SO WHAT’S A “GOOD COP”?
/By: Joel E. Gordon
Competence, like truth, beauty, and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder. – Lawrence J. Peter (The mastermind behind "The Peter Principle" concept of management).
What does being a good cop mean? In most professions the goals that need to be met for competence are clear. A good doctor has healthy patients. A good lawyer wins cases. A good plumber keeps the water flowing and leaks from occurring. A good cook or chef … Well you get the idea.
In today’s environment, a good cop is mostly defined by the view of the beholder. Self-identified progressives, liberals and conservatives will surely possess different views. Jurisdictional differences in ideology and policy also greatly impact the definition of what makes a good cop. Presumably, public safety and crime reduction should be universal goals.
One fact is certain: Although many are quick to critique law enforcement duties and activities, not everyone can or should do this job!
FROM REAL POLICE TO SECURITY MONITORS?
In Illinois vs. Wardlow528 U.S. 119 (2000) the Supreme Court held in a 5 to 4 decision that the police had reasonable suspicion to justify a stop because nervous, evasive behavior, like fleeing a high crime area upon noticing police officers, is a pertinent factor in determining reasonable suspicion to justify a stop.
But apparently this is no longer allowable in Baltimore. Does implementation of Baltimore’s ongoing Consent Decree and similar doctrine lead to the death of reasonable suspicion as we know it?
Baltimore’s consent decree specifically states that police will not be able to stop someone in a high-crime area just because the person is trying to avoid contact with an officer, according to the document.
It mandates basic training for making stops and searches. It also commands officers to use de-escalation techniques and send specially trained units to distress calls involving people with mental illness.
The agreement discourages the arrests of citizens for "quality-of-life offenses" such as loitering, littering or minor traffic violations. It also requires a supervisor to sign off on requests to take someone into custody for a minor infraction. So while fighting with a suspect, officers need to obtain a sergeant’s approval to arrest a violator for failure to obey a lawful order or even for resisting arrest until escalating to an assault on police? When I think of city government combined with Department of Justice Consent Decree intervention, one word comes to mind: DELUSIONAL.
In a repudiation of broken windows policing policy which historically led to increased arrests, the pendulum has swung in an opposite and counterproductive direction if the goal was to identify lawbreakers and uphold reasonable societal norms of cleanliness and safety. Now, predictably in the face of increasing rates of crime, the broken windows policing model is getting a second look in places like the city of New York. What’s a “good cop” to do?
Perhaps decades of concern over political correctness, along with adherence to the Peter Principle have served to blur the lines to a definition of what is a good cop. Remember “The Peter Principle”?"In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. In time every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties. Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence."
To me, a good cop will always be the peace keeper who gets to know the community to be served and who takes an ownership interest in the community’s success. One who insists on autonomy within reasonable guidelines, in the effort to keep criminal activity to a minimum in a primary area of responsibility while staying true to their oath of office in upholding the Constitution and without fear or favor standing ground against tyranny and unlawful activity from any directive or source. It was more than once during my active law enforcement years where I asked for an order to be put in writing when I felt that a directive was inconsistent with my mandate or oath of office.
As had been said many times over “An officer is someone who wrote a blank check made payable to the community that they serve for an amount up to and including their life.” While there is truly no way to repay such fearless and competent dedication to a job or such epic proportions, filled with nearly insurmountable obstacles each and every day, we must say thank you to all of the countless good cops out there.
Joel E. Gordon is a former Field Training Officer with the Baltimore City Police Department and is a past Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has also served as vice-chair of a regional narcotics task force. An award winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer's Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. Look him up at stillseekingjustice.com
