Angel's that watch over us.

First let me say I'm sorry you had a negative or frustrating experience when you called 911. With regard to you allegation that the police care more about themselves and each other than the public I must stop you right there. Our police officers can lend you or no other citizen absolutely no aide whatsosever if they themselves do not keep eachother safe first and get to you in once piece. If they didn't care about the citizens of this community, they wouldn't be doing this job, because it certainly isn't for the money, fame or gratitude. These men and women deal with the nasty side of society 24 hours a day so you can stay safe. So the next time you see an officer, maybe, just maybe, say thank you for be willing to die for me.

Let me tell you about the police officers that I know, The officers I know all have families at home, they give up time with those families to make the world safe for my daughter. The officers I know give up something most precious, peaceful sleep, cause after a while, most officers won't have any more of these, so that my daughter and I can rest peacefully in our beds at night. The officers I know give up weekends and holidays to patrol the street, so those people who can't seem to get along with others in society don't ruin my every holiday, my every weekend. The cars they drive, the uniforms they wear, the weapons they carry all clearly define them as police officers, I for one KNOW, and have always known that they carry weapons and are trained and prepared to use them. You cannot say the same about criminals, They dress like civilians, they act like civilians, and you never know who will be the one person who has a gun, and a grudge. Since the officers I know are willing to put themselves between Me and danger, Since they are willing to be the "first" to step in when there is a fight, a shooting, an accident, a fire, a mentally unstable person with a gun, or any other thing that comes along during a SINGLE shift, I don't mind putting their safety first, because after all it's the least that I can do to get them home at night. From experience I can tell you most people don't even know their own addresses, most people will not cooperate with the police and answer such questions as "have you seen a weapon?", " Can you tell me what your husband looks like?" , "Is their an epo or dvo in effect?" All questions that anyone in such a situation can usually answer, but they refuse, only wanting a police officer out there to help them. Yet, Isn't it dangerous for everyone if a police officer doesn't have the full details, isn't it dangerous if we are walking in on a domestic where someone has just been shot and the person who just shot someone they love more than anyone else in the world, is walking out the door? We do think of public safety, after all it is the reason we all come to work everyday, But if we don't think of officer safety, who will? I, for one, will always ask the questions and try to get as much information as I can. At least when I have someone who will answer the questions, it might make up for the 45 previous runs I've sent them on where the person would only give an address. Or the 45 previous runs where the person thought it was acceptable to call 911 and hang up for a barking dog. So, I must say, No, there are no politics going on here. And I don't know an officer who doesn't put "public safety" above their own, perhaps once in a while the public should put human safety above their own and cooperate fully with the police so they can respond with all the details. It sure would be a nice change.

Thanks for your support and I am sorry you feel you had a hard time with a calltaker regarding a fight. I am an officer, have been one for over 15 years. I take your the wellbeing of all officers and the public very seriously, for if I didn't why do this job. The calltakers and dispatch get as much information as possible so we, as officers, can make the run safe for everyone involved. The more information they give us the better prepaired we are to handle the call. Do they get short, I am sure they do. Do you get short with anyone are work or who you deal with, if not you are one of a few. Think about what they are trying to do, get as much information as possible from someone who wants the police there ASAP or sooner. If they don't get all the information the problem can become worse upon the officer's arrival as they are our voice and ears when the call comes into the department. You say the police should think more of the public saftey. If there is a violent situation the fire department and/or EMS will wait until the police have it secured prior to going in and taking care of the injured. The police go in, sometimes with little or no information, and secure everything. With little or no information someone who is not an aggressor (suspect) might be secured in cuffs or told to get on the ground. Then they are yelling at the police because we didn't do our job right and detained them with the others at the scene. If we truely want the public to be safe, as well as all of our emergency workers, we would give all the information that is requested and not be argumentative with someone trying to get help to the location.

Let me extend an invitation to you to spend a few hours or so in the police communications center of your choice or on a ridealong with a police officer. Citizens of most cities are afforded the courtesy of ridealongs by their city governments and public safety agencies as long as you're willing to sign a waiver taking full responsiblity for the dangers involved. I believe then you'll find there's truth in the saying, "Informed minds make the best choices.". --Informed Mind

Usually, when I'm asked a question I don't know the answer to, rather than getting argumentative...I just say I don't know. Works pretty well for me.

Since I made the original post that is causing all this ruckus

let me say this. Not one of you has answered the questions I

posed. Several of you attacked me. Not all, but some of you

chose to attack me. One responder especially seemed to

indicate that people who call for police assistance are idiots.

hmmm. but more to the point which was not one of you

answered the questions posed by saying, "Yes we value the

safety of all our citizens 'at least' as much as our own.

That's all I was looking for.

Your comments are typical for what we deal with on a daily basis. Your questions have been answered in numerous posts...it should be obvious to you and others that the Police role is to "protect and serve." Why else would we continue to go into harm's way for lousy pay, snap judgements, hostile environments and situations, etc. The calltakers and dispatchers have to gain as much information as possible for the safety of all. Bravery and dedication to duty, honor, and self are all qualities that Police maintain. Blindly running into unknown situations with no regard for personal safety is at best, foolish, at worst, deadly and final. My job is to serve, protect, and survive!! Don't get me wrong, I will lay my life on the line to protect and have done so many times but I will do it with all the tactical advantages I can gain. In your situation (of which I know nothing other than what you have posted), a simple statement that it's the apartment across from mine, the building next to mine, or whatever the incident was, is all that you can do. If your wife was being raped or harmed, you would want whom ever was reporting it to have as much information as possible to guide Officers into help. Please continue to support the Police...come out and learn what these Officers and other Public Safety people really do on a daily basis before you decide you know best how we should do our jobs.

In all public safety agencies, the responder safety is first priority. There are only a few police officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel for every few thousand citizens. Simply put, yes we try to put as much value on citizens life as much as possible, but when we have to make a choice between our officers safety and yours, our officers will always come first. That is universal worldwide. Even when I was a volunteer firefighter, we were always taught, we come first. We can't help anyone if we are taken out. Let me also say that as a dispatcher, yes we can get short with callers, especially when the caller is not cooperating. Those of us that have done this a while also know that on rare occasions these uncooperative callers are trying to set up an ambush for an officer in order to kill one by giving misleading or incomplete information. So please understand, we know that your call, even if it's just a barking dog is an emegency to you, that we have to gather all the information possible, which sometimes requires asking the same questions over and over in order that we can triage the call and provide the best mitigation to the situation.

Let me offer one more situation, epsecially when it comes to descriptions of persons. I have on several occasions had citizens call about prowlers or suspicous persons and a friend or family member is trying to confront the person(s), which we strongly advise against. We need descriptions to distinguish between the good guys and bad guys. I know of situations where callers have given no or poor descriptions only to have an officer get an innocent person at gunpoint and the suspect got away while the confusion is sorted out. No we don't want you to get directly involved, but help us by providing as much info as possible to make the siuation as safe as possible for all parties.

It seems to me this clown wants nothing more than to get a reaction from all of us. They sound as though they are an LMPD reject with a grudge. This person doesn't have what it takes to do what any of us do. We all know where our priorities are. This person is obvious not amoung us and is too cowardly to identify themself.

May I suggest we ignore this person any further.

I am truly sorry that you had an unpleasant experience when you called the 911 for assistance, but the rest of your letter was confusing at best. The police are public servants who, everyday, place the safety and well-being of the public before their own. The community that the police protect and serve should be grateful for their service and for the dispatchers who take their calls and complaints and send the police to them when they're in need.

Concerning the person who is a staunch police supporter. If you considered your comments at all you might realize that any emergency service worker has to consider their safety first above all else. Whether it be police, fire, or EMS. I'm in emergency services and the first thing taught to me my first night of recruit class was that I came first. At that time I thought, " Well that kind of defeats the purpose of why we're here."

I was soon taught that if I don't regard my safety first, then I won't be able to help the victim. If I go into a situation with no regard about myself and get shot because I didn't wait to get the information that the person harming your wife may be armed, then what good was I to your wife by putting her well being above mine? None. I die and likely so does she because I put her well-being above all else. What you don't realize, putting our safety first, is thinking about the victim. 99.9% of the time that's what saves their lives and allows everyone involved, except for the criminal, to go home to their families at night.Maybe if their weren't so many STAUNCH supporters, there might be a little less crime in the world. Frankly, my boyfriend's a cop. He's got two kids, me, and our dog. You damn straight he better think about himself, becuse I like having him come home at night.