as using individual items in the kit, those take practice and repetition, like your firearm or handcuffing.

There are a lot of great places to get medical training. For example, street Cop Training offers Lifesaving Medical Training for Law Enforcement. But if your agency doesn’t have the budget, there are also great options like Stop the Bleed, a federally initiated program working to push bleeding control training as CPR has been around the country. The classes are 60 to 90 minutes, are generally offered at no cost, and there are instructors all over the US. It’s an easy way to stay up to date on tourniquet use and wound management.

We have no small list of responsibilities in our job. Skills get rusty, and some of our equipment becomes neglected scenery in our vehicles. Providing medical care isn’t our primary mission, but we have the lifesaving tools at our disposal. So don’t forget to keep those skills up.

People forget things every day, whether it be their keys, wallets, purses, phones— the list goes on. Usually, the consequences of forgetting those items are a minor inconvenience as you tear apart your home to locate them. 

Unfortunately for Mike Jones, former Police Chief of Brookside Alabama, the consequences of forgetting were profoundly serious when he displayed his Police Chief badge during a traffic stop in Covington County Alabama on April 12^th. The reason the consequences became serious is because after that stop, information discovered revealed Jones had resigned months ago as Chief of Police in Brookside on January 25, 2022. 

On April 12, 2022, Jones was on Alabama 55 South when a Covington County Sheriff’s Office Deputy checked his speed. Jones was caught driving 78 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone. When the deputy stopped Jones, he noted when he approached the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle was holding a police officer badge out the driver’s side window. The badge was a Brookside Chief of Police badge; however, jones resigned from the Brookside Police Department in January, after reports of the small towns “aggressive” policing practices. 

Jones built the Brookside Police Department from a one-man rodeo to a full-strength force of 14 sworn police officers. Jones resigned shortly after a news article called into question how the department was allegedly using fines and forfeitures to supply half the town’s income. Brookside currently faces 13 lawsuits from citizens who have claimed mistreatment by the Brookside Police Department. An audit of the department revealed a large number of errors, everything from financial discrepancies, to missing firearms, as well as firearms which were found at the department with no explanation as to why they were there. The local court officials have also either thrown out, or called into question more than 100 cases involving Brookside police. 

 According to AL.com in the warrant affidavit submitted by the Covington County Sheriff’s Office, Jones told the deputy during the stop he was the Chief of Brookside, at which point in time the deputy gave Jones a “professional courtesy warning” and let him go. Investigator Blayne Pruett spoke with Lieutenant Stewart of the Brookside Police Department and confirmed that Jones is no longer affiliated with the department. A call to the Attorney Generals Office in Alabama revealed Jones to not be affiliated with any law enforcement agency within the state of Alabama. 

 On May 2, 2022, Jones, with his attorney Corey Bryan, turned himself in at that Covington County Jail according to Sheriff Blake Turman. If found guilty, the Alabama statute covering the impersonation of a peace officer is a class C felony. 

I must agree with Covington County Sheriff Blake Turman when he says, “it’s now more than ever before that law enforcement must maintain high levels of professionalism and integrity.” 

In today’s world, you can leave a Yelp review for the majority of businesses in America– telling not only future customers, but also the business about your experience. The city of Warrenton, a small town in Virginia located just outside of Washington D.C. has decided to give its citizens the same ability, only they have asked the citizens to rate their contacts with law enforcement.

The new program “Guardian Score,” will allow citizens to submit an anonymous rating about their interaction with the police immediately after an incident. The leadership in Warrenton hopes Guardian Score will prompt officers to be more open and take the time to communicate with the public.

The ratings and feedback each officer will receive will be visible not only to the officer but also to their peers, supervisors, commanders, and the public. Warrenton Police Chief Mike Kochis released a statement saying, “The program provides a great way for us to thoroughly measure our officers’ effectiveness and impact on the community.” Chief Kochis went on to say, “during the initial 90-day pilot program, the police department recorded mostly positive responses and positive interactions. In reviewing body cam footage, it is clear that while our officers routinely treat the public with professionalism and compassion, knowing their interaction would be evaluated has definitely made them focus on listening and explaining next steps.”

The way the program works is a responding officer provides the citizen they encountered a physical card, which contains a QR code that links them to Guardian Score where they are able to submit their feedback on the interaction and rate the officers.

According to the Guardian Score website, the 100% anonymous survey asks questions that are objective and based on procedural justice principles, and is not for measuring if the person “liked” or “disliked” the officer. The survey asks: did the officer explain the reason for the interaction, how well the citizen felt the officer listened to their needs, how fair they believe the officer was handling the situation, overall how professional the citizen felt the officer was, and if the officer explained what the next steps were, or what to do following the police encounter. There is also a comment box for citizens wishing to leave additional comments in their own words. It is unclear how many words or characters the comment box allows just by looking at the website.

With the world we live in calling for more transparency and greater strides in community-oriented policing do you think the Guardian Score is the way to go? Let us know in the comments below or tell us what you might do differently.

The link below is to the Guardian Score website where you can explore all the features as well as request a demo.

https://guardianscores.com/

Well, it’s official. We no longer have to act as professionals on the job. At least, that is what a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Hopkins believes. Of course, I am being a bit dramatic and flippant about what he meant. However, here is what he had to say about our “supposed” profession.

“Historically, law enforcement has not been thought of as a ‘profession.'”

If there has ever been a time for the Buzz Lightyear meme “Years of Training, wasted!” I cannot think of a better one. We spend years training and learning more about our chosen profession. Most of us work very diligently to maintain our skill-sets and acquire more. Some of us go to college and earn degrees in Criminal Justice. We learn, hone, study, and become subject matter experts in our craft. We are absolute professionals within our profession.

Judge Hopkins made his damning statement to maintain how Arizona’s Board of Executive Clemency is seated. Clarence Dixon, a death row inmate, and his lawyer filed a petition to suggest that the board is “illegal” due to its having too many law enforcement officers aboard.

Arizona state law clearly states, “No more than two members from the same professional discipline shall be members of the board at the same time.” Which, at first glance, is a good rule. Color me surprised that lawmakers passed a law that makes logical sense. The idea, of course, is that too many people with the same profession will think and respond alike, which can skew what should be an unbiased decision-making process. They are, after all, deciding a man’s life.

The current board has five seats. One of the seats is currently vacant, and three of the remaining four are occupied by career law enforcement officers.

So now we have an interesting legal pickle. A judge is trying to keep the board intact as it stands with more than two law enforcement officers by suggesting law enforcement is not a profession. On the other hand, we have a defense lawyer trying to keep a man off death row by arguing that law enforcement IS a profession. The defense is considering filing an appeal against the judge’s decision. I wish I could be there to see it. 2022 is relentlessly proving just how silly a time in history it can be.

By my calculation, we have law enforcement officers siding with a defense counsel for a death row inmate for the first time in modern history. All over whether or not law enforcement is a profession. What an exciting and contemporary era we live in. (Are you picking up the sarcasm because I am throwing it down pretty thick.)

Every man and woman who works for a Sheriff’s Office in America will tell you they serve at the pleasure of the Sheriff of their respective county. That was true until April 5^th of this year in Los Angeles County. The county Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance, in a 4 to 1 vote, giving the county personnel director full authority to discipline and fire any employees who do not comply with the county COVID-19 vaccine mandate.  

County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Holly Mitchel introduced the proposal in February citing “lax compliance” at the LA County Sheriff’s Office. LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has repeatedly rebuked the ordinance as nothing more than a power grab by the county Board of Supervisors. Sheriff Villanueva went so far as to slam the Board of Supervisors for being “the only government entity in the entire nation that has doubled down on defunding law enforcement. They have a hiring freeze on my department as I’m facing a huge deficit of personnel.”  

Sheriff Villanueva released a statement back in February claiming the enforcement of the mandates would start the process to fire an estimated 4,000 deputies for not being vaccinated. Sheriff Villanueva was criticizing the board for showing deliberate indifference to the impact on public safety their decision would have, in the name of public safety. Sheriff Villanueva also noted in his statement he was informed he did not have the authority to hire and fire his work force at the beginning of his tenure as Sheriff of LA County. Now it seems the supervisor board is claiming the opposite is true by passing the ordinance to remove that delegated authority from him. 

Sheriff Villanueva argued that since February of this year his department’s fully vaccinated members had tested positive at a rate of 3.46%. During the same period of time the unvaccinated members of his department tested positive at a rate of 3.83%. That’s only a .37% difference, which is within the margin of error by any metric of data collection.  

A search of the county Board of Supervisors revealed only one supervisor with any connection to law enforcement. Kathryn Barger of the Fifth District is married to a retired Sheriff’s Deputy and was the only on record supervisor to vote against the ordinance to remove the powers of Sheriff Villanueva from deciding how to enforce a mandate he clearly doesn’t believe in.  

Everything is bigger in Texas, unless you work for the Texas Department of Public Safety as a Trooper. A fight which started in 2019 over waistline requirements sparked a lawsuit by the Texas DPSOA (Department of Public Safety Officers Association), is back— front and center. The 2019 lawsuit was dismissed after there were no actual penalties administered against troopers who failed to meet the standards.  

Male troopers with waists over 40 inches and female troopers with waists over 35 inches will have to begin a “Fitness Improvement Plan” which is described as a “training initiative to assist in helping individuals attain and/or maintain physical fitness and command presence requirements.”  

According to The Dallas Morning News, 4,000 troopers were tested as of April, 2022. 213 troopers did not meet the waistline requirements— only two out of that 213 actually failed the physical fitness requirements. Let that sink in. 

Back in 2019 Dr. Tim Church, a scientist, who has researched the relationship between waist circumference and health provided the opinion, “the size of your waist does not reflect how physically capable you are or are not. Look at so many athletes they’ll have a large waist but be tremendously capable of doing physical things. If we’re talking about health, it’d be perfectly valid. But if we’re talking about the ability to do a job, absolutely not.”  

Department leaders insist that meeting the waistline requirements is necessary for troopers to have command presence when dealing with the general public. Troopers have until December 1st to meet the waistline requirements— or face the consequences of being denied for promotions, overtime pay, or even face the possibility of being removed from enforcement duties.  

The removal of troopers from enforcement duties will come as a heavy blow to the Texas DPS (Department of Public Safety). the Texas DPS has not only been struggling with recruitment but also with enforcement actions since the implementation of “Operation Lone Star.” With Operation Lone Star, Texas Governor Greg Abbott moved 1,000 DPS personnel to the Texas Mexico border. As of March 04, 2022 Governor Abbott’s website claims the Texas Department of Public Safety along with multiple agencies has recorded an estimated 208,000 migrant apprehensions, along with more than 11,800 criminal charges, including 9,300 felony charges. Governor Abbott also credits the Texas Department of Public Safety with seizing over 269 million lethal doses of fentanyl across the state.  

With numbers like that it’s hard to understand how less troopers conducting enforcement duties would be a good thing for the citizens of Texas. 

Fitness standards are nothing new in the law enforcement profession. 3,998 out of 4,000 Texas DPS troopers demonstrated they are more than capable of meeting the physical standard. What about the 211 troopers that failed the waist measurement while still passing the physical fitness standards? Do you think waistlines matter? Or do you think that at the end of the day all you want is someone physically capable of doing the job they are sworn to do? Let us know in the comments below. 

The links below contain one Texas DPS troopers Fitness Improvement Plan and the other link is an update provided by Governor Greg Abbott about Operation Lone Star. 

https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-dps-texas-national-guard-mark-one-year-anniversary-of-operation-lone-star

Moving to a better agency is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. As someone currently in the process of changing agencies, I have heard the positives and negatives of leaving for “greener pastures.” Some will say that you must move on and leave poor leadership behind. Street Cop Training and I are firmly in that camp. Others believe that agencies do not like seeing an officer move around, showing a problem with the officer. They only look at it at face value and offer nothing of substance. They are likely happy with where they are or have chosen to stay out of fear of the unknown.

The message is clear. If you are unhappy, leave. Find something better. When you apply, be honest. Articulate why you are going. When you leave, be professional. Do not cause drama out the door.

Find a Better Agency – Finding a better agency is easier said than done. There is no cookie-cutter solution to this problem, and it is one each officer must address on their own. What I do is make a pro-con list. I write down what I do not like about where I am and list the positives. Going from that, I would start my research about other agencies. I called them and asked to speak with recruiters, someone in admin, or a supervisor. You can get an idea of what the agency has to offer, or at least what you hear from biased sources. When possible, ask to do a ride-along. Please go out and hit the streets with someone and ask them the questions that are important to you. Talk to as many people as you can. Research the area, and go on social media. See what people think of the law enforcement in that community. Use all that information and compile a pro-con list for the prospective agency. If it feels good, apply for the agency. Once you apply and go through the process, you will find more information, especially during the interview.

Something to consider is that pay isn’t everything. I’d instead take a pay cut and work for a place that supports its officers. (You will be a happier person as a result.) When in the interview, ask why the position is available. Did people promote to other jobs, retire, or go to another agency? In my case, the agency I found had several officers get promoted after officers retired. In law enforcement, we call that a clue.

Be Honest – What I have found out through my experience is that the myth of “You won’t get hired if you don’t have longevity at the same place” needs to go out with the dinosaurs. I will concede that it is partially true. If you bounce around and don’t articulate why, you are probably the problem and not the agencies you keep fleeing. Think of the old saying, “If you meet an asshole in the morning, you met an asshole. If you meet assholes all day, then you are the asshole.”

Explain to the prospective agency why you want to leave where you are. Just be professional and leave the dirt slinging for a wet down after being hired. Tell them that your cons are from your pro-con list. In my situation, It was a lack of training opportunities, inconsistent leadership, and a lack of forward-thinking in decisions. I went into better detail but did not bad mouth the agency. I made it clear I was unhappy and why. Cops respect honesty. It also allows you to see how they react. As I described my reasons for seeking employment elsewhere, they expressed concern about my situation. They did what they could to absolve any worry I may have about coming over to work with them. Remember, during the interview, you are interviewing them too. You already have a job. They are trying out for you as much as you care for them.

Leave Professionally – I know we all want that sweet, sweet exit story. Give the finger to admin, tell people exactly how you feel, and have a mic-drop moment. That may feel good at the moment, but it will bite you on your ass later. Luckily I can say this NOT from personal experience but by seeing others make this mistake. I knew someone that had their beautiful exit. It trailed him to another agency. Cops love to talk, especially about other cops. We gossip more than the Harper Valley PTA. Wouldn’t you rather have a reputation of being a professional over a loudmouth? He lost a lot of trust running his mouth on how he did on his exit. Some of his new coworkers happened to be friends with some of the people he unleashed on. So when you leave, leave respectfully.

The goal here is to make sure people understand that leaving is okay. It’s okay to want to better yourself, be better in your career, and be happier. Do not stay where you are not satisfied just because it is easier. It is a pain in the ass moving to another agency, time-consuming, and it is like starting over again for the most part. It’s better to make moves than to stay stationary. Yourself, your family, and your career will thank you. Put value in yourself and go where you are wanted, not where you are needed.

Policing is stressful. I know that I am preaching to the choir, but at least I know the chorus is listening. We live and breathe the hyper-vigilance roller-coaster. We all experience it in our own ways, and all of us react to the dumps differently. It affects our minds and bodies. The adverse effects can lead us down an unfortunate dark path. Failed relationship after failed relationship. Anger, frustration, rage, depression, anxiety, loss of sleep, lack of energy and motivation. Some will eat themselves to death, some will drink themselves to death, and some will unfortunately place the barrel of a gun in their mouth. We know the symptoms. None of us want to end up that way, so take charge. We are cops. That is what we do.

Some law enforcement agencies tell you that if a burglar breaks into your home, you should dial 911 and barricade yourself in a room until law enforcement arrives. That is unless you live in Santa Rosa County Florida where you are instructed to shoot the burglar to save the taxpayers some money.  

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson whose Facebook page shared a 6-minute-long clip of Sheriff Johnson delivering an incident briefing about a Milton, Florida man who was arrested after a burglary spree on April 20^th in Pace, Florida.  

32-year-old Brandon Harris was caught by Santa Rosa County deputies after breaking into multiple residences in the afternoon hours. During one of the alleged break-ins, a homeowner fired multiple shots at Harris narrowly missing. Harris quickly ran from the residence, hopped a fence, and broke into another residence where he was cornered by deputies. He was subsequently arrested after jumping headfirst out of a window. Harris was booked on 7 new charges with a bond of $157,500. 

Sheriff Johnson addressed the homeowner who fired at Harris during the incident brief stating, “We don’t know what homeowner shot at him. I guess they think they did something wrong, which they did not. If somebody’s breaking into your house, you’re more than welcome to shoot them in Santa Rosa County, and we prefer that you do, actually. Whoever that was, you’re not in trouble. Come see us. We have a gun safety class we put on every other Saturday. If you take that, you’ll shoot a lot better, and hopefully, you’ll save taxpayers money.”  

When questioned Sheriff Johnson referred to Harris as “job security” and given Harris’ extensive criminal history, we can see why. According to Sheriff Johnson, the first contact Harris had with Santa Rosa County was when he was 13 years old. Sheriff Johnson stated Harris has been arrested an estimated 17 times since then with a 6-and-a-half-year prison sentence for home invasion.  

In a world of law enforcement leaders tiptoeing around topics involving criminals and their blatant disregard for the law, it really is interesting to see that some leaders are not backing down. Let us know what you think about Sheriff Johnson’s invitation to shoot burglars in his county in the comment section below.  

The full video of the press conference can be found on the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page or by following the link below.  

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4999213036780608

“Hey, so why did you want to be a cop?” A question we have all heard. People are curious about what makes us tick and why we would sign on. They want to see why we do what we do. There are many reasons why and each of them is our own. I am one of those people. As I get to know a sister or brother in blue (or Khaki), I ask them why they chose this profession. I find myself asking it more and more in recent times. We live in a time when no one wants to be a cop, so the ones that do, I want to know their reasons. I also ask the old-timers, the burnouts, admin, and retired cops. The answers are often the same; some are more honest than others.

I want to know why you became a cop. For those interested, I would like you to take some time and submit a 500-word or less article on what made you decide to become a law enforcement officer. Explain your process. Tell us what made you choose to be on team blue. The editor and chiefs here at Street Cop Training will select a few and publish them. Selected authors will be given a T-shirt from Street Cop Training and have the ability to share their stories with others. To start things off, I will tell you all why I became a law enforcement officer.

I became a cop because I wanted to be part of something bigger than I was. I have struggled in the past to find out who I am. I believe a lot of us go through that. I found out that I am the type of person who thrives in chaos. When others are in a panic, I am calm. I love solving problems. Above all, I love finding out the root of those problems and fixing them.

When I was younger, I wanted to be Indiana Jones. As it turns out, Archaeology has little to nothing to do with fighting Nazis and dating Karen Allen. My second option for a career was to be a cop. I was an explorer. I went on a ride-along. As soon as I was old enough, I became a security guard. Any training that was available to me I took. The fire and spark in the younger version of myself pushed me not to do anything but focus on my dream career. The local agencies got to know me pretty well. I had the patch collection to prove it too. I lived, breathed, ate, and slept being a cop—specifically a deputy sheriff.

I turned 20 and went to the academy. I joined a corrupt agency that would eventually lead to my sheriff being arrested and dying in jail. That left a bad taste in my mouth, so I quit. There was a period in my life when I couldn’t stand cops. I was not too fond of the idea of cops, and I thought it was a joke of a profession. I had a lot of hate and disappointment due to my bad experience. Yet anytime there was an officer-involved shooting that was justified went public, I defended the cop. When I would see people angry on social media in person and lashing out against the police, I would tell them they were wrong. I would explain ad nauseam why the cops do what they do to people that hated them. Looking back, I turned my back on myself, not the job. I was angry with myself for leaving.

I spent the next 15 years floating around and not knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up. It took a long time and a lot of failures for me to realize that I was fighting my nature. I needed to be a cop. So I went back to the academy at 38, and now I am back on team blue. I am part of something bigger than myself. I am thriving in the chaos. I gave up on all of that because of 1 man’s faults, which won’t happen again. I love this job.

When I was approached to write this article about being a LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) and a business owner, I started thinking about the similarities and realized both careers have a lot in common. More than most people might initially realize.            

I started my video production career at age 16. It all started at a Christian television ministry. Part of my job was operating a camera sometimes up to six-hours a day filming an internationally syndicated talk show. It required fast-paced work, quick thinking, problem solving, endurance, and team-working skills. 

Fast forward to 2013 when I started my own Production Company (Giddens & Co. Visuals). I soon realized people skills were the key to landing clients and maintaining good relationships. There were times I would be on a large film set knowing that thinking on my feet was a must at all times, while maintaining good people skills. 

In 2017 I attended Drury Law Enforcement Academy and I remember a teacher one day commenting, “If you own a business or are good with people, becoming a law enforcement officer will come naturally.” I found this to be very true. 

As many of you know, no one usually goes into law enforcement for the money. I remember making $13.80 at a local law enforcement department. The meager pay required me to continue building my own business. How did I manage that and LEO work as well as raising a family? Time management is key.

One way of doing that is prioritizing your client, answering emails, phone calls and all of the basic communication skills that are shared between working in law enforcement and owning a business. Making the client feel that their needs are important and you are excited about making their dreams become a reality. 

Once a month I double-checked my inventory list, updated my spreadsheets for gear rentals, touched base with my SEO/web designer, and even did follow ups with past clients to see if there is anything they need. Applying the skills that an LEO knows, like being consistent, honest, while customer-service focused and balanced in their thinking, apply equally to both careers.

Like everything else, there is always a flip side. Both careers are very demanding. They each require a human being to constantly retain a set of people skills, organization, and to an extent— keeping others happy. In other words: putting others before yourself. Many times there is the “uncooperative citizen” that acts as if you owe them the world. As it is your duty, to the best of your ability and morals, to do things that sometimes dont feel rewarding. The same goes with clients/customers. Most of the time those kinds of people are “the problem people“ who can’t communicate what they want correctly but you have to do your best to serve them and provide them with the best experience possible, because in the end people will notice one way or another; which can be the determining factor between success and failure. 

The way we talk to people as an LEO is the same. To understand the needs of others and find the best solution to resolve it, you can apply the same structure to your business, employees, and most importantly your clients. 

I leave you with a quote by one of our former presidents,

“I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.” 

― Abraham Lincoln