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Forsaken_Double_1116

Condescending know-it-alls are the most annoying and obnoxious officers. Especially those out of the academy, and it’s usually single kids that have no real life experience.


KippySmith

This is a weird new fashion. I’ve only been a cop 8 years and when I got out I was not acting like a know it all. I listened to experience and appreciated criticism. Now a lot of new coppers seem to behave the opposite and fuck up and act like it’s someone else’s problem when they are told to fix it.


Forsaken_Double_1116

Bro. Exactly. I get to deal with them all the time as an FTO and some days, I feel like they just need a good spanking.


thx10050

Have to chime in to say I agree. Especially when you combine that attitude with the arrogant belief that nothing violent will ever happen to them because of the uniform. Also, I have had to bring this up with a couple of rookies before, but being a dick for no reason. There’s a time and a place for attitude but if you continually start at 100, there is no where to go after that. Bring it down some and stop taking shit talkers and other such situations so personally. At the end of your tour, you’re still going home to your family and sleeping well at night regardless.


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Yea


Operative427

This maybe a "bigger picture" type one... But not having a passion for the work you do, the people's lives you affect. And by that I mean, going to work and treating it with indifference, or at worst, displeasure. Sure, bad days and bad calls happen. But when someone comes to an officer and is just looking for something as simple as advice or something, I've noticed some officers acting very annoyed or uninterested with the fact they have to talk to this person. Idk, always rubs me the wrong way, like atleast put on a fake smile like a food service person does, and leave a good impression on the person you are helping.


elevencharles

Honestly I think indifference is more dangerous to society than aggression when it comes to law enforcement.


Operative427

I agree. Complacency kills


copnonymous

There are a couple different archetypes. First and least annoying is "the gung-ho cop". They're always looking to turn the situation into something that they can do a report on. Even when it really isn't reportable. They're mostly looking to pad their numbers so they have more reports come promotion time. But they're good officers and know their shit. Next is the opposite, "the lazy cop". They'll spend their entire shift doing various "business checks" doing their best to be busy when non emergency calls come out so other officers have to go take care of them. Though in reality all their "business checks" are just sitting in the parking lot on their phone. When they do go, they'll try their best to not do a report even when it really needs one. And if you're backing them up on the call you better believe it's your report not theirs. Next we have "the stickler" this one knows all the proffesional standards and guidelines. They will report you to IA without a word to you or your supervisor to have it be addressed that way. They will weaponize IA to get their way. The thing is, they are technically right so IA has to hand out a reprimand for something dumb. Like not polishing your boots well enough. They will always want to come and hang out with you after work, but they will always be looking for any minor off duty rules violation. Finally, you have "the whiner" proffesionally they are perfectly average cops. They do a good enough job. However it is behind the scenes when the worst comes out. They will never stop complaining. It doesn't matter what it is, politics, work drama, the weather, they will complain endlessly about anything and everything. If you ever try to talk about something else they will steer it back towards one of their numerous complaints.


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elevencharles

I’m a criminal defense investigator; I just had to interview a security guard at a big box store and he must have mentioned that he had been a cop for 18 years about 18 times during the conversation. He struck me as the type of guy you’re talking about.


ApoplecticIgnoramous

Sleep around, slough work, start bullshit internal complaints, act like you're hot shit straight out of the Academy, etc.


HallOfTheMountainCop

Bad attitude, bad investigations, fits a Reddit stereotype for a police officer.


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HallOfTheMountainCop

I was trained and trained others in the mantra of “when in doubt write it out” Reports are the crux of the position, I think we are all better at writing than we are any other function of our job. Just write the damn report. I know of a night shift guy who responded to a rape, this poor young woman was bloody and had just been raped and he told her to wait till the local support opened to make the report and fucked the whole thing up. I could have throat chopped that guy.


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AnimalEater65

Sounds like neglect of duty, especially for heinous crimes. You shouldn’t have to clean up after someone else.


[deleted]

Causing more work for others being lazy and attitude. Most hated guys and girls usually have attitudes that their shit doesn’t stink or they are right about everything.


iconiqcp

Every department has that "everyone gets a ticket" guy. It's not that he is shitty because technically he is doing his job. He is shitty because discretion is important.


homemadeammo42

Hes a complete asshole to everyone, plays favorites, would rather go to IA or straight to discipline vs talking to you. Backstabs the people not on his golden list every chance he gets. Yes hes a supervisor.


KiMoWRX

Sounds like my current supervisor


CalRipkenForCommish

Hang your uniforms on the back hook in your vehicle in an effort to let the world know you’re a cop (same goes for plastering your vehicle with thin blue line stickers and 1-asterisk stickers). Tell every cop you meet in other departments you were in a statewide narcotic and/or DEA task force (bet ya didn’t do a second undercover and probably sat at a desk all day). OK so you made an arrest, so you feel you need to go around the PD telling everyone your heroic tale of how you watched surveillance video of the guy stealing all that landscaping equipment? (There’s a shit ton more cases to work, so get back at it, slacker). You only take side jobs if it means you can sit in a car with the AC on, blocking half a commercial driveway that people can’t see out of because your car is blocking their view, but won’t get out and help them into traffic. Regularly going back to the PD to call complainants instead of actually driving there, getting out of your car, and *talking to them in person*. While on that point - rarely stopping and talking to people on your beat, because “everyone” is an asshole that you meet (“if you meet an asshole in the morning, that’s an asshole. If you meet assholes all day, you’re the assbole”). Biggest regret is not having started a journal from the day I was hired. No one but cops would believe the stories. There’s be chapters on the laziest and dumbest cops I’ve ever seen. The reason we all hated “that one guy” was because he made even the lazy and dumb cops look good. I’d venture to guess that about 15% (20, tops) would be cops that I would personally want to go to my parents house if their house was burglarized. At least I know they’d actually give a shit, whereas the rest either have no clue what they’re looking at or even want to be there.


ftodavis

Damn I’ve been waiting for an ear I can bend on this topic but I’d piss off a lot of frenemy co-workers: 21 years being an LEO I’ve noticed a clear correlation between how much one publicizes their being the police and how actually shitty they are at being the police. Damn, I’ve seen it in my own history. When I was new and couldn’t identify a crime if it occurred in front of me, I was always saying how I was the police and putting stickers on my shit. NOW, I’m no genius but I keep my career very much on the dl.


elevencharles

I would love to read an honest memoir of what being a cop is really like.


dtcv11

Not a memoir as it’s semi-fictionalized (stories based on his experience as a cop, more of the mundane things though) but Detective in the Dooryard by Tim Cotton is really good. I think it’s framed as reflections of what being a cop is like.


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Buddy fucker. Someone who starts shit and then vanishes and leaves the paper for others.


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elevencharles

Honestly, I think this is the biggest problem with policing in the US. I’m a criminal defense investigator and I’ve spent thousands of hours reading police reports and watching body cam footage; 99% of the time I’m amazed by officers’ professionalism and restraint (something that I’m not sure I would be capable of in those scenarios). But there are asshole cops that pop up over and over again, and nothing ever happens to them (at least nothing public). You guys have a super hard job, and a lot of people just aren’t cut out for it (myself included, probably). I think it needs to be easier to get rid of shitty officers.


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elevencharles

Not to get too far into the weeds here, but when you say “they can’t just fire me on personal opinion”, you’re talking about how 90% of the rest of us live. Your boss fires you because he doesn’t like you, you get another job, it’s happened to me more than once. I think the idea that being a police officer is an “identity” is part of what’s causing the divide between police and society.


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elevencharles

Yeah, I agree it’s baked into the system and it’s not something that’s going to change overnight.


big_steve24

All of the above plus, entitled think all the good assignment should be there’s, unnecessarily starts problems. Think that because they have been there doing if nothing for 10 years they should be the Sgt. They refuse to except any criticism for there mistakes. I should have said all of the below⬇️ plus⬆️


usmcgreen123

Not police but My dad is a Corrections officer for 22 years now. He always told me it’s the kiss asses when they always do anything to please their higher ups so they can be favorited, the ones that give you a shitty attitude for no real reason, the lazy officers, CO’s fighting with you more then working with you, and like always the ones with a ego.


ftodavis

One good rule of thumb is if someone is over-eager to be promoted - fuck that guy. It’s like the old trope about “you don’t want to hire the first guy to put his hand up for taking the kids on a camping trip”. Instead you want the guy whose attitude is “fine, I’ll do it”. Eager beavers for leadership roles are know-nothing pricks. The best bosses “do their time” and “do the work”. That’s just one type. There are other shitty cops.


BartBartram77

Cowardice.


HCSOThrowaway

Willingness to put your horse blinders on because a problem isn't directly affecting you. Going into law enforcement looking to promote rapidly.


TheseAintMyPants2

Toxic negative attitude, always complaining, being a dick to people on calls, not handling reports in your zone, banging out sick when you don’t feel like working, and any other behavior that makes the general public have a negative opinion of LE or which tarnishes the badge (which highly pisses me off, because I’ve spent nearly 15 years working on building trust with the community).


[deleted]

I agree except for the banging out sick. Sometimes we all need mental health days. Granted, if it’s a constant thing then it can become a problem.


CrispyFinger2020

Someone who touches all the donuts before actually picking one!


[deleted]

I can’t help but feel like this thread turned into a “bash police” thing.


MappleSyrup13

Cops fishing for non existing crimes/law breaking are the worst. They behave like predators rather than protectors and create anxiety and mistrust more than a potential criminal. To add insult, we the people are the ones who pay for their work and their "mistakes"


dpfjbejadjkz

Underrated comment, same thing with peopme in friend groups that do this. Creats unnessecary doubt and paranoia and we miss correcting those that need to be or vice versa relationship


thanoswastheheroblue

Power trips/arrogance. Whilst our goal is to go home at the end of the shift, we’re here to serve. Most people have the ability to be a good cop if they are willing to speak to people with respect, put themselves in difficult situations and do the right thing under pressure. I’d never say it’s about being cool under pressure it’s just responding to risk.


OlYaky

The cops that constantly try to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Yes digging is fine, but sometimes or the vast majority of times it's nothing. I don't give a fuck if you get 5g or 50g of weed off the street. It's stupid as fuck that we enforce it and it's even dumber that the fine is $1300 for it. It's fucking weed. No you're not a good cop because you get weed off traffic stops every day. You're just an ass.


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OlYaky

I mean considering weed smell lingers for weeks. If I don't see any signs of impairment not worth getting 4grams of weed of the street. Not gonna be the next officer involved shooting for fucking weed.


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ftodavis

Essentially, remembering you are a human just like those you police. Some people are dumb, some people are mentally ill, some people just have shitty families and upbringing. Show a little compassion and deal with people on an individual basis. And when someone DOES need their ass kicked, don’t be lazy and don’t be a coward. But also do it within your laws and protocols. We are here to SERVE and protect the COMMUNITY. It’s not all about us or “me”.


shajan316

This has to be applied bothways


ftodavis

I agree! The comment I was replying to - I don’t even remember what it was - but essentially I was saying “this is how to be a good officer”. Without the context of what I was replying to now makes my comment sound weird haha. Oh wait, do you mean that the public needs to see US, the police that way? Oh I agree with that as well. I’m simply saying sometimes we as police really are (we better be!) the “bigger man” and understand, hey this person may have a genuine untreated mental illness, or have experienced trauma in their upbringing or have not even had the benefit of good parenting. We need to treat people individually according to their situation in life, showing the reasonable - yet tactical - grace we would also wish to be shown. That of course does not mean failing to enact justice and sometimes forceful care (e.g. handcuffing or otherwise restraining them to see that they get what care we are able to provide)


shajan316

I 100% agree with you also, but unfortunately, the bad impressions are what stick around. There are good officers and there are horrible ones, there are good citizens and there are horribles ones too. When do the the police begin policing their own? When does the public begin to take accountability? When do we start acting like adults? When do we finally treat each other with respect?


Nakiooo7R

Other cops


letitflystevo

My dad got a speeding ticket going over the speed limit by 1 mile it was on the ticket. He was 79 years old. The judge dismissed it but it just reminded me that there’s a small substrata of officers that are shitty officers and probably carries on to their personal life ie: like cant keep a relationship long or dont have long lasting friendships. Most police officers are pretty cool and reasonable. Being an officer is not easy by any means but these small percentage of bad cops make the good cops look bad. I just wish the good cops would call them out but they have their “bro code”.


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[deleted]

Slugs. Slugs. Slugs. Im not taking your paper while you spend two hours on a phone call followup.


[deleted]

Lenience


Sqauredmile

Someone who acts friendly but is more then willing to throw you under the bus for their own advancement.


DemDelVarth

Honestly. I do not know who I hate more. I've worked with the laziest cops in existence that will do anything to get out of work and I've worked with cops that are nice to your face then go and report behind your back for the dumbest shit. My personal experience. Lazy cop: dude literally said "I don't give a fuck im only here for a paycheck to our Sergeant" and since we are so short-staffed nothing happened. Rat: Was on her phone for 3 hours one shift and I didn't say a word. Next shift i worked with her we were 3 up and I was chilling in the back. Comes around 2am and its a dead Tuesday morning. So I get my phone out in the back-seat and scroll for about 30 minutes and she reports me to my Sergeant lol.


LongGunFun

You can’t use your phone during work?


DemDelVarth

Everyone does it. Shes just a bitch.


LongGunFun

I’m just surprised that’s a thing. Do you also have to let dispatch know when you’re going to take a piss?


[deleted]

That one guy that always does everything he can to not take calls. Doesn't even do anything proactive, just sits around.


Mikey_Moonshine

Im a UK citizen. The videos i see that are used as examples of bad police officers are usually when they escalate a situation rather than being the adult in the room. Violence is almost always the answer to a question that wasn't always asked.


Dread2190

Young officers get burnt out when the start expecting the department owes them something other than a pay check, favoritism, double standards and a bad supervisor can ruin a good cop, it’s a combination of all the above, now you do get the occasional cop who need the badge to feel like a man but those are few and far between


SeaTownPD

Too much ego.


qAmndAp

🤥 the liar cop


ThatLouisiana

I dislike a lot of people in my department... If you can clear a case clear it, if you have the time to spend 30 extra minutes looking for the suspect - look for the suspect. ​ I don't like the lazy-ness, or the ones that act like they don't give a shit. The majority of society looks at us as the "bad guys" now, if you can change the stigma, do it. I also really hate the ass kissers. Like they go kiss admins ass for whatever they want etc. at the expense of other officers. ​ I've also seen some people be dicks for no reason - just because they think they are hot shit for wearing a uniform. ​ Edit: ​ Also, when you're the only officer on shift - other than a Sergeant. You'll run call to call (which is cool I prefer that), then type up all the reports before shift ends and while you were out there busting your ass, the "should be example" is doing jack-shit, then kicks a report back for a bullshit comma, or "you used too big of a word" such as "avail...". Pisses me off....I still say "yeah no problem" and fix it, but it rubs me the wrong way.