I've been a "good" cop for a long time and now I'm ready to get out. Ask me whatever you want.

Working the streets and dealing with hardcore criminals never stressed me out. Most cops will say, and I do believe it, that the "4-walls" (meaning the department politics) always causes the most stress. As I mentioned in another reply, "you're only as good as your next mistake". But I always kept my nose clean, didn't put myself in bad situations and was able to have a successful career.

Politics in this line of work are a big deal and sometimes it comes down to the people in charge having big egos and poor leadership qualities. Having been in the military before entering law enforcement, I learned early on how to read people and understand what makes a good leader. The military was full of people who could test well and get promoted up the ranks, but they were terrible leaders. The worst ones seemed to lead through a disciplinarian approach and the good one's lead by inspiring people with positive reinforcement. Police work seems to attract the same type of people and the bad ones seem to get promoted just as easily as the good ones because they test well. Beyond their ability to score well in a promotional exam or special assignment test, they have nothing else going for them. I've seen my share of mediocre officers who's only goal was to get promoted and sometimes you had to watch your back around them. A few wouldn't hesitate to burn another officer just to make themselves look good.

As for question 3, I think I answered it a previous reply. For me, the biggest negative about becoming a cop now days is the way we're perceived by the public and courts. Your word doesn't count any more and you better hope your department is in the process of transitioning to body cameras and although I resisted the idea of having to record everything at first, I see the benefit of them now. Just think what a body camera would have done for Officer Wilson in Ferguson, MO. Yes, a bad shoot will record the same as if it were a good shoot, but look what happened with that case. Witnesses lying and fabricating stories. The media hyping it up and trying to make it a racial issue. The politicians trying to make a name for themselves and making public statements before the facts were in. I can't imagine what that officer went through or Officer Johannes Mehserle of BART PD. I fear that with everything going on now, that officers (especially new ones) will hesitate and that may cost them their lives. I fear that even if you do everything right according to your training, you can still be crucified in the court of public opinion and you'll spend the rest of your life looking behind your back and worrying about your family's safety. Is it worth it? That's for you to decide.

/r/police Thread