Cheating death and fighting communism: that is how a fellow officer once described our job. It was meant to be funny, but as time went on it seemed all too true.
I spent more than ten years in law enforcement, all of it on the street in uniform patrol. I've been a patrol officer, instructor, sergeant and lieutenant.
Do not report crimes here. Nothing here should be considered legal advice. All opinions are my own.
Offering protection from liability for people making a good faith effort to render aid at the scene of an emergency is a good idea. There are a lot of dirtbag attorneys who will sue anyone, including good people trying to do the right thing.
Requiring people to act, such as calling 911, when they observe something that is obviously criminal in nature makes sense - but, I always have reservations about these kinds of laws. In my opinion, they need to be narrowly written.
Why would you think that it would be even remotely ok to shoot children with a BB gun?
1. None of this is legal advice. Consult an attorney. Wrongful use force against another, especially a child, can land you in prison for a long time.
2. The use of force is generally resricted to "reasonable" self defense. Re-read #1.
3. BB guns are not toys. They can and have killed people. Use Google and you will see multiple stories about BB guns killing people. For example: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/21/florida-boy-10-dies-after-brother-accidentally-shoots-him-with-bb-gun/
4. BB guns can also take out an eye or do other serious injury even if they were incapable of killing. Re-read #1.
5. You're not Alvin York and your aim on a moving target isn't that good. I don't care how good a shot you think you are, you can't guarantee where you would hit someone anyway. Re-read #1.
6. None of this excuses whatever trespass these children may have done, but shooting them with a BB gun sounds way beyond the realm of reasonableness. What would you do if your child had been shot by an adult with a BB gun? Re-read #1.
7. Use of force is generally restricted to the defense of persons, not property. Re-read #1.
8. If someone is coming into your home and you feel threatened, things are different. Re-read #1.
9. Re-read #1.
I suspect the requirements are very similar. Click here for the Tampa PD recruiting page.
I assume your roommate is underage. If so, you can still get in trouble, but probably only if he/she does something stupid such as gets alcohol poisoning, gets hurt while intoxicated, is DUI, etc. There could be some pretty heavy reprecusions for that.
McDonald's Manager
Were you proud or embarrassed to tell people you worked at McDonald's?
Audiologist
Can just one loud concert do serious damage to your ears?
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
How often do people wake up during surgery?
In my state, the crimes you have described could result in multiple years in prison plus fines and resitution. I do not know the laws of your country, but I'm sure it is equally serious. I strongly suggest contacting a criminal defense attorney.
It is impossible for me to tell you where you might like to work. If you've never lived in a large city, you might love - or hate- it. Same thing about working in a smaller area.
From my personal experience, I would prefer a smaller department of 50-75 officers if I was starting all over. Ideally, it would be suburban to rural. I've worked for a very urban area and for a smaller department in a suburban bordering on rural area. You get a lot more of the exciting calls in a short amount of time in the urban areas, but you can also burn out much quicker.
The upside to a large agency is you get a lot of opportunity to work in specialized units that you don't have in smaller areas/departments. For example, a marine unit, aviation unit, SWAT unit, etc. But smaller areas will sometimes pool resources for multi-jurisdictional units (like SWAT teams formed with officers from several regional departments.)
I'd suggest doing a few ride-alongs with different departments in different areas and get a feel for what things are like.
If no arrest was made, then there is no arrest record (at least regarding this incident.) Without the victim's cooperation, the officers probably were not able to establish probable cause to make an arrest.
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