My backround

[freshmeat]

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[Piggy]

The arrests are going to be a huge hurdle. In the grand scheme of things, they are recent arrests. And it's twice for the same offense. Domestic incidents are really a downfall when it comes to Law Enforcement. I personally can't see it happening but you can wait to hear other responses. The convictions matter, but the conduct is also taken into consideration.

Your suspended license won't help either:

http://forums.realpolice.net/showthread.php?t=85056

[freshmeat]

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[pac201]

forgetting the background, you're 43 years old, why is it you're interested in LE?

[mcsap]

Bottom line is that your past includes a license suspension ( which you may not think is important but you aren't doing the hiring either) and two issues of Contempt that you pled Nolo to. A Nolo plea is the same as a guilty plea.

Your set of circumstances are mitigating in that you didn't go to her res at 0300 and pound on the door while intoxicated etc but you have " baggage" that a lot of other applicants WON'T have.

So they will probably allow you to apply and may or may not DQ you on the domestic issues but the fact that you pled to them cannot be changed. And ANY domestic violence related issues are looked at very dimly for a police applicant. And violating a Protection Order falls under the heading of DV.

And while you are at it , can you write in paragraphs ??

[freshmeat]

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[mcsap]

You may have some mitigating circumstances for all of your " ills" but they still exist and are bruises on your background. The fact is that they occurred and that they are on record.

We are in the business of hiring people to do risky work. And we do whatever we can to reduce if not eliminate hiring someone who has a background that shows anything criminal related or domestic related.

The exact circumstances are important but you have baggage that will be in any background investigation ever done on you and it will be considered in the general category of DV.

There are plenty of people who apply who have no such issues and they will be considered over someone like yourself.

I will not say you have no chance because you might. Apply and see what happens but dont expect these issues to be swept under the rug at any point.

[Roger Dat]

Contempt of court is a serious thing. Its basically saying a judge said to you specifically that you CANNOT do this this or this or you will be arrested and you did those things...... TWICE. My department would be a no go. Any kind of domestic issues that required police presence AND an arrest is a big red flag.

[SnapShawt]

Domestic issues are tough business these days. As others said, you do have mitigating circumstances, but I think you'll be unsuccessful in the hiring process. Don't let that stop you from trying if you really want to, just be ready for probable rejection. I do appreciate your honorable service to our country, and I wish I had better news for you.

You are 43 years old, and I agree that age is no factor in chasing dreams. However, we need realistic dreams to chase otherwise we set ourselves up for disappointment. Your age is not an issue to you, but it will be with those you ask to employ you in this profession.

Girlfriends (and for you ladies, boyfriends) become future wives many times. Trust me, we damn near put those we date through the same process and scrutiny we went through when getting hired. Why? Because someone we date or a spouse can easily kill our career. And they KNOW it. So we, or most of us anyway, tend to be extremely careful in this area. Agencies will see that you already have it in your background and would most likely be unwilling to take on a potential liability.

You sound like a gored person who unfortunately had a bad run of it, I wish you the best.

[DeltaV]

Regardless of whether or not adjudication was withheld, you were still arrested and charged with the offenses. They will still show up when a criminal history is run on you, and you will have to explain things during your background investigation. Pulling out a copy of the Florida statutes and trying to sugar-coat things by explaining what "adjudication withheld" and "no contest" mean in Florida and what the FDLE considers a "conviction" is neither going to impress your investigator nor trivialize the situation. In fact, if I were a background investigator and an applicant tried to trivialize their past actions by bringing up legal technicalities, that would send up red flags.

Just be honest when you explain what the circumstances of the case were and let the agency make their decision based upon that. They won't outright disqualify you at most places, but you still might not get hired since you're competing against plenty of people who have never been arrested.

Additionally, you're going to have to explain what happened that led up to your ex applying for and being granted an order of protection. I would also be EXTREMELY surprised if your background investigator does not contact her during your background investigation. I'm not saying that he will believe everything she says, but you can bet he'll be speaking to her.