Carrying your badge, credentials & weapon/Display thin blue line on personal cars

[clavan]

Greetings to All,

I am recently sworn in Deputy in S Carolina. I have two questions if anyone is willing to entertain either of them.

1. Do you carry your badge, firearm (whether it be agency issued or not), credentials while off duty, if so how often.

2. I thought about displaying a "Thin Blue Line" decal/sticker on my car, but I change my mind because I felt that discretion is very important in this line of work. Do you have one on your car?

3. If you are pulled over for a traffic violation by another agency, do you "try" to let the LEO know that you are one too. I am not saying one would purposely fracture traffic laws knowing they could possible get out of them. But if you were pulled over do you say anything about your profession (while off duty). Is there a consensus in your agency not to issue tickets to other LEOs who do not have a bad attitude about being pulled over?

I am still in rookie school, but for question #1 I would/will carry my credentials while off duty. mostly because it is department policy. I really don’t see the need to carry a weapon. I had a CCW/P before I was a deputy and I only carried a firearm when my family and I were traveling away from home. I lived and worked on a military base so I felt a reasonable amount of security there. My agency encourages us to carry a firearm will off duty. But I don’t always dress in a manner were a conceal firearm in reasonable (I normally were shorts and t-shirts in the warmer months and sweats pants and sweaters in the warmer months. (I rarely go anywhere that would require anything more than that). And if I do its somewhere where alcohol is present and may be consumed by me, so that scenario is out!!!.

#3 I would/will extend professional courtesy to a LEO who I pull over for UTT. Only if he is being professional and lets me know he is LE in a manner in which he is "demanding" that I let me go solely because he is LE. Your thoughts?

V/R
CH LaVan

[Kimble]

CH LaVan,

As a rookie I know you mean well with your questions, but a few of them would be best covered in our LE-restricted forums. Since you've claimed to be a LEO, we do ask that you get verified so we can vouch for who we're talking to. Thanks on advance for understanding.

[marinepilot]

I am recently sworn in Deputy in S Carolina.

I am still in rookie school...

I have a question for you, how can you be a sworn Deputy enforcing laws when you haven't yet finished rookie school and have not the qualifications of such a position?

[clavan]

Thanks for the replies

1. Who should I email to become verified?
2.@ Marine Pilot - I guess that's the way they have always done it in my jurisdiction. We (the rookies) are not wearing uniforms yet. Nor are we out on patrol with FTOs yet. Are you prior military.

[retdetsgt]

Talk to the older guys in your department after you finish the academy and see what they say.

FTIW, all our people are sworn in as police officers before they start the academy. I realize that may not be the case where there is self sponsored academies. But here, we hire, swear in and then send them away to the basic academy.

[mcsap]

MP..I was hired sworn in , FTO'd for 3 weeks , was out on my own for 2-3 weeks handling calls and THEN I went to the academy I can't recall what calls I took but I did it. In retrospect , it wasn't a good idea.

They don't do this anymore

[retdetsgt]

When we ran our own academy, we hired, sworn in and then put people with FTO's until they had enough people to have one. I was hired in May and didn't start the academy until September, but I never worked alone.

A few years after I started, we began sending people to the state basic academy. At that point, people were hired, sworn in and then shipped off the next day. When they return, they work with FTO's, but again when we have enough people ready, we put on an 8 week advanced academy of our own. People have to have at least a year on before they're put on their own. We have an 18 month probationary period.

[greg72982]

The thin blue line stuff has lost it's original meaning IMO. It started out being used just by police now I see a license plate or sticker on one of about every 10 cars.

[retdetsgt]

The thin blue line stuff has lost it's original meaning IMO. It started out being used just by police now I see a license plate or sticker on one of about every 10 cars.

I never put anything on my POV to indicate I was a cop. If I wanted someone to know, I had a badge and ID card for that. It's not like we're selling Mary Kay Cosmetics or something.

[marinepilot]

Thanks for the replies

1. Who should I email to become verified?
2.@ Marine Pilot - I guess that's the way they have always done it in my jurisdiction. We (the rookies) are not wearing uniforms yet. Nor are we out on patrol with FTOs yet. Are you prior military.

clavan, you can find the list of verifiers here -- Supporting Member / LEO Verification -- at the bottom of the page. There is also a list of info you need to PM to the verifier. And yes, I am retired Marine Corps, both enlisted and then Officer. I started off fixing airplanes and as an "O" I flew and broke them!

Talk to the older guys in your department after you finish the academy and see what they say.

FTIW, all our people are sworn in as police officers before they start the academy. I realize that may not be the case where there is self sponsored academies. But here, we hire, swear in and then send them away to the basic academy.

MP..I was hired sworn in , FTO'd for 3 weeks , was out on my own for 2-3 weeks handling calls and THEN I went to the academy I can't recall what calls I took but I did it. In retrospect , it wasn't a good idea.

They don't do this anymore

Gentlemen, thanks for the update on how a person can be sworn and in the academy. The reason I ask about it, though, is because I was in somewhat the same situation -- in the academy, hired with an agency, out working my patrol area (which, yes, was a small community college) -- and was NOT allowed to become verified way back then because I had not yet completed my state certification process (graduate rookie school and take and PASS the state exam). I believe the reason I couldn't be verified was because I could not LEGALLY make an arrest or even write a traffic citation without a fully qualified officer being with me. FWIW I have sent a PM to the other verifiers looking for rectification in this matter, and we and Admin are currently discussing it.

[retdetsgt]

I didn't realize you were talking about verification. The OP just said he had been sworn in and started the academy, nothing more. I thought you were taking exception to that.....

We're considered police officers once we take the oath and can make arrests, etc. I think Oregon law requires certification (completion of academy) before someone works alone though. But once you have the badge and ID, you're a cop.

I agree however that verification should hold up until at least certification, if not probation completion.

[marinepilot]

I didn't realize you were talking about verification. The OP just said he had been sworn in and started the academy, nothing more. I thought you were taking exception to that.....

I apologize for not being more clear, but yes, I was referring to verification. No exceptions taken at all about his actual status of being sworn in and in the academy, but I can see how it may have been interpreted that way. Thank you for pointing out that my initial post was poorly worded, but thank you also for the info!

[greg72982]

I never put anything on my POV to indicate I was a cop. If I wanted someone to know, I had a badge and ID card for that. It's not like we're selling Mary Kay Cosmetics or something.

Me neither, to me you become a target for vandalism or worse. Same with the FOP stickers and license plates.