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resqguy
New member
I'm going to apologize in advance for rambling, because this is probably going to be WAY too long....but whatever.
Last August, I walked away from 12 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, 10 of those were spent as a helicopter rescue swimmer. I left, primarily because I was tired of moving every 4 years and I wanted to plant some roots somewhere. Secondarily, DHS totally ruined the Coast Guard after 9/11. Previously, we were DOT so our funding was different...etc Anyway, the job I was counting on after I got out fell through due to a hiring freeze. (That freeze has since been lifted and I should be starting with them next month) Anyway, I was left without a paycheck. No big deal...I could go a while without working and still be ok, financially, but I still wanted a job.
Against my better judgment, I accepted a job with the LAPD. I really didn't want to become a cop, but I thought the academy would be a good experience. And who knows? Maybe I'd like the job, after all? Ok, I'm in no way commenting on law enforcement as a whole, but I can say with some experience that the LAPD's level of professionalism is overstated. The department, as a whole, is FILLED with very fragile, very inflated egos. I had to jump through HOOPS for these douchebags during my background check. Because I was older and moved around a lot in the Coast Guard, naturally I have more of a history and more past addresses. Of course, they accused me of "running away" from something. Hello??? Coast Guard??? Uh...I have an active Federal Secret Clearance...pretty sure I'm not a thug or a criminal. They didn't care.
They naturally assume that this is the first "real job" of every new recruit, regardless of age. And as such, you're treated like you have no real-life experience. While most of these tools were packing away donuts, I was pulling people out of houses in New Orleans after Katrina. Whatever...I can get past that. What I found interesting is that the majority of my instructors were younger than I am, and most of them had very little experience "on the streets." Another thing that blew me away was the fact that your average recruit was a 22 year old college drop out. Awesome. The maturity level of your average LAPD recruit is STARTLINGLY low, and they're giving these people guns and sending them out to "protect and to serve." No thanks. I actually had one 22 year old recruit tell me about how he was kicked out of 3 high schools for fighting, and had gang ties...yet somehow, he passed backgrounds and was going to be a cop. Are you fucking kidding me???
Ok, I'll stop....I could go on typing for HOURS about this. This is in no way aimed at discrediting law enforcement as a whole. I think law enforcement is a very noble profession (except for the dickhole's at the DEA...fuck you guys.) and I'm glad that there are good officers out there who take their jobs seriously. But my experience, thus far, with the LAPD has been a sour one.
Last August, I walked away from 12 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, 10 of those were spent as a helicopter rescue swimmer. I left, primarily because I was tired of moving every 4 years and I wanted to plant some roots somewhere. Secondarily, DHS totally ruined the Coast Guard after 9/11. Previously, we were DOT so our funding was different...etc Anyway, the job I was counting on after I got out fell through due to a hiring freeze. (That freeze has since been lifted and I should be starting with them next month) Anyway, I was left without a paycheck. No big deal...I could go a while without working and still be ok, financially, but I still wanted a job.
Against my better judgment, I accepted a job with the LAPD. I really didn't want to become a cop, but I thought the academy would be a good experience. And who knows? Maybe I'd like the job, after all? Ok, I'm in no way commenting on law enforcement as a whole, but I can say with some experience that the LAPD's level of professionalism is overstated. The department, as a whole, is FILLED with very fragile, very inflated egos. I had to jump through HOOPS for these douchebags during my background check. Because I was older and moved around a lot in the Coast Guard, naturally I have more of a history and more past addresses. Of course, they accused me of "running away" from something. Hello??? Coast Guard??? Uh...I have an active Federal Secret Clearance...pretty sure I'm not a thug or a criminal. They didn't care.
They naturally assume that this is the first "real job" of every new recruit, regardless of age. And as such, you're treated like you have no real-life experience. While most of these tools were packing away donuts, I was pulling people out of houses in New Orleans after Katrina. Whatever...I can get past that. What I found interesting is that the majority of my instructors were younger than I am, and most of them had very little experience "on the streets." Another thing that blew me away was the fact that your average recruit was a 22 year old college drop out. Awesome. The maturity level of your average LAPD recruit is STARTLINGLY low, and they're giving these people guns and sending them out to "protect and to serve." No thanks. I actually had one 22 year old recruit tell me about how he was kicked out of 3 high schools for fighting, and had gang ties...yet somehow, he passed backgrounds and was going to be a cop. Are you fucking kidding me???
Ok, I'll stop....I could go on typing for HOURS about this. This is in no way aimed at discrediting law enforcement as a whole. I think law enforcement is a very noble profession (except for the dickhole's at the DEA...fuck you guys.) and I'm glad that there are good officers out there who take their jobs seriously. But my experience, thus far, with the LAPD has been a sour one.
