|
Yesterday I was reminded one thing. That no
matter how routine you think this job is on a
daily basis you just can’t think that way. I’m
a sergeant, with seniority, so with that
seniority comes my pick of the day, evening, or
graveyard shifts. After nearly 20 years on the
job I’m taking the day shift, thank you very
much. But with the day shift comes supervising
mostly veteran cops. Veteran cops that have
seen a lot, been through a lot, and quite
frankly want to do very little.
But even with the veterans on my shift, you
always have that range of officers that are
“retired on duty”, meaning they do the absolute
least amount of work as possible. Then you have
the “status quo” guys, that know exactly how
many citations they need and how many building
checks they need to do each month so that their
stat sheet comes out exactly the same every
month.
Then you have those officers that will rise
above the status quo. The ones that grew up as
a small child dreaming and wishing some day to
put that star or shield on. The ones that truly
feel they are making a difference. The officers
that actually are “On the lookout” when a BOLO
is broadcast for a suspect. The officers that
are headed to back up a fellow officer before
they ever get dispatched. The guys that
actually stop to help a motorist change a tire,
just because it’s the right thing to do. These
are the guys I want working for me.
And, as a supervisor, I’ve been told I’m in
that category as well. One of my men needed
backup the other day attempting to make a
felony stop on a rape suspect that had just cut
his victim’s throat. He was in heavy traffic
and I hauled ass to get to him and back him up.
The suspect committed suicide as we were
stopping him, but the main thing is I was there
for my officer.
Now the Monday morning quarterbacking begins by
the office people that have badges on their
belts. Big investigation as to why I was
traveling at a high rate of speed. My answer to
them was simple.
It’s called being a COP, it’s called being more
worried about your fellow officer than getting
in trouble for the speed you traveling, it’s
called catching a felony rape suspect.
I went too fast. Got there though, cops are
safe, bad guy loses. I’ll probably go “too
fast” again, so when you hand down my days off
stack a few extra on my sentence for the next
time I go to aid a brother in blue.
Andrew G. Hawkes
About the Author
Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes has over 17 years of law enforcement experience. He has a BA in Criminal Justice and is currently completing his master’s degree
in Public Administration. Additionally,
he is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas; has a Master Police Peace Officer Certificate from
the State of Texas; and, has a Police Instructor’s Licenses from the State of Texas.
Currently, Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes is a member of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office (Texas) where he is a
senior sergeant in the patrol operations. Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes is the author
of Secrets of Successful
Highway Interdiction. According to
Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes, “After 17 years of highway drug interdiction, 500 felony arrests, 5,100 pounds in drug seizures,
and over $20 million (drugs, cash and vehicles), I have learned a lot of drug-busting techniques that I want to share with
you.” His book, Secrets of Successful Highway Interdiction, contains eleven chapters on Highway Drug Interdiction.
|
