Back up

[biggesto]

Long story short... department recently hired two new officers in a way that nobody liked, they get special treatment in many ways from Chief and other issues involved in small department. In talking with a fellow officer on department, the other officer states that he would have trouble backing the other two up and would not take a bullet for them. The two new officers had no idea they were getting special treatment as they had never had any dealings with our department before. To me, it is not their fault but rather than are pawns in this whole game.

In my humble opinion, that statement of trouble with back up and not taking a bullet is greatly concerning. If this officer cannot back up a fellow officer, even if he does not get along with him, that makes me worried. What if I do something, even if I don't know it, and that officer is upset with me for the day? I don't feel I can trust this officer to back me up now. Not that I want to take a bullet for anybody, but it seems to me that was part of the oath I swore to protect without prejudice. My own feeling is that I would back up any officer at any time whether I liked them or not, whether they were on my own department or not. When it comes down to it, I don't have to to think if I like that person, it jsut has to be part of the position.

Am I being too naive and idealistic? Really need to hear from other officers, especially ones with some years on.

[BravoShiftSlug]

No matter how much I hate another officer, I still like him/her a helluva' lot more than any sh** bag. If you don't back up another cop you're a piece of sh**. Let them respond to that officers house and tell his wife her husbands dead because I didn't feel like backing him up. sorry, but I take this sort of thing very seriously. You need to have a talk with this guy.

[Blackdog F4i]

Sounds like that "officer" may be in the wrong profession.

I can look at things from two sides of the coin. I was in the Corps for awhile. My platoon was a "special unit" so we were pretty close. We lived together, drank together, and endured pain together. We were about as close to a family as you could get without blood ties. Even so there was one guy I absolutely hated. I couldn't stand to talk to him, it even came down to a couple fist fights (yes we were young and dumb). Even will all that bad blood, I would not have hesitated to stand until the end with him. He was a pain in the ***, but he was still my brother.

Now being an officer is more of a "job" to me. I work my shift and go home. I don't hang out at the FOP. I don't party with other officers. I have a working relationship with them. I devote almost all of my free time to my family. Still there isn't a single officer I work with that I wouldn't fight to the death to protect if that is what it required.

It has more to do with who I am, and what I believe than the oath I took.

If these are rookies then it isn't their fault. You can't judge them by what the administration does. It would be totally unfair to them.