Cops forced to choose duty over personal beliefs?

Question

I'm writing an essay on the conflict between a cop's duty and their personal beliefs. If you are/have been a cop/correctional officer please answer any or all of the following questions.

1. What situations may 'cause this conflict? (protecting KKK rallies, inmates)

2. What runs through your mind in these situations?

3. Do you have a choice to participate or not? Do you think you should have a choice? If you did have the choice, would you opt out of it or does your belief in your duty come before your other beliefs?

5. What is the atmosphere around the station like after such an event?

Also, if anyone knows any website where I can find more information on these topics I'd greatly appreciate it.

If you have something negative to say about cops, I don't wanna hear it. You'd be wasting your time and you need to evalute the role cops play in your safety. You hate that they exist because they're doing their job yet you complain when they can't come to your rescue.

Answer 1

the only difficult, or "sticky" situations i have encountered with law enforcement are as follows:
racial tension
religious beliefs and adversity
animosity/cinicism toward officers.

racial tension comes into play while working in situations such as; for example
a white officer shoots at a black male, due to the subject making a "furtive movement"...the officer was undoubtedly ensuring his own safety and the well-being of others, yet the family and friends of the subject claim "racial bias"....this happens often and can cause a great officer to lose thier career, fall to depression, and lose everything they have ever owned.....all because they were enforcing the law and saving some lives.

religion is a rough subject no matter where you work or what your situation...due to all of the different denominations and religions that work in law enforcement, we are forced to come in contact with people who hold opposite values of our own, for example...we hold a training/field day twice a year...before each of our meals, someone always holds a prayer. a few members of our team are athiest...and some are of different religous backgrounds, although they make no argument against the rest of us praying...they may feel left-out or uncomfortable. still we force our religion on no-one and we respect each others beliefs.

also, we are met with hate and animosity each and everyday simply because we wear uniforms. civilians do not notice the people who are behind the badges...they only see "cops"
this may be the reason so many criminals are quick to fire a weapon at us. people in this generation do not see law officers as people...they tend to view us as government "tools" unhuman in nature, and unrealistic in value. i believe
i speak for my comrades when i say ..please understand that we as officers are people also, people with families...people with feelings...people doing our jobs.
if this were not so, if we were merely entities of the state, we would not bust our butts in hours of training and risk our lives everyday for the small paycheck we earn.
did you know that many of law officers are working for lower-class wages, and even though our benifits are good...we still pay all of the same taxes..all of the co-pays..and at the end of the day we are just thankful to make it home alive.

we are never asked to place our personal beliefs on the "back burner", but we are required to believe that the job we do makes a difference...no matter how big or small....
in my department, many of us share the moto.."we work for God"....and i am proud that this is my job.

the next time you see a law officer...smile, and thank them..even in the smallest way.
we don't forget faces.

Answer 2

I was a civilian at a large PD in OH for 25 years and the one thing the department lets applicants know is, they CANNOT be a member of or be affiliated in any way with groups like the KKK and other organizations that are in conflict with their job. That also included civilians.

One woman I worked with (also a civilian) had been married years ago to a guy who was heavy into the KKK but she divorced him and didn't have contact with him even though they had a son together. She worked at the department for several years when her ex's name and picture showed up in the paper and when the dept found out he was her ex, she was called into I.A. and questioned about it. She had never been involved with the organization and he became more involved after they divorced, something she wasn't aware of until his picture hit the paper, so she was cleared and as far as I know, still works there.

You might want to talk with some officers in your area to see what the policy is in their department and get feedback from them about how they handle these events.

The officers I worked with always dreaded these things because without a doubt, someone would taunt someone and then the melee would begin. They were always so glad when they could move past the problems and get on with their job and not have to deal with the attitudes from the fanatics who love trouble of any kind.

Answer 3

"If you have something negative to say about cops, I don't wanna hear it. You'd be wasting your time and you need to evalute the role cops play in your safety. You hate that they exist because they're doing their job yet you complain when they can't come to your rescue."

Thats an obvious shot at ghettos. Not gonna go into it but it works like that thanks to a vicious never ending cycle. People don't help cops catch criminals (no snitch code). And cops therefore don't help those people when they need help. And the people hate the cops for it, and the cycle continues...

Also to get more to the core of your question, cops just like everyone face difficult decisions, maybe more often, but... I think you shud be able to find something yourself, u seem to have some good ideas already but i think to get the best and most accurate answers especially to questions like "2. What runs through your mind in these situations?" you shud talk to some cops in person I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

Answer 4

Cops aren't "forced" to do anything. Like anybody else, they're perfectly free to quit their jobs if it bothers them.