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| ObamaGate[s] The President, The Professor and the Cop |
On July 16, 2009 a Cambridge, Massachusetts police sergeant – according
to the President of the United States – “acted stupidly” when the sergeant
arrested a Harvard University professor for disorderly conduct. The
President, by his own admission didn’t “have all the facts.” Of course, to
the nation’s first black president, race was the big factor since the
professor was black and a personal friend to the President, and the police
sergeant was white.
To the everlasting consternation of President Obama; the professor, Henry
Louis Gates, Jr., and all the elitists who think they’re smarter than
everyone else, Police Sergeant James Crowley was a professional who
knew his job. Most importantly, Sergeant Crowley knew how to articulate
probable cause in a written report. Had he been the elitists’ stereotypical
“stupid” policeman, unable to articulate facts with the written word, he
would have been toast and no amount of [after the fact] explanations
would have saved him.
When I frequently make the point that a police career is “the best
education on earth,” I’m not exaggerating. As a police officer, you will
come into contact with people of all races and educational and economic
achievements. You’ll also learn that people are still people no matter
their race and what rung of the social ladder upon which they stand. With
all the benefits that come from education, wealth and power, rational
thought and actions are achievements separate and apart from any
amount of education, wealth and power. My own father had only a sixth
grade education and I regret that it took me as long as it did for me to
realize that he was the wisest man I’ve ever known. The elitist would
disagree with me vehemently on this point since the elitist is always
confident that he or she knows everything about anything. No amount of
verifiable facts or rational discourse will ever convince an elitist that he or
she is wrong about anything.
When you become a police officer, you’re going to arrest people under any
number of circumstances. While the odds that you’ll arrest a friend of the
President of the United States is statistically insignificant, you probably
will at some point face an arrest situation involving a person of importance
in the form of political influence. In November of 1990 and just three days
before a General Election, I knocked on the door of a house in search of a
man for whom I held an arrest warrant in my hand. I had previously
noted that the name of the defendant was the same as a long time sitting
Maryland State Senator. I assumed it was a coincidence since I knew the
Senator resided in a different neighborhood in the police district. When
the Senator, who just happened to be a black man, answered the door, I
thought to myself, “Oh, s---.”
As a police officer, I was prohibited by law to question the content of an
arrest warrant; after all, the warrant was issued by a judge, and my only
duty was to execute the arrest of the person named in the warrant. While
I recognized the Senator, he’d never met me, so, to him at that point, I
was just a uniformed police officer who happened to be a white man. How
do you think the Senator reacted when I told him I was there to arrest
him?
No… he did not call me a “racist police officer” as Professor Gates
referred to Sergeant Crowley. No… he did not grab a phone to call the
Police Commissioner as Professor Gates did. He was, in fact, a perfect
gentleman. While he displayed bewilderment at the entire situation, he
never once displayed any level of anger. I’d been a police officer for
twenty years at this time, and I simply believed this man when he told me
he had no idea why he was named in an arrest warrant. While the Senator
didn’t even mention the upcoming election in which he was running for
reelection, the timing of the warrant with the election certainly stuck in
my mind. How do you think I resolved this situation? Well, I stuck my
neck out by telling the Senator that I’d get back to him. I then conducted
an investigation that would prove the Senator was not only “not guilty” of
the crime charged – he was totally innocent with no probable cause ever
existing to charge him with the crime. If you want to read the entire
account of this incident and the events leading to issuance of the arrest
warrant, go here. Had I executed that arrest warrant, I think it’s safe to
say that the resulting media investigation and coverage would have been
very embarrassing to Baltimore’s police department and criminal court
system.
The Senator in my story was obviously not an elitist. Think about the
difference in behavior between my Maryland State Senator, and Sergeant
Crowley’s [distinguished] Harvard Professor and how their reactions to
cops doing what cops do affected the outcomes of the respective incidents.
The most important thing for you to learn from the incredibly poor
judgment displayed by a Harvard professor followed by even more poor
judgment from a President of the United States is that people sometimes
do indeed “act stupidly.” It is always unfortunate when people, as
Professor Gates and President Obama did in the Cambridge incident, inject
race and racial profiling into any incident where race is clearly not a
factor. But… if you’re going to pursue a police career, you’d better get
use to the reality that there are plenty of people who will allege racial bias
just because they’re predisposed to do so.
Racism is an insidious allegation, because no proof of racism need be
present to get the media, politicians and lawyers into high gear in pursuit
of ratings – career enhancement – and a payday respectively. Your only
defense against an allegation of racism will be the knowledge of your job
and your ability to articulate facts. As stressful as being called a racist
may be, you can always take comfort that, from time to time, a competent
police officer will remind all elitists, both black and white, that they too
are imperfect human beings.
to the President of the United States – “acted stupidly” when the sergeant
arrested a Harvard University professor for disorderly conduct. The
President, by his own admission didn’t “have all the facts.” Of course, to
the nation’s first black president, race was the big factor since the
professor was black and a personal friend to the President, and the police
sergeant was white.
To the everlasting consternation of President Obama; the professor, Henry
Louis Gates, Jr., and all the elitists who think they’re smarter than
everyone else, Police Sergeant James Crowley was a professional who
knew his job. Most importantly, Sergeant Crowley knew how to articulate
probable cause in a written report. Had he been the elitists’ stereotypical
“stupid” policeman, unable to articulate facts with the written word, he
would have been toast and no amount of [after the fact] explanations
would have saved him.
When I frequently make the point that a police career is “the best
education on earth,” I’m not exaggerating. As a police officer, you will
come into contact with people of all races and educational and economic
achievements. You’ll also learn that people are still people no matter
their race and what rung of the social ladder upon which they stand. With
all the benefits that come from education, wealth and power, rational
thought and actions are achievements separate and apart from any
amount of education, wealth and power. My own father had only a sixth
grade education and I regret that it took me as long as it did for me to
realize that he was the wisest man I’ve ever known. The elitist would
disagree with me vehemently on this point since the elitist is always
confident that he or she knows everything about anything. No amount of
verifiable facts or rational discourse will ever convince an elitist that he or
she is wrong about anything.
When you become a police officer, you’re going to arrest people under any
number of circumstances. While the odds that you’ll arrest a friend of the
President of the United States is statistically insignificant, you probably
will at some point face an arrest situation involving a person of importance
in the form of political influence. In November of 1990 and just three days
before a General Election, I knocked on the door of a house in search of a
man for whom I held an arrest warrant in my hand. I had previously
noted that the name of the defendant was the same as a long time sitting
Maryland State Senator. I assumed it was a coincidence since I knew the
Senator resided in a different neighborhood in the police district. When
the Senator, who just happened to be a black man, answered the door, I
thought to myself, “Oh, s---.”
As a police officer, I was prohibited by law to question the content of an
arrest warrant; after all, the warrant was issued by a judge, and my only
duty was to execute the arrest of the person named in the warrant. While
I recognized the Senator, he’d never met me, so, to him at that point, I
was just a uniformed police officer who happened to be a white man. How
do you think the Senator reacted when I told him I was there to arrest
him?
No… he did not call me a “racist police officer” as Professor Gates
referred to Sergeant Crowley. No… he did not grab a phone to call the
Police Commissioner as Professor Gates did. He was, in fact, a perfect
gentleman. While he displayed bewilderment at the entire situation, he
never once displayed any level of anger. I’d been a police officer for
twenty years at this time, and I simply believed this man when he told me
he had no idea why he was named in an arrest warrant. While the Senator
didn’t even mention the upcoming election in which he was running for
reelection, the timing of the warrant with the election certainly stuck in
my mind. How do you think I resolved this situation? Well, I stuck my
neck out by telling the Senator that I’d get back to him. I then conducted
an investigation that would prove the Senator was not only “not guilty” of
the crime charged – he was totally innocent with no probable cause ever
existing to charge him with the crime. If you want to read the entire
account of this incident and the events leading to issuance of the arrest
warrant, go here. Had I executed that arrest warrant, I think it’s safe to
say that the resulting media investigation and coverage would have been
very embarrassing to Baltimore’s police department and criminal court
system.
The Senator in my story was obviously not an elitist. Think about the
difference in behavior between my Maryland State Senator, and Sergeant
Crowley’s [distinguished] Harvard Professor and how their reactions to
cops doing what cops do affected the outcomes of the respective incidents.
The most important thing for you to learn from the incredibly poor
judgment displayed by a Harvard professor followed by even more poor
judgment from a President of the United States is that people sometimes
do indeed “act stupidly.” It is always unfortunate when people, as
Professor Gates and President Obama did in the Cambridge incident, inject
race and racial profiling into any incident where race is clearly not a
factor. But… if you’re going to pursue a police career, you’d better get
use to the reality that there are plenty of people who will allege racial bias
just because they’re predisposed to do so.
Racism is an insidious allegation, because no proof of racism need be
present to get the media, politicians and lawyers into high gear in pursuit
of ratings – career enhancement – and a payday respectively. Your only
defense against an allegation of racism will be the knowledge of your job
and your ability to articulate facts. As stressful as being called a racist
may be, you can always take comfort that, from time to time, a competent
police officer will remind all elitists, both black and white, that they too
are imperfect human beings.
For the edification of younger readers, W. C. Fields (1880-1946) was an
American vaudeville performer, comedian, movie and radio actor, and
genuinely larger-than-life genius of American humor. His persona, both in
real life and on screen, was a hard-drinking, paranoid everyman, involved
in an endless struggle to obtain peace and contentment in an unfair world.
In movies, he was henpecked, tormented by children, and gratuitously
attacked by dogs and all sorts of other animals. Among his natural
enemies were authority figures of all kinds, especially policemen, lawyers,
bankers, and dentists. He was constantly set-upon and pursued by
neighbors, in-laws, creditors, even complete strangers – all the while being
hysterically funny. The whole world conspired against him personally. In
real life, he was a legendary drinker, rounder, and reprobate. Fields was
one of my great heroes.
In one movie, he boards a passenger train, elegantly dressed and
immensely dignified, although of course without a ticket or any money. He
seats himself in a day coach and reads a newspaper which he has
purloined. Presently an important-looking man approaches, comparing the
seat number on his ticket with seat numbers on the coach. He concludes
that Fields is sitting in his seat, and addresses Fields in a polite but
supercilious way. Fields does not look up from his newspaper, but merely
motions the man away with a dismissive flip of the back of his hand, as if
shooing away a troublesome servant.
The man objects further, but makes no impression on Fields. The man
then draws himself up to his full height and tells Fields that he is
important and influential and that Fields doesn’t know with whom he is
dealing. He takes a business card from a small leather case and holds it
out to Fields, who takes the card and slips it into his breast pocket without
looking at it. Flustered, the stranger goes off to find the conductor.
In the next scene, the man returns with the conductor and points at Fields,
who is still placidly reading the newspaper. When the conductor addresses
Fields about the complaint, Fields removes the stranger’s business card
from his pocket and hands it to the conductor. Fields never looks at the
card or either of the men. The conductor is startled by the card, and snaps
to attention, apologizing for bothering Fields. Then, he manhandles the
stranger away, leaving Fields to his newspaper.
I never forgot Fields’ incredible panache. And, even as a boy, I knew that
Fields wrote these movie screenplays himself and that scenarios like this
were his version of wishful justice.
A good many years later I was a policeman in Seattle. I worked the street
in uniform for twenty years, mostly nights on Skid Road and in
Chinatown. I loved the area.
One evening I was working the Chinatown district prowler car alone. I got
a radio call to a Chinese restaurant for a dispute in which a party of people
was refusing to pay their dinner check. The complainant was the
restaurant owner. I knew the restaurant and the owner and everyone who
worked there.
I arrived promptly and went inside to see what was going on. The owner
was standing in the lobby talking with a group of six very well dressed
people. Everyone was waiting for me. The restaurant owner told me that
these people had ordered and consumed dinner and drinks (the place had a
liquor license), but were now refusing to pay the check.
I turned to the group of people. They were all quiet and dignified, but had
obviously been drinking. A man among them was their self-appointed
spokesman. He was wearing a business suit that probably cost as much as
my car. He told me that they had found their dinner unsatisfactory and
didn’t feel that they should have to pay for it. The restaurant owner said
that they had eaten most of the food and didn’t appear dissatisfied until
presented with the check.
I told the spokesman that the law, in the form of an old but still in-force
city ordinance entitled “defrauding an innkeeper,” was on the restaurant
owner’s side in this case. If they were dissatisfied, they should pay the
check and seek redress through civil means later. Paying the check would
get them out of the arena of criminal law and resolve the situation for the
evening, I said.
The spokesman looked at me the same way that the important stranger
had looked at W. C. Fields on the train. He was soft-spoken and patient
with me. I was obviously too unsophisticated to know my place. He asked
me if I knew who he was. I did not. He then took a business card from an
expensive-looking leather case and handed it to me.
But he had been drinking. He also assumed that because I was a policeman
I was dull-witted. Although I hadn’t learned much at the police academy, I
had the equivalent of a graduate school education on the street, studying
under some very smart old-time street cops. And, as a boy I had studied
under W. C. Fields.
I took the business card from him and, without looking at it, put it in one
of the pockets of my uniform shirt. The spokesman immediately objected
that I hadn’t looked at the card, which was of course precisely the straight
line I wanted. Is there anything on the card, I asked him, which said that
he wasn’t subject to the same laws that the rest of us were?
Everyone was looking at him. You could hear his thoughts grinding. Well,
no, he admitted. OK, I said, let’s get back to the issue at hand.
In short order, the group agreed to pay the check, just to avoid further
inconvenience. One of the men stepped over to the cash register to settle-
up. I waited until the deal was done. Meanwhile, the spokesman was
looking troubled. He approached me and said that he wanted his card back.
No, I told him. You gave it to me and I’m keeping it. He insisted, but I was
impassive and, I told him, not accustomed to having to repeat myself.
When the check was paid, they withdrew to the parking lot. I stuck around
and made small talk with the restaurant staff for a couple of minutes.
When I left the restaurant, they were gone.
I kept the card for years before finally discarding it. I cannot remember
now who the guy was or how important he might have been. Over the
years I arrested or cited quite a few people who professed their importance
and political influence. I always enjoyed the experience. Really
accomplished people don’t behave that way. Occasionally, one of these
“important” people would declare that they would have me fired. In the
morning, I would tell them. In the morning, you’ll be a big shot and get
me fired. But tonight, we are going to do everything my way.
Some “important” people are polite and cooperative, but attempt to exploit
the influence of well-placed connections. They would say that if I just
called so-and-so, that person would vouch for them and offer to act on
their behalf. Great, I would tell them. Use this phone right here and get
them on the line. I’ll be delighted to speak with them. One guy I arrested
for drunk driving told me that the state attorney general would vouch for
him. I offered him the phone and he actually got the state attorney
general on the phone within maybe two minutes, and this was at about
three o’clock in the morning. They had a brief conversation in which my
prisoner did not say anything untrue. Then, he handed me the phone. It
was indeed the attorney general – I recognized his voice. He asked me a
couple of quick questions and then apologized for my trouble and ended by
telling me to “Book him. I’ll deal with him in the morning.” The
conversation concluded with the state attorney general thanking me for
making the arrest. The state attorney general at the time was an
intelligent and dignified public official and a skillful politician. I did not
include the phone call in my arrest report, which I could have if I so chose.
I could continue with other examples, but you take the point. When
someone tells you they are important, always go down that road with them.
It’s fun, and you can include the conversation verbatim in an official
report which is technically a public document.
Sometimes, if the fix is in, they win. But you’ve got to pick your battles,
and most of the time they talk their way into more trouble.
American vaudeville performer, comedian, movie and radio actor, and
genuinely larger-than-life genius of American humor. His persona, both in
real life and on screen, was a hard-drinking, paranoid everyman, involved
in an endless struggle to obtain peace and contentment in an unfair world.
In movies, he was henpecked, tormented by children, and gratuitously
attacked by dogs and all sorts of other animals. Among his natural
enemies were authority figures of all kinds, especially policemen, lawyers,
bankers, and dentists. He was constantly set-upon and pursued by
neighbors, in-laws, creditors, even complete strangers – all the while being
hysterically funny. The whole world conspired against him personally. In
real life, he was a legendary drinker, rounder, and reprobate. Fields was
one of my great heroes.
In one movie, he boards a passenger train, elegantly dressed and
immensely dignified, although of course without a ticket or any money. He
seats himself in a day coach and reads a newspaper which he has
purloined. Presently an important-looking man approaches, comparing the
seat number on his ticket with seat numbers on the coach. He concludes
that Fields is sitting in his seat, and addresses Fields in a polite but
supercilious way. Fields does not look up from his newspaper, but merely
motions the man away with a dismissive flip of the back of his hand, as if
shooing away a troublesome servant.
The man objects further, but makes no impression on Fields. The man
then draws himself up to his full height and tells Fields that he is
important and influential and that Fields doesn’t know with whom he is
dealing. He takes a business card from a small leather case and holds it
out to Fields, who takes the card and slips it into his breast pocket without
looking at it. Flustered, the stranger goes off to find the conductor.
In the next scene, the man returns with the conductor and points at Fields,
who is still placidly reading the newspaper. When the conductor addresses
Fields about the complaint, Fields removes the stranger’s business card
from his pocket and hands it to the conductor. Fields never looks at the
card or either of the men. The conductor is startled by the card, and snaps
to attention, apologizing for bothering Fields. Then, he manhandles the
stranger away, leaving Fields to his newspaper.
I never forgot Fields’ incredible panache. And, even as a boy, I knew that
Fields wrote these movie screenplays himself and that scenarios like this
were his version of wishful justice.
A good many years later I was a policeman in Seattle. I worked the street
in uniform for twenty years, mostly nights on Skid Road and in
Chinatown. I loved the area.
One evening I was working the Chinatown district prowler car alone. I got
a radio call to a Chinese restaurant for a dispute in which a party of people
was refusing to pay their dinner check. The complainant was the
restaurant owner. I knew the restaurant and the owner and everyone who
worked there.
I arrived promptly and went inside to see what was going on. The owner
was standing in the lobby talking with a group of six very well dressed
people. Everyone was waiting for me. The restaurant owner told me that
these people had ordered and consumed dinner and drinks (the place had a
liquor license), but were now refusing to pay the check.
I turned to the group of people. They were all quiet and dignified, but had
obviously been drinking. A man among them was their self-appointed
spokesman. He was wearing a business suit that probably cost as much as
my car. He told me that they had found their dinner unsatisfactory and
didn’t feel that they should have to pay for it. The restaurant owner said
that they had eaten most of the food and didn’t appear dissatisfied until
presented with the check.
I told the spokesman that the law, in the form of an old but still in-force
city ordinance entitled “defrauding an innkeeper,” was on the restaurant
owner’s side in this case. If they were dissatisfied, they should pay the
check and seek redress through civil means later. Paying the check would
get them out of the arena of criminal law and resolve the situation for the
evening, I said.
The spokesman looked at me the same way that the important stranger
had looked at W. C. Fields on the train. He was soft-spoken and patient
with me. I was obviously too unsophisticated to know my place. He asked
me if I knew who he was. I did not. He then took a business card from an
expensive-looking leather case and handed it to me.
But he had been drinking. He also assumed that because I was a policeman
I was dull-witted. Although I hadn’t learned much at the police academy, I
had the equivalent of a graduate school education on the street, studying
under some very smart old-time street cops. And, as a boy I had studied
under W. C. Fields.
I took the business card from him and, without looking at it, put it in one
of the pockets of my uniform shirt. The spokesman immediately objected
that I hadn’t looked at the card, which was of course precisely the straight
line I wanted. Is there anything on the card, I asked him, which said that
he wasn’t subject to the same laws that the rest of us were?
Everyone was looking at him. You could hear his thoughts grinding. Well,
no, he admitted. OK, I said, let’s get back to the issue at hand.
In short order, the group agreed to pay the check, just to avoid further
inconvenience. One of the men stepped over to the cash register to settle-
up. I waited until the deal was done. Meanwhile, the spokesman was
looking troubled. He approached me and said that he wanted his card back.
No, I told him. You gave it to me and I’m keeping it. He insisted, but I was
impassive and, I told him, not accustomed to having to repeat myself.
When the check was paid, they withdrew to the parking lot. I stuck around
and made small talk with the restaurant staff for a couple of minutes.
When I left the restaurant, they were gone.
I kept the card for years before finally discarding it. I cannot remember
now who the guy was or how important he might have been. Over the
years I arrested or cited quite a few people who professed their importance
and political influence. I always enjoyed the experience. Really
accomplished people don’t behave that way. Occasionally, one of these
“important” people would declare that they would have me fired. In the
morning, I would tell them. In the morning, you’ll be a big shot and get
me fired. But tonight, we are going to do everything my way.
Some “important” people are polite and cooperative, but attempt to exploit
the influence of well-placed connections. They would say that if I just
called so-and-so, that person would vouch for them and offer to act on
their behalf. Great, I would tell them. Use this phone right here and get
them on the line. I’ll be delighted to speak with them. One guy I arrested
for drunk driving told me that the state attorney general would vouch for
him. I offered him the phone and he actually got the state attorney
general on the phone within maybe two minutes, and this was at about
three o’clock in the morning. They had a brief conversation in which my
prisoner did not say anything untrue. Then, he handed me the phone. It
was indeed the attorney general – I recognized his voice. He asked me a
couple of quick questions and then apologized for my trouble and ended by
telling me to “Book him. I’ll deal with him in the morning.” The
conversation concluded with the state attorney general thanking me for
making the arrest. The state attorney general at the time was an
intelligent and dignified public official and a skillful politician. I did not
include the phone call in my arrest report, which I could have if I so chose.
I could continue with other examples, but you take the point. When
someone tells you they are important, always go down that road with them.
It’s fun, and you can include the conversation verbatim in an official
report which is technically a public document.
Sometimes, if the fix is in, they win. But you’ve got to pick your battles,
and most of the time they talk their way into more trouble.
Everything I Used to Know about
Police Work I Learned from W. C. Fields
by David Ziskin
Police Work I Learned from W. C. Fields
by David Ziskin
David Ziskin is a retired Seattle police officer and the Author of
The Real Police, a book I highly recommend. Reading David's
writing is always enjoyable as well as informative. The following
article is no exception, and it will give you experienced insight on how
to deal with the "important" people.
The Real Police, a book I highly recommend. Reading David's
writing is always enjoyable as well as informative. The following
article is no exception, and it will give you experienced insight on how
to deal with the "important" people.
| © David Ziskin, 2009 |
| More good advice from David - Look for the Monster |
| Article published Monday, July 27, 2009, at Fox News. No Apology for Sergeant Crowley? By John R. Lott, Jr. |
| Apologies and Apologizing |
If you’re paying any attention to anything these days, you know that American society, or at least parts of
it, has become enamored with apologies and apologizing. In the Cambridge incident, Professor Gates
immediately [demanded] an apology from Sergeant Crowley. I and most police officers were pleased with
Sergeant Crowley’s immediate response to the media’s frantic inquiry that no apology would be
forthcoming.
Try to put yourself in Sergeant Crowley’s predicament. Can you even begin to imagine the pressure on
Sergeant Crowley to apologize to a pal of the President of the United States? While the Cambridge police
department and others in the local political establishment deserve credit for promptly and publicly
supporting Sergeant Crowley, one can only imagine the behind the scenes pressure on Sergeant Crowley
to simply say, “I’m sorry.” The apologists’ way of doing things could let everyone move on and spare an
American president any further embarrassments for letting his mouth get ahead of the facts.
Sergeant Crowley could have taken the politically correct course; however, perhaps Sergeant Crowley
already realized what others come to realize to their detriment. A single politically correct apology is
rarely ever enough for a media driven cadre of politically correct apologists. Who knows how many others
would have demanded an apology from the embattled police sergeant?
Talk about embattled. Instead of letting the whole thing go to be forgotten in the next news cycle, the
President hosts a conflict resolution session for the professor and the cop on the lawn of the White House
with the Vice President in attendance. Again… can you imagine yourself in this setting? Normally, a
personal invitation to the White House by the President of the United States would provide a fond memory
for a lifetime. But… the only memory you’re going to have is sitting face to face with the President of the
United States and resisting the wishes of the most powerful man on the planet.
To Sergeant Crowley’s everlasting credit, he stayed true to himself, and he did not sacrifice his integrity
for political expediency. If there’s one overriding lesson that every police officer should learn from the
Cambridge event is this: While, as a police officer, you must always stay aware of the political landscape,
you are a police officer; you are not a politician. Politicians regularly sacrifice the truth for any number of
reasons, and they rarely suffer any long lasting or permanent consequences for playing around with the
facts of anything. That paradigm doesn’t work for a police officer. Staying true to facts and preserving
facts must always be a police officer’s top priority.
Should a Police Officer Ever Apologize to Anyone?
Sure! I apologized profusely to a young man after I kicked in his door and held him at gunpoint. It
seemed like the right thing to do since I’d kicked in the wrong door and subjected a totally innocent man
to a harrowing experience.
It’s really very easy to determine when you should offer a person some degree of apology. Even though
you’re acting in good faith, there will be times when initial observations and circumstances may lead you
to involve a person who may just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There will be times when your
conduct of an investigation may offend an innocent person. All you really have to do is put yourself in the
other person’s place. If you determine that, being in that person’s place, you’d deserve an apology, then
that’s what you should provide. An apology could simply consist of an explanation for your actions given
in a sincere tone conveying your regret for subjecting the person to inconvenience.
Even if you follow this advice, there will be times when your effort to assuage a person’s anxiety will not
be accepted or appreciated. Oh, well… that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Remember, anytime you
extend an apology to anyone for anything, you’re doing so to alleviate stress on yourself as well as the
other person.
During my career, I removed a lot of children from their homes to protect them from physical and sexual
child abuse. On one occasion, the child in question turned out to be an incredibly accomplished con artist.
Even though I came to realize that the child’s story was a complete fabrication, others who subsequently
became involved in the investigation simply couldn’t understand how a child could perpetrate such an
elaborate ruse. In other words, although the allegations of abuse were disproved, doubts still remained
with the social services end of the investigation. I decided that the child’s mother deserved an apology.
Fortunately, I had not yet arrested the mother, but that circumstance didn’t do a lot to diminish the
mother’s displeasure with me. She correctly pointed out to me, “You started the whole thing.” I left the
mother’s residence with no obvious appreciation for my apology, but I felt a lot better. I knew that at
some point she’d get some comfort from my apology since she’d be stuck with that kid for years to come.
The Forced Apology
This is one of the worst circumstances in which you, as a police officer, could find yourself. As uniquely
stressful as Sergeant Crowley’s apology odyssey was for him, he at least did not have to contend with the
apologies of others. If Sergeant Crowley had been a police officer in any number of other cities, the
mayor and police chief would have immediately extended their apologies to Professor Gates for their
stupid cop.
During your police career, there may well come a time when your bosses will expect you to extend an
apology for purely political reasons. If a legitimately real reason exists to justify your apology, apologize
and move on ignoring the political aspects to the apology. If you decide that no apology is justified, stand
on principle. However, should you decide to buck your establishment, your position must be justified by
facts – not just by your opinion.
An Imperfection in the Perfect Cop
You’re going to work with some police officers who are never wrong about anything. The word apology is
not in their lexicon, and they’re incapable of finding the word in a dictionary. If you’re a person who
suffers from this selective ignorance, you should indulge in some self-evaluation. If that doesn’t work,
perhaps you should re-evaluate your career choices. This is not a good character trait for a police officer,
because, as a police officer, you’re going to acquire a lot of power over others. If you’re not capable of
ever apologizing for anything, you lose an important element that can aid you in your ability to evaluate
how you exercise power.
it, has become enamored with apologies and apologizing. In the Cambridge incident, Professor Gates
immediately [demanded] an apology from Sergeant Crowley. I and most police officers were pleased with
Sergeant Crowley’s immediate response to the media’s frantic inquiry that no apology would be
forthcoming.
Try to put yourself in Sergeant Crowley’s predicament. Can you even begin to imagine the pressure on
Sergeant Crowley to apologize to a pal of the President of the United States? While the Cambridge police
department and others in the local political establishment deserve credit for promptly and publicly
supporting Sergeant Crowley, one can only imagine the behind the scenes pressure on Sergeant Crowley
to simply say, “I’m sorry.” The apologists’ way of doing things could let everyone move on and spare an
American president any further embarrassments for letting his mouth get ahead of the facts.
Sergeant Crowley could have taken the politically correct course; however, perhaps Sergeant Crowley
already realized what others come to realize to their detriment. A single politically correct apology is
rarely ever enough for a media driven cadre of politically correct apologists. Who knows how many others
would have demanded an apology from the embattled police sergeant?
Talk about embattled. Instead of letting the whole thing go to be forgotten in the next news cycle, the
President hosts a conflict resolution session for the professor and the cop on the lawn of the White House
with the Vice President in attendance. Again… can you imagine yourself in this setting? Normally, a
personal invitation to the White House by the President of the United States would provide a fond memory
for a lifetime. But… the only memory you’re going to have is sitting face to face with the President of the
United States and resisting the wishes of the most powerful man on the planet.
To Sergeant Crowley’s everlasting credit, he stayed true to himself, and he did not sacrifice his integrity
for political expediency. If there’s one overriding lesson that every police officer should learn from the
Cambridge event is this: While, as a police officer, you must always stay aware of the political landscape,
you are a police officer; you are not a politician. Politicians regularly sacrifice the truth for any number of
reasons, and they rarely suffer any long lasting or permanent consequences for playing around with the
facts of anything. That paradigm doesn’t work for a police officer. Staying true to facts and preserving
facts must always be a police officer’s top priority.
Should a Police Officer Ever Apologize to Anyone?
Sure! I apologized profusely to a young man after I kicked in his door and held him at gunpoint. It
seemed like the right thing to do since I’d kicked in the wrong door and subjected a totally innocent man
to a harrowing experience.
It’s really very easy to determine when you should offer a person some degree of apology. Even though
you’re acting in good faith, there will be times when initial observations and circumstances may lead you
to involve a person who may just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There will be times when your
conduct of an investigation may offend an innocent person. All you really have to do is put yourself in the
other person’s place. If you determine that, being in that person’s place, you’d deserve an apology, then
that’s what you should provide. An apology could simply consist of an explanation for your actions given
in a sincere tone conveying your regret for subjecting the person to inconvenience.
Even if you follow this advice, there will be times when your effort to assuage a person’s anxiety will not
be accepted or appreciated. Oh, well… that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Remember, anytime you
extend an apology to anyone for anything, you’re doing so to alleviate stress on yourself as well as the
other person.
During my career, I removed a lot of children from their homes to protect them from physical and sexual
child abuse. On one occasion, the child in question turned out to be an incredibly accomplished con artist.
Even though I came to realize that the child’s story was a complete fabrication, others who subsequently
became involved in the investigation simply couldn’t understand how a child could perpetrate such an
elaborate ruse. In other words, although the allegations of abuse were disproved, doubts still remained
with the social services end of the investigation. I decided that the child’s mother deserved an apology.
Fortunately, I had not yet arrested the mother, but that circumstance didn’t do a lot to diminish the
mother’s displeasure with me. She correctly pointed out to me, “You started the whole thing.” I left the
mother’s residence with no obvious appreciation for my apology, but I felt a lot better. I knew that at
some point she’d get some comfort from my apology since she’d be stuck with that kid for years to come.
The Forced Apology
This is one of the worst circumstances in which you, as a police officer, could find yourself. As uniquely
stressful as Sergeant Crowley’s apology odyssey was for him, he at least did not have to contend with the
apologies of others. If Sergeant Crowley had been a police officer in any number of other cities, the
mayor and police chief would have immediately extended their apologies to Professor Gates for their
stupid cop.
During your police career, there may well come a time when your bosses will expect you to extend an
apology for purely political reasons. If a legitimately real reason exists to justify your apology, apologize
and move on ignoring the political aspects to the apology. If you decide that no apology is justified, stand
on principle. However, should you decide to buck your establishment, your position must be justified by
facts – not just by your opinion.
An Imperfection in the Perfect Cop
You’re going to work with some police officers who are never wrong about anything. The word apology is
not in their lexicon, and they’re incapable of finding the word in a dictionary. If you’re a person who
suffers from this selective ignorance, you should indulge in some self-evaluation. If that doesn’t work,
perhaps you should re-evaluate your career choices. This is not a good character trait for a police officer,
because, as a police officer, you’re going to acquire a lot of power over others. If you’re not capable of
ever apologizing for anything, you lose an important element that can aid you in your ability to evaluate
how you exercise power.