PO Potatoes- The thoughts and musings of a crime fighting Potato

The biggest difference in how officers respond to trauma and death (IMO) is the culture of the department and the supervisors around them.  We all know most first responders and military have a dark sense of humor, sometimes almost to a point it is offensive to people who AREN'T in those same circles. My wife is one of those people who "get" the dark humor, but doesn't actually get it and that's OK.  She helps to keep me regulated in that regard. My first homicide victim was a 19 year old man who was gunned down leaving a corner store after having bought a bag of chips and a red pop of some sort.  I can remember as I was tasked with putting up tape I just stood there staring at this lifeless body wrapped up in a bicycle and leaned against the wall.  I can even remember hearing the shots from the district station.  The hearing of the shots and now seeing this life snuffed out was a weird concoction of sorts. While I didn't know this guy at all, and it was goin

Last year, 2018, more cops took their life than were killed in the line of duty.  2019 hasn't started off much better for Chicago or the US.  Just about every cop has been touched by suicide of a brother or sister in blue, myself included.  Even when it isn't someone we know, the sadness still dwells in our hearts, but we regroup and return to duty. Our veterans of our wars take their lives at an alarmingly high rate, roughly 22 per day.  But other than a push-up challenge and a few celebrities speaking out on it, its probably not on the forefront of most people's minds.  We've asked them to put themselves in horrific situations and circumstances and then forget their service outside of a few holidays. Most know it's rude to ask a service member if they have taken a life in war, and most people wouldn't ask that.  Most people would probably ask about what cool weaponry they used or their fallen brethren.  Most people know not to ask the sensitive questi

Sun Tzu said it is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war. Robert Peel, in his 7th of 9 Principles of Law Enforcement, wrote that "the police are the public and the public are the police".  Referring to that notion as having been a historic tradition of policing itself. The knights of England, and many other countries, were trained in war and worked in other pursuits during peace time. So what is, or what has become, modern day policing? Is it viral videos of entire departments dancing or doing the newest online trend?  Is it that sneaky video a citizen took as an officer does some sort of mundane task for another like tying a tie or helping change a tire?  Is it officers running their department's twitter or social media feeds to inform the citizenry of traffic incidents, crime, or other things?   Or is it more of what someone may deem as nefarious? Is it that officer not properly using the authority given to them by the peop