Navajo Police, excellent article

[Jim Burnes]

The is by John Rusty Wire, a Navajo man who served many years as a Navajo Tribal officer...

Navajo Police

Jim Burnes

[klar]

That was a very good read thanks for posting it.

Klar

[Don]

Jim,

Interesting article. Sounds much like most residency posts anywhere. It's really hard to understand unless you have worked it, experienced it first hand.

The 4AM call outs to domestics with weapons involved and backup an hour or more away. The bloody crashes you respond to because there is nobody else who is closer. The structure fire you get to half an hour to an hour before the first volunteer unit can even be expected to arrive on scene. The medical call where you meet the life flight chopper because the one and only ambulance is on another call. . .

Learning to depend on folks from other departments (and them on you) because the fact is, that IS ALL the back up either of you have. You learn to forget the color of the uniform and sometimes even the state that the other guy comes from. You do what has to be done.

[Jim Burnes]

Somewhere in a thread, I think it was DesertRat, he stated that at one time, he responded to a fellow who was sitting on a hilltop shooting a rifle into the distance, over some homes. DesertRat had gone to foot of the hill, and demanded the guy just get down right now!...and that old guy did it too.


It's not poor procedure, it's often what is called for by circumstances. (That statement can make large city officers believe that a resident officer is playing fast and loose with personal safety, but it's true.)

Jim Burnes

[Joseph]

Very good post. Thanks

[PeteBroccolo]

Good article, Jim. You know, no matter what Agency, or which side of the 49th, when you start talking about rural policing, it is all the same kind of crimes and working conditions.

[Jim Burnes]

Agreed, it all boils down to the same job description.

Jim Burnes

[Delta_V]

Originally posted by Jim Burnes:

It's not poor procedure, it's often what is called for by circumstances.

Not to second guess someone, but are you sure it's not poor procedure? Yes, it all worked out for the best in that situation, but I'm sure people here are familiar with instances where officers were killed because they let their guard down with suspects who were familiar to them. I remember reading about such a case in Missouri earlier this year where an officer was shot by a man with psychological problems who they'd dealt with time and time before. It only takes that ONE time too...

[Jim Burnes]

I absolutely agree with your position, and I've learned that policy is not printed just to gather dust...

Resident officers have to perform their jobs without immediate backup, and this alone increases their perception of personal danger. Without making up the rules as they go, still the officer has to overcome the oppostion and bring the affair to completion to the satisfaction of the admin and possibly the DA office.

Just as in the city, the resident officer becomes familar with his people, but not their buddy. One difference though, is that he will come to know which farmers, cafe owners or whatnot are straight and who he can be sure are shaky characters up to no good (ok, that's a profile, sue me ).

Best of all, due to the area, he will know by sight which vehicles and which people belong to who. People will go to bed and work on a schedule, something askew in the pattern will be noticed which follows on to proactive crime prevention.

I hope I'm not giving the impression that a resident officer plays fast and loose, not so...if anything, they know the ropes but they also know the citizens and they utilize that knowledge to their gain and survival.

(A resident officer can also spit in public and not get chewed )

Jim Burnes

[Jim Burnes]

You know, I've just been sitting here reading over these posts, and now more than ever I'm convinced, I'd never be able to work law enforcement anymore...too much policy, too much overview, too much of too much.

I'd get sued, the newspapers would have stories...

Jim Burnes