Cruella is right, and believe it or not they have the highest rate for DV ... Choco ... You've heard of the Brame case down here in Tacoma right?

~ Katrina

Lovers do not finally meet somewhere, they were with each other all along.

While I will agree that domestic violence is prevalent in regards to Police Officers(as well as alcoholism, depression, suicide) and that yes, there unfortunatly are those who are"crooked", that overall the cases you speak of as they do warrant being exposed, are believe it or not the minority not the majority. Yes, we as a family are very tight(can you blame us, we spend 70 plus hours with each other, rely on each other to protect one another in any hostile situation, stand at the bedsides of our fellow officers injured in the line of duty, and stand at their coffins when killed in the line of duty.) Yes, we are brothers and sister's in a world that more often than not, the average person never has to see or even know exist's. Further,each of our families become the others families, they are never forgotten by us should they lose their mother/father,brother/sister,daughter/son. Yes we protect each other(for as much abuse on the officers part that is exposed in the news), there is three times the amount of abuse towards us that warrants us using force,at rare times, in the extreme to protect ourselves as well as other's and then we have assailants and their attorneys screaming Police Brutality and not only placing us under investigation but placing us in a position of losing not only our career's but our pension's, 401k, insurance, retirement and all because we did exactly what we were trained to do. Everyday we walk out our front doors, we pray we walk back in later that evening or the next morning, our families pray we walk back in later that evening or the next morning. We spend more time on other families domestic abuse call's(often risking our lives during these call's) then can ever be found in any one given department. We are taught to leave what we see behind, but as any one person with a heart can tell you that is often easier said than done.(yes, we do cry, we do become angry at the injustice we see and we become frustrated because we are limited in what we can do to stop it.) We are taught to find alternative ways to handle the enourmous amount of stress that we carry daily, and the majority of us do this very well with understanding and supportive partners, families and churches ect. While I have every respect in our soldiers who are off fighting wars, Please remember we are the one's fighting the war's here at home. It pains me when as my children have grown up, how many times I have heard other children make comments like" I hate cops", OFTEN repeating what they have heard in their own homes, and yet who is the first you will call if some knife weilding or gun carrying person breaks into your home,takes your child, or God forbid, threatens to or kills your loved one. We do not know daily what we will be called to do, but we do it freely, this is what we have chosen. Yes, while their are plenty of officers who's actions are less than admirable, these same less than admirable people are your Doctors, your Soldiers, your children's Teacher's. They are your next door neighbors, they sit next to you in church or perhaps even are leaders in your Church. Does that make the majority who are doing ever thing that can to PROTECT, HEAL, TEACH, bad as well? Judges do often take the word of an officer over the average citizen, why? because the average officer IS as law abiding as the citizen and more so, upholds those same law's with pride, dignity and integrity. Do judges stand up for the Police officer every time, No! I have seen many officers recieve suspensions and terminations due to cases that were not handled in the appropriate manner and were placed under investigation themselves. Believe me when I say that we are no more above the law then you are. I have seen many a judge make what I felt to be a wrong or diminished decision in many a case...(even in my own personal,not professional life). So please take into consideration that a judge hearing a case (regardless of who is the defendent or plantiff in the case), basis his/her decision on the information provided them as it applies to the law and then there is their own personal veiw/opinion that unfortunatly comes into play at times as well. My point? I am truly sorry for any person whose life has been affected by one of the less than desirable men/women in uniform, However, as officers, there are more good than bad, there are more who care, than do not, and there are more that are there for YOU, than you know...and even with all the crap we recieve, all the b.s in life that we have to do,all the risks we have to take and all the bad opinions the average citizen has of us, we continue to serve and protect to the best of our ability within the limits of the law, go home and thank God for another day. And btw, we will be back in uniform patroling and responding to call's agian tommorrow. Thanks for hearing my side ladies.

Lovers do not finally meet somewhere, they were with each other all along.

were being slammed. It was more in my own disgust at the officers that take their badge as a symbol of their own PERSONAL power, rather than seeing that the badge we wear is one that was placed upon us in TRUST, in CONFIDENCE that we would do the right thing always, in RESPECT for our assumed integrity and fortitude. No we do not get paid anywhere near what I believe we desearve, but neither do your firefighters and Paramedics(I did this for almost 8 years as well). But we knew that when we chose our professions.Again, my post was not in defense of what you or anyone else posted, it was posted in defense agiants the actions of the less than desirables that do show themselves and make a bad name for those of us who truly give a rats ass about the truth and justice that we were sworn into our positions to represent. What you Cruella or any other person has had to experience at the hands of a any officer with a "God Complex" is unacceptable, further for that person to go unpunished is a failure of our justice system(and there are so many failures in so many area's). But please believe me about one thing, though your ex did the horrendous things he did to you, though this other officer was abusive and lied in court..We know...As I said earlier, we are a tight knit family and though we still must work with the officers in question, we often know the truth as much as you do(and unfortunatly are in no better a position to do anything about it without a great deal of proof to back up our words)without risking our very own careers. Unfair, yes, but on our end, we no longer hold trust in these fellow officers,they are no longer our comrades, they have placed those who they work side by side with in a position where they must always look over their shoulders,making their jobs even more stressful. As I said earlier, I am truly sorry for anyone who has had their lives affected by these particular men/women in uniform, but just know that we are no more approving of their actions than you are.

Lovers do not finally meet somewhere, they were with each other all along.

I cannot debate with you what the NYPD is all about or how corrupt their Police departments are but what I do know is that I work side by side with some of the most trusting, loyal, and big hearted people you could ever meet. Yes we all get our asses chapped at the b.s we have to deal with but what makes it worse is the general attitude that we are dirty to some extent. If that is your honest opinion than so be it, however, I would say that one should never judge until you have walked in their shoes. Me, personally, I have been chased with a baseball bat, I have been shot at, I have been stabbed twice in my left leg, I have been involved in trying to restrain multiple men and women, have lost two teeth(yes I have had them replaced) and come home with bruises where I never knew bruises could be...And not one of these incidents occurred because I was protecting MY FAMILY MEMEBERS, I was protecting someone elses. And Please let me remind you as a child of a great man killed in Vietnam, we are not so unlike soldiers as you proclaim, as the men that did come home came back to a country that called them "baby killers" ect. We, the Police and the men and women in the armed services overall take our responsibilities extremely serious and would lay our lives down for you...How many everyday citizens would say the same??? Yes, some good cops get run out of the force, some bad cops get away with b.s, but I believe in the system, I believe in the thin blue line we walk everyday and I believe that the majority of Police Officers are people that not only should, but desearve the utmost respect for what we do, what we tolerate, and moreso for the way we are judged and yet still preform our duties.

what I see as justice in the system. pesonal experiences are as follows.Keep in mind this is all in Buffalo New York.
The person who molested me for 4 yrs was a friend of a cop and member of the mafia. He himself would state that the organizations were exactly alike other than one was legal and one was not. BUT if you knew the right people you could have the best of both worlds. I was stalked and burned out of my home and left homeless with 8 kids and no posessions because I accidently offended the daughter of a police officer and was a "thorn in their side". I have proof and witnesses of this. I have friends and family in the fire department that responded to the call and knew the officers responsible and saw them do it but were too afraid to testify. In a rush to have a place to live I moved me and the kids to the other end of town in hopes of getting away from that district but keeping my kids in a good school. I was harassed, vehicles damamged, child protection called, B/F arrested, beaten and hospitalized for looking suspicious while walking down the street. One good Lt in the new district was willing to tell me that I was targeted because of the crap at the other district and he told me how to LEGALLY defend myself.....HE WAS REMOVED, NO FURTHER INFORMATION GIVEN.....
I lost all faith in the legal system of this city and became paranoid and depressed.My obviously pregnant cousing was beaten and lost her baby, once again thank you Buffalo police offiers I sold out and moved to a new city. The house I bought was from a Buffalo cop who was more than willing to be friendly and tell me stories of some of the shit they pull on the force and for and with eachother.
I am now in Cheektowaga for 3 yrs and couldn't be more pleased with the officers here. On the few occasions that they have been involved in our lives it was for the protection of a helpless woman, to protect my kids,to say hi and check up that everything is going ok, to stop and talk to the kids when they are walking down the street just to make sure they are ok, to diffuse and advise a domestic violence situation, to diffuse a teenage gang that was starting to get "a little rowdy" before there was trouble, etc, etc, etc, ....
I have nothing but respect for these wonderful officers and would gladly lay down my life for them as I know they would do for me.
So to finally end this very long opinion....there are both good and bad and I do not discredit anyones opinion, but I do believe that a system gone corrupt is unbearable and undefeatable. I also think that before the whole system goes corrupt there should be proper action taken against the few "bad cops" and that they should not be supported or covered for just because they are "one of us"! And no , there is not one bit of this that comes from T.V. viewing or heresay. These are real experiences in my life.
Sorry if I offended anyone....
have a wonderful day!

Lisa Dawn

Lisa Dawn