First he takes ... the oath. Now look at what else he takes: He takes ... it in stride when people call him pig. He takes ... his lousy pay check realizing he'll never be rich. He takes ... a second job sometimes to make ends meet and support his family. He takes ... time to stop and talk to children. He takes ... your verbal abuse while giving you a ticket you really deserved. He takes ... on creeps you would be afraid to even look at. He takes ... time away from his family to keep you safe. He takes ... your injured child to the hospital. He takes ... the late shift without complaint because it's his turn. He takes ... his life into his hands daily. He takes ... you home when your car breaks down. He takes ... time to explain why both your headlights have to work. He takes ... the job no one else wants -- telling you a loved one has died. He takes ... criminals to jail. He takes ... in sights that would make you cry. Sometimes he cries too, but he takes it anyway because someone has to. He takes ... memories to bed each night that you couldn't bear for even one day. He takes ... time to explain to his family why he can't make the ball game his child is in and why he has to work on the holiday when other parents are off. Sometimes ... he takes a bullet. And yes, occasionally ... he may take a free cup of coffee. If he is lucky ... he takes retirement. Then one day he pays for all he has taken ... and hopefully, God takes him. Written by Texas Police Officer Kendricks as a tribute to his late brother, Police Officer Rodney Kendricks who died from injuries suffered in an on-duty auto accident in Lubbock, Texas - July 2001. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Have you thanked a cop lately? Try it. When you see a cop in the supermarket, on the streets, getting dinner, or anywhere else. Try it. It will make the cop's day; it will certainly be a blessing to you also.
Mike, You have hit a very special spot with me and, probably my brother, Eric, as well. My father is a retired cop. 31 years on the police force. I bet you can't guess how many times he had to pull his gun in the line of duty. A big fat ZERO!!! He always had the ability to talk people out of doing something that they shouldn't be doing. If talking didn't work, the billy club would do the trick, but he never had to pull his weapon! When he retired, the police force lost a great trainer. He actually trained a friend of mine that I went to high school with. Small world. At his retirement party, I would guess that about 8 or 9 of the people that I talked to were people that he had actually arrested at one point or another. They had that much respect for the man and the way he handled people. You don't see that much these days. Several young cops only seem to want to pull their guns instead of talking things out. But, then again, society has changed, and, unfortunately, not for the better. I still would not want to do their job and have lots of respect for them. Incidentally, COP is an acronym for 'Constable On Patrtol'. Just in case anybody was curious.:TU: :TU: :TU:
I can't believe that's the first time I've heard that!ou: Mike (and Greg) - It's always refreshing to hear 'that' side of things about the men in blue!!:bglasses: It's gotta be a rather thankless job at times...too bad the 'bad apples' ruin the image of an otherwise noble profession!
That's great! Most of the cops around here are great. I thought that cop was short for copper which comes from Britain's police because they had copper buttons on their uniforms. I know that's where copper comes from, but I didn't know about the cop thing.
My Grandfather was a Cop in the Chicago area (Evanston Ill) from the mid 1920s till he retired 33 years later as a Lt. Thanks for posting that!
I got a lump in my throught reading this. It is all so true. When our father retired the force retired his badge along with him. Ony the second badge in the history of the force to be retired. The first belonged to an officer who died of a heart attack after wrestling with a druged out alcoholic loser. My hats off to all honest police officers and firemen also:TU:
When people asked me at my class reunion, "What is it that you are most proud of in the last ten years?", I had two things to tell them. 1. I am raising my daughter by myself, and have been since she was all of 6 months old. 2. I tell them about my father.:TU: Ah, crap. I'm tearing up again. I keep thinking about how close we came to losing Pop this spring.:ball: Not only is he a great father, he is one of the best friends I may ever have in my life.:ball: Sorry to sound like such a sap, but this hit really hard fo some reason.o No:
cops guys: i work for a cdn police service . our benefits are unbelievable! the pay is excellent. once u are promoted from a cadet to a constable (u have graduated from police college & completed your inhouse training & received your 40 cal s&w), u make over $50000 + benefits . now the psychological testing that want-to-be applicants endure, are very thorough & tough. most applicants cannot pass these tests . interviews are very involved and thought provoking . we attempt to weed out all the unacceptables that we can . policing today is nothing like it was even 10 years ago, let alone 30 years past . also, potential applicants must also pay for the tests/courses that are required prior to applying to be a police cadet . the only unfortunate result of these requirements, is there are no height nor weight restrictions, except those that fail u on a medical/physical exam . thus we have hired female officers 5 feet tall & weighing 100 lbs! they do not fare too well in a barroom brawl . they will usually backoff and call for backup - (big male cops), although we do have several female cops that u would not want to tangle with . by the way - the fact that it is almost impossible to own a handgun in canada, reduces firearm problems significantly! my opinion gerry 72 gs 350 ht #s
