Application of Effort

On April 19, 1995 near Perry Oklahoma, Trooper Charles Hanger was driving I-35. He happened to pass a yellow Mercury Marquis with no license plate displayed. A traffic stop ensued that resulted in the arrest of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber.

On May 31, 2003 at four o’clock in the morning in Murphy, North Carolina, Offer Postell conducted a field interrogation of a dumpster driver behind the Save-A-Lot store. Officer Postell ended up arresting Erick Rudollph. You remember him, the Olympic Park bomber. Do you think things were slow in Murphy, North Carolina at four a.m.? Officer Postell engaged in a self generated activity that paid off in a big way, just as Trooper Hanger did.

Impressive work. Yes. Just luck or happenstance? No. Trooper Hanger was observant, alert and putting forth effort in his duty. Officer Postell was not parked and kicked back at four a.m., he was on patrol, saw the unusual and initiated an investigation putting forth effort in his duty.

I use these two briefs to open with a question to you. How great of a cop do you want to be? Perhaps you want to be among the best. That prompts the question “How do I get there”, or “How can I get there from here?

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Spending hundreds of hours and thousands of rounds of ammunition at the range to become a master shot won’t get you there. Not that being an expert shot is of no benefit, but most police officers go their whole career without firing a shot in the field. Unless you are on an emergency response team, it may not be essential that you are a distinguished expert.

Spending many hours in the gym, building massive biceps or on the track gaining incredible speed won’t get you there. Maintaining good physical condition is important but being an Olympic level athlete will not get you there.

Spending significant effort in acquiring the driving skills approaching a NASCAR race car driver will not get you there. The safe operation of a marked unit in an emergency response is important but getting there safely is the primary importance. Further, how often is a patrol officer involved in a high speed felony pursuit.

In grand scheme of police work, shooting skills, physical ability and driving ability all add to an officer’s skills, knowledge and ability, and are beneficial but the “great” cops put forth effort every day and on every assignment. I have know them. I have seen there work. Every department has them and everyone knows who they are. They challenge themselves intellectually and take time on an assignment or while on patrol, then go home with a sense of accomplishment at the end of a tour of duty.

Patrol work can become rote, boring and routine if you let it. It can become mentally challenging, rewarding and exciting if you want it to. You can sit hour after hour or day after day just waiting for that hot call or you can put forth effort to become a great cop, by your effort.

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I have worked with many great cops. I knew them well as did everyone else. These great cops put forth effort.

STORY TIME

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I.?During my career one great cop that was assigned to the sector I was responsible for received a radio assignment for a strong armed robbery. He found an older man, shaken and slightly bruised. His wallet had been stolen. The older man did not have much money but he did have a winning lottery ticket for $25,000.00 in his stolen wallet. The man explained to the officer that the six digit number on the ticket was his birth date. The patrol officer took the report, saw the man home and drove to the lottery board. He found that there was only one winner on the day the victim’s number won and that the ticket had not been cashed yet. The patrol officer asked that if someone came in to cash the winning ticket that an employee at the lottery board was to call him immediately on his personal cell phone. Two days later as the officer was clearing roll call he received a telephone call from a worker at the lottery board and was told a man was there to cash the stolen ticket. The employees were able to stall the man long enough for the officer with a few colleagues to arrive and arrest the man for receiving stolen property. He was later identified by the victim as the man who had beat and robbed him. Maybe detectives following up on the case could have closed it. Maybe. Would they have been able to recover the cashed winnings of $25,000 from the offender? Never. The effort of this great cop saved the victim $25,000, incarcerated a violent offender for some time and prevented future crimes that would have been committed. How rewarding was that great officer’s day? Very rewarding. He received more than a few acknowledgments from the sergeants and his follow officers. Again, you can be sure the victim passed his story on. You can be sure the officer’s reputation and that of his department rose. May be only in a small way but can you imagine if one or ten or fifty officer’s started applying this level of effort.

II.?In another event with another great cop I worked with. In a large metropolitan city two marked units were dispatched to a wooded area abutting a major city road to investigate a woman screaming for help. It was cold, pitch black and raining steadily. The two assigned units put down their windows turned on their spot lights and slowly drove along the road looking into the wooded area and listening. Both units cleared with nothing found. As they drove off another marked unit pulled up. He had not received the assignment but was in the area. He informed the dispatcher to hold him at that location. This great officer got out of his car, put on his rain coat and with flashlight in hand walked into the wet and muddy wooded area. The officer had not gone twenty yards off the road when he herd a muffled scream and found a partially clothed woman held on the ground with a man covering her face with his hand. The officer called for backup and made the assault with intent to rape arrest. The effort for certain prevented a rape and maybe saved a life.

Put forth the effort and there will be more positive outcomes; cases closed, property returned to the rightful owner, evidence discovered, injuries prevented and maybe a life saved. This won’t happen every time, not even once every ten or perhaps once in a hundred times, but it will happen. With consistency of effort results will be forthcoming. This effort brings recognition from ones peers, superiors and the public. The efforts raise the status and reputation of ones department. Application of effort challenges provides intrinsic rewards and send one home with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Ones reputation built on the application of effort will serve them well in assignments, selection into special positions and promotions. If the choice was yours, who would you select? You can be exceptional.

I lived this, I saw this, I practiced this and was fortunate and honored to have been with police men and police women who put forth effort – they were the great ones.

P.S. I have much to say about this. Many more stories to tell. My sense is some in the ranks have lost this drive, this interest, or they never possessed it. We need the great cops, we need more great cops. I want in the worst way for the luster to return to my shield. It can be done!

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