I hate to do this to you, but...

[gatoradegirl]

... can I harrass you with another can I become a cop question?

There are a few events in my past that may or may not dq me, and I would love your input.

Other than my tragic onion soup incident at age 12, and killing a cat at age 14 in defense of my little brother (and myself), these are a few noteworthy incidents that could possibly affect my application:

When I was 13, I was separated from my parents in a subway station. I had no money or metro card, or cell phone, or anything on me, so I climbed over the turnstile. Of course an Officer was right there to stop me. He took down all my personal information, and then assisted me in locating my parents. He was more pissed at them than at me, but I still think I should have known better, and should have approached the officer for help rather than going for a free ride.

My high school records would show a bunch of detentions and a couple of suspensions, but they would hopefully be outweighed by a 4.0 GPA, mostly Honors classes, and membership on several JV/Varsity teams.

One suspension was for allegedly smoking pot on school grounds. I was just hanging out on campus with a few kids during lunch, and someone lit up a joint. I passed, but the principal didn’t care after we got caught by one of the security guards. Shows poor judgment and poor choice of friends, I suppose. Although I can honestly say that I had no clue what they were up to.

Now a biggie: When I was 19, I drove home from college, about a 10-hour car ride, and I didn’t take enough breaks, and I got more and more drowsy, and apparently fell asleep behind the wheel. Thank God I didn’t hit another car, but I went off the road, sideswiped a tree, and then overturned. Car was totaled, I was just pretty banged up. At the hospital I was tested for alcohol and narcotics, and none were present. So the accident report states drowsy driving as the cause. Although I wasn’t charged with anything, I still know how incredibly dangerous and irresponsible it was to keep driving once I realized how overtired I was.

And this one is a difficult one to share, but I might as well get used to it: When I was 18, I was raped by an acquaintance (not a boyfriend) who apparently used chloral hydrate to sedate me. I have absolutely no recollection of anything, and don’t even remember how I got to the hospital. The incident hasn’t really affected me all that much emotionally, but the whole “date rape” thing just has this really negative undertone. Even though it’s recognized that certain drugs are often used to assist in the rape, there’s still a lot of blame placed on the woman. And technically, I used an illegal drug that night.

Sooooo….Is any of this going to kill my chances? And what can I do to mitigate any of it?

Thank you so much for your patience.

[Curt581]

Just apply.

If your childhood foibles sink you, so be it.

I have no interest in dissecting and/or mitigating each and every one.

The bottom line is this: If you end up on a list of ten people with better qualifications or less serious mistakes, you won't get hired. If you get on a list with ten people with less stellar records than yours, you will get hired.

It's a crap shoot. For that matter, so is all of life. Go LIVE it instead of wasting your time worrying about it.

[DigitalFuzi0n]

None of the items you mentioned will be an automatic DQ. I really doubt any of them would even cause a BI to bat an eyelash. Like Curt said, all you can do is try.

[Ispbear]

I see nothing wrong. The last one could make them take a little closer look in the psychological portion of the testing just to make sure that you are wanting to do the job for the right reasons.

[retdetsgt]

I was suspended once each year when I was in high school, always for fighting. I also was valedictorian of my graduating class. Nobody even friggin' cared about either end of the spectrum. I suppose if you're barely 21 and have no other real life experience it might be important....:rolleyes:

BTW, truth in advertising, it was a small school......

[Taz_bb2]

I see nothing wrong. The last one could make them take a little closer look in the psychological portion of the testing just to make sure that you are wanting to do the job for the right reasons.

+1

You should be fine.

[mcsap]

I see nothing wrong. The last one could make them take a little closer look in the psychological portion of the testing just to make sure that you are wanting to do the job for the right reasons.

Plus one.