I honestly don't worry about HF being a cop that much. That is until reading other police blogs, paying attention to the news, and searching for other police related websites!!! There is so much negativity out there, and my eyes have kind of been opened up to those negative aspects of life as a law enforcement officer, or even as the wife of a law enforcement officer. I probably should stay away from the websites, blogs, and news sources that give me reason to panic, but it's also good to know what's out there. It saddens me that there is a seemingly large population of people that "hate" police. It's also sad that there may be officers that give people good reason to hate police. I can't hide from it all obviously, but I hope to compartmentalize all that and find ways to remain positive and enjoy my life as a cop's wife and the others that will become my family so to speak.
Having said all that, this is what made me panic this week. My husband already has a job with a department even though he's still in the academy. Once a week, an officer takes him to the shooting range for training. They want him to be "the best" in the academy to represent their department or whatever. There's a girl that they have started training as well, but it's obvious already that her heart is not in it at all. She shows up at the range wearing high heeled fashion boots over her skinny jeans and a cute furry jacket. Do you really need to get all dolled up when you are training at a shooting range? Anyway, it's the little things HF tells me. When they are cleaning guns she's pointing the gun at everyone's faces, not paying attention to what she's doing, not knowing how anything works, etc. But this is what kills me. On Thursday, she had an accidental discharge and HF is standing right next to her. She wouldn't take her finger of the trigger, and listen to the commands being shouted at her for safety's sake.
So this is one of the first things that have given me cause to feel panic, and he's not even graduated the academy yet. I'm not supposed to worry about my husband's safety when he's with his fellow "officers". This was the last thing I would've worried about until now. I would worry more if he were partnered up with this girl than I would with him going head first into some kind of active shooter situation, you know? So of course I was kind of freaking out for about a day. But I'm sort of over it now. I'm all for girls being cops and everything, but this seems more like Barbie trying to prove something and not doing a very good job of it. I also understand that it takes practice and experience, but something tells me that that's not always good enough. Is this someone I want watching HF's back in any given situation? Not so far. Now I pray that my husband makes it through the academy alive because of the potential dunces he's surrounded by. And only time will tell. She more than likely won't make it all the way, or she'll smarten up and figure things out. But seriously, he could've gotten shot by this girl by accident the other day.
If this is causing me to need oxygen? I'm in for it, huh.
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8 comments:
Wow--an AD while at the training academy where recruits are immersed in gun safety? I think she would have been immediately dismissed from my training class if that had happened.
It is has been my experience that folks like that will usually do more goofy things and get themselves fired before actually making it past the probationary period.
I hope your husband continues to do well with his training.
Hey, thanks for your comment at my blog. I'm in a rush right now but I wanted to say I read through a few of your posts and it brings back so many memories!! We went through some of the same stuff when my husband was in the academy. For us, it did get better when he was actually on the job. I'll be back later!
Let us know the results about the female recruit.
Oh wait, she's not a recruit is she? Surely the department isn't allowing someone to show up in high heeled boots and a furry jacket? Is she someone's wife or girlfriend maybe? Perhaps some chick who wants to be a reservist and they're kinda "playing along" because someone wants some?
If not, I would certainly be concerned about a department that doesn't put a stop to her unsafe firearm practice immediately. Ot at least her "firearms instructor".
So to make a short story longer... keep us in the loop on this.
MeadowLark-
She's not a recruit. The word on the street is that she approached the chief and he supposedly said that he would hold a reserve spot if she put herself through the academy. The department is a little bit of the good ole boys club, and they need more females to diversify the department. It seems like it's more of that then she's some promising recruit. My husband has worked for this department as a dispatcher for a few years and the female officers are outstanding.
Of course, the chief is also having her go shooting with the department along with hubby once a week so that she does well in the academy as well. She dresses appropriately for the academy, but it's like she's going on a date when she shows up at the range.
Word is also that she's pretty hot, but hopefully that's not why she's being potentially hired. The chief is always looking for more females that want to work there.
I always forget that some states you go to the academy, then you get hired and some states you have to get hired then you go to the academy. And come to think of it, some states you can be a reservist without an academy although sometimes they have an "in-house" academy.
Whew! Long winded... anyway, hopefully someone in the department will take notice and correct that clothing issue before it becomes a problem.
I totally hate that crap. Of course, I was a Marine so I have different expectations of women, but if you want to make a department unhappy, have a bimbo start working there. I've seen it tear places apart. The other female officers will hopefully correct her actions.
Thanks for the clarification.
Peace out!
Every dept. has 'em. Neither sex, nor religion, nor creed, nor orientation has anything to do with it. Some cops are just idiots. Unfortunate, but true.
The cure is to train harder than they do and realize that by in large, the majority of us aren't complete morons.
That help? :)
If she's as bad as all that, she'll wash. Of course, there are idiots who make it through the hiring process, training, and probation, but the system is designed to exclude them and it usually works.
Just wanted to comment on the negativity, because I was so struck by that myself when we first started out. I've found that deciding I'm not going to buy into the discouragement works quite well for us. People love to throw divorce statistics and burnout rates in your face, but that doesn't have to apply to you and your situation. My hubs loves his job and I love seeing him happy; we're doing better than before and we both think it's a great thing. So don't listen to everyone that tries to freak you out; as long as you understand the commitments and approach them with a balanced perspective, that is what counts.
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