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.
On duty generally means he/she is currently being paid by the agency as part of regularly assigned duties. So, it would sound like the officer was off duty.
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.
Saftey checkpoints are a useful tool for helping to reduce drunk driving, accidents, and removing criminals from the roadways. Driving on public roadways is a licensed privledge, not a right, and therefore is subject to limited intrusion. The specific rules on how they are to be run vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and are controled by law, court opinions and department policies.
When adequately staffed so undue delays are not generated, I have no problem with them.
Reasonable suspicion and probable cause are built by the totality of the circumstances, which may include a citizen complaint. It is impossible for me to tell you how the officers in your case established either since I was not there and I am not privy to the details of the investigation.
Programmer
Why are most developers socially withdrawn?
Rap Promoter / Manager
Do rappers ever stage beefs with each other as a PR stunt?
Security / Bodyguard
Are you expected to take a bullet that's meant for someone you're guarding?
If the officer is acting as a police officer and provided his or her name (Officer Smith or whatever) and that the department he or she works for, that may be all of the information he or she is obligated to provide. A specific zone, precinct, or other information may not be required.
If the officer is acting as an employee of the property owner, and not as a representative of the city/county/whatever, he or she may not even need to provide that.
If an investigation was conducted, it sounds like a lack of probable cause existed. Probable cause is a legal burden that a law enforcement agency must meet before arresting someone.
Just because a parent hits a child does not mean the child is being abused. Reasonable corporal punishment is legal in many cases.
Strangulation is not likely to be considered reasonable. If you witness violence, you should call the local law enforcement agency.
Even if the state was to remove him from the house, it is exceptionally unlikely he would be allowed to live with you.
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.
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)