Am I too old?

[Morgan20]

Nice...coming to a LEO site asking for help.....then start with media reports about bad cops......:rolleyes:

Only reason that **** makes it to the media is because they are LEOs....if they were truck drivers or a bankers none of it would hit the media unless they were high profile stuff.

Also.....drug use in your late 20s will hurt you badly. It's not like you were some dumb *** 16, 17, or 18 year old. kid......you were in your late 20s!!

Yes...there are some Depts. that have leeway on hard drugs......mainly on the West Coast......so your best bet is to stay out there and try.....

But as someone who hires folks, who do you think I am going to hire? Someone with all your qualifications that hasn't done drugs.....or you...someone that did drugs when you should have known better....?

Couldn't have said it better myself. To post a few isolated incidents and then say most cops use hard drugs is not only insulting, but just plain stupid.

[AaronL]

Couldn't have said it better myself. To post a few isolated incidents and then say most cops use hard drugs is not only insulting, but just plain stupid.

I'm sorry, can you point out where I said most cops use hard drugs or even made that implication?

I said that there are cops who have used hard drugs and how would you deal with their integrity, or the integrity of the dept that swore them in?

[Doogie]

To tell me that since I made a mistake over 20 years ago makes my integrity questionable is not only insulting, it’s infuriating to me.

But unfortunately for some people who might make excellent officers, part of the job is seeing how you have lived your life up until the point you apply to a Dept. That is why every department has guidelines for this sort of thing. I think most folks on here would tell you that MJ is probably the hardest drug that would still let you qualify in this profession. This isn't a job where one day you just decide to "try it out", it should be something you have lived your life for. IMHO

My point of contention here is the absoluteness in which Morgan presented the issue. Basically he’s saying “Use drugs once and no matter what, from that point on you don’t have integrity.” Well, I’m sorry but I don’t agree. What if I told you that I think that anyone who drops out of high school and gets a GED isn’t someone who I think can stick it out? And, no matter what you do or say to prove my point wrong I still stand by it? You wouldn’t like it much, now would you?

What he said was true (as a lot of folks on here I'm sure would agree), if you are lacking in judgement by the time you are 21 or so and like you said couldn't handle what life throws at you and in turn, you turn to drugs. It shows that you have a lack of integrity and/or are easily influenced by others. As for if you would agree or disagree about my not finishing HS but instead getting my GED, it wouldn't matter to me your opinion because I wouldn't be applying to you. Unlike your situation I am not penalized for that decision and can still get a LE job. What it all comes down to is you have to have a thick skin and just apply your heart out and see where it goes from there.

As far as my posting those links, accusing me of not having a backbone isn’t really all that mature. Don’t you think so? Especially since you know nothing about me, except for the few small things posted here.

I apologize if you didn't mean any harm by posting those links. But from how I read it you were lashing out at Morgan by trying to throw what others had done in his face as an example of integrity, and you were right those officers did not have integrity and that is what everyone has been trying to say all along. You might be able to mask it for a certain amount of time, but like Morgan said It will one day catch up to you like those officers you posted. Integrity is something you either have or don't, its not something that you can just acquire. You are right I know nothing about you, but also remember how you react to certain things even on a message board shows what kind of man you are, whether you let stuff roll off your back or come out charging. Because in this line of work you have to have thick skin.

Bottom line is we are all passionate about who we are and what we stand for. I think we can all agree upon that.

This we most definitely agree on. :D



Like I said just keep applying, the PD's are gonna be the only ones who can tell you your answer. Good luck with everything and try not to get so worked up regardless of the situation. It will really help you in the long run.

[Morgan20]

"Anybody using this board more than 2 days has seen at least one thread about "Can I get hired if I did X drug when I was a teenager?"

While our media culture tends to encourage the "life without consequences" attitude and subsequent behavior (i.e. drug use and reckless sex) it does not actually reflect real life.

Just because you were a "dumb kid" or a "rebellious teenager" when you tried drugs does not mean there will be no consequences. Police officers in our country are held to a much higher standard than regular citizens. If you want to be a cop you need to demonstrate for more than a short period of time that you can meet that standard of conduct.

You may be the most mature person in the world with a killer resume but so is the guy sitting next to you waiting your turns for the oral boards. Except you smoked dope a few times as a kid and he hasn't. Everything else being equal who is going to get the job?"

This is copied directly from the sticky at the top of the page. This is not someone's opinion, this is how it is in the application process.