BlueSheepdog
10 Years Experience
Around the Way, FL
Male, 40
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.
In general, a police officer can use that force which is reasonable to defend himself or another, to prevent a crime or to detain a subject. Refer to http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=490&invol=386 and http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=471&invol=1 as a starting point for this body of work.
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I have no idea. You should contact a police officer in the state of Washington about those laws.
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The availablility and use of helicopters vary widely from area to area. Some departments have access to helicopters in a relatively short amount of time, while other departments never have access to their assistance.
At my former agency, I worked in a very urban area with dozens of cities and counties in the immediate area. We had access to a helicopter that was operated by the sheriff's department, and was normally only up during the evening hours. It was available during other parts of the day, but would often take some time to get up and to you.
For a vehicle or foot pursuit, we would generally want the assistance of the helicopter, and most often they would be enroute to us before we even asked. They monitored our radio channels and would start our way if they could be of assistance. If we had to call for one, that would be cleared through a supervisor.
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I was in college and was not happy in the aerospace engineering program I was in. I explored the possibility of police work, and after riding a few shifts with officers, I decided to go into law enforcement.
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Unless they have been adjudicated to be mentally ill, then probably. Laws vary from state to state, and many states ignore the Second Amendment anyway. So, check your local laws and don't take legal advice (which this is not) from a guy on the internet.
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Call your local police department and ask for their assistance. They will know what to do.
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At one department, there were three patrol zones and only a single station. A sergeant plus three or four officers were on duty at any given time. (Not including any specialty units.)
At a larger agency, there were six patrol zones with multiple officers assigned to each zone. There were three "sector offices" plus the main station. There were up to 24 patrol officers on the road. Generally there were 2-3 sergeants on duty at any given time plus a lieutenant and possibly a captain depending on time of day/day of week. Those staffing numbers did not include specialty units that might have also been working. For example, three traffic units plus a sergeant, a gang unit plus sergeant, etc.
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