Should I bother trying again?

[pi1]

I am a 46 year old male. I was an MP in the Army and served from 81-83 and was honorably discharged. I was married at an early age (19) and was going through a divorce that was pretty bad.

I was 20 then and applied to become a cop in a medium sized municipality. I scored high on the written exam and was ranked 17 out of 1180 applicants. At the very last step of the hiring process, I was dq'd.

They said it was because I had neglected to tell them that I had a Workers' Comp case where I was slightly injured in a minor scuffle at a place I had worked at. I honestly had forgotten about it. I also took the advise of several cop friends who told me that because of affirmative action requirements, the only way I would get into the academy was if I lived in the city. Therefore, I used my Grandparents city address as my residence even though I didn't live there. They spoke to a neighbor who probably told them I didn't live there.

I had wanted to be a cop since I was a kid and was devastated when I got turned down although it was my own fault for lying about my residence. I gave up on my dream and became a very succesful stockbroker for 2 years. I quit because it was too boring and I learned that money doesn't mean anything unless your happy with what you do.

When I was about 23, I saw my girlfriend naked on the couch with an aquaintance through the window of his house. I broke in and confronted them but didn't touch either of them. I was charged with Crim. Mischief and the case was ACD'd.

I got remarried when I was 24 and had two children. I was going through another divorce and did not want to loose my family. I said that I would kill myself if my wife left with the kids. I only said it because I was desparate and stupidly thought she would feel sorry for me. I went to the hospital on my own and voluntarilly went into the Psyc unit for three weeks. I was diagnosed as having Clinical Depression and put on anti-depressants. I have been symtom free with no recurrences since 1988 but still take Prozac.

I became a private investigator in 1989 working for a small firm. Mostly insurance fraud, accident investigations and criminal defense work on some pretty big cases. I was remarried in 1995 to a great woman and remain happily married today. We literally have never even had a heated argument. We are perfect together.

The owner of the PI company died in 1998 and I purchased the business. I now have two homes and make over 100k per year working about 25 hours per week. My wife works as a PI with me and we are very happy. Well... at least I should be happy. I may loose my biggest contract due to them downsizing. This would put me out of business. I was pretty upset about it. I always thought I had no chance of being a cop after 35 years old.

But last night, I was on the internet and to my surprise, found that several states have no maximum age requirement to get hired. Now, I am thinking about trying to become a cop again. It is my hearts desire to be a cop and frankly would rather make 45k working 50 hours per week anyway if I could fulfill my dream. We are willing to relocate almost anywhere if I could get hired.

Am I chasing a dead horse here? I mean, what are my realistic chances of getting hired somewhere? I have been very stable and very succesfull for 21 years now. But, I still have the Psyc history and the arrest. I think about it almost every day and regret to this day that I lied during my background check when I was 20.

Do I stand any chance of any department hiring me? By the way, if asked by a BI, everyone who knows me would say that I would make an excellent cop. Thanks for reading this drawn out saga.

[Citicop]

Paragraphs are your friend.

Seriously.

I think you will have a very difficult time getting hired anywhere as a Law Enforcement Officer.

-You forgot that you got into a fight at work and were injured to the point of needing Workman's Comp and didn't list it on your application when asked (how do you "forget" something like that?

-You lied on an application about your residence

-You were arrested for Criminal Mischief (here it would have been Burglary)

-You Threatened Suicide, and spent 3 weeks in a Mental Hospital

-Diagnosed with Depression

These things would make it very difficult for you to get hired. Law Enforcement hiring is done on a competitive basis. Your competition will not have that many issues to overcome. I'd stick with the PI thing, if I were you.

Citicop.

[mikecrazy]

No, use paragraphs, and I'll be retiring at 43 :cool:

[pi1]

After looking at my post again, I saw how hard it was to read without the paragraphs. Thanks for taking the time to read it and answering my questions.

I really wasn't trying to hide the Workers Comp incident. It's just that I went to the hospital the next day and had my arm x-rayed. I didn't loose any time from work and the hospital billed Workers Comp. I wasn't fired for it and just didn't tie it to the question about Workers Comp.

I know I made some terrible choices when I was younger. I just thought that the length of time since then would be a factor. I tell my kids all the time about consequences to their actions. It's just really hard to live with this consequence because I have come so far and changed so much.

I completely understand why I was DQ'd the first time I tried. I would hate to try again and get my hopes up for nothing. So, the bottom line is I just wouldn't have a chance no matter how I tried to explain it?

If there really is no possible way I could get hired, I need to know so I can try and move on. By the way, I may not have a choice regarding the PI thing.

Thanks again.

[dinarguy]

I really have no "good" advice because I am not an officer of the law.

I only wanted to say not many things are impossible. I think if you wanted it bad enough, you would keep trying. You said you scored in the top 17 people before...why not try it out all over again? What will it hurt to try? Anyone can say that you have no chance at all (sometimes they are very right)...but what will you lose by trying?

The address thing is iffy though...why on earth would you lie on your application when you are trying to become a LEO?? That doesnt make sense to me. I think it should be 100% truth, or nothing.

[pi1]

I lied because I was stupid. There were only x amount of openings and having city residency moved me up on the list high enough to make it in. There was affirmative action in effect and they had to hire two minorities for very three applicants. I guess I thought this was unfair and decided to even the playing field a bit. I regret it every day. I was a different person back then.
But, just so you don't think I was so stupid to think they wouldn't check, I "thought" I "had it covered" because I changed my address at the PO and my grandparents were trying to help me. And, the reason I don't want to try again is because..... I guess I already know in my heart that I wouldn't make it. I just need to hear it from the people who know more than me about it.

[DZL]

It won't hurt to try... If you don't you might later regret not giving it your all...

My only question to you is at 46, is this what you really want to do...? How are you going to compete against the young 20 somethings...

Good luck whatever you decide to do...

[pi1]

Thanks DZL. Are there any LEO out there that think I would have a chance anywhere?

[Roger Dat]

Even if the arrest and lying were overlooked, threat of suicide is a DQ at every department. This is a stressful job and far too many cops have taken there own lives over the years. No chance.

[DeltaV]

I have been symtom free with no recurrences since 1988 but still take Prozac.

IMO, this is the worst thing and would DQ you everywhere that I know of. No agency is going to hire an applicant who has taken antidepressants daily for 20 years.

[pi1]

Thank you everyone for your honest answers. I have decided to just forget about it and move on. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side as they say.

My cop friends think I have it made being a PI. They think I'm nuts for wanting to become a cop now-a-days with the way they are treated on the street and by their superiors.

I work (sitting in a van listening to books on tape) 4 - 6 hours per day doing surveillance for workers comp fraud and my wife does the same. We can get as much or as little work as we want. We could each work 10 hours per day if we wanted to. We bill $75 each per hour. We take the day off when we want to. We sleep in when we want to and dont have to answer to anyone. I have never had to miss any of my kids school events and never had to work a weekend or a holiday. All this and I would still give it up in a heatbeat to be a cop. THAT is probably the thing that would DQ me the quickest!

Still, theres something about going lights and siren into a completely hostile situation that draws me. Slapping the cuffs on a real bad guy feels so good. I will always envy you who are in Law Enforcement that get to do that. I bet there isn't any of you out there that would switch positions with me.

God Bless, stay safe and have a happy holiday season.

[camp4928]

Maybe try surfing, mountain biking, cliff diving, ice climbing, parasailing, boogie boarding, skiing, BMX biking, bungie jumping, snake charming, or any other extreme sport for a thrill. From what I've heard, being a cop just turns into the daily grind after a while. It's a job.

[mcsap]

IMO, this is the worst thing and would DQ you everywhere that I know of. No agency is going to hire an applicant who has taken antidepressants daily for 20 years.

Almost everything was palatable except the 3 week psych stay and the biggie being the use of Prozac for 20 YEARS. To me , this means that you have unresolved issues that you apparently cannot cope or deal with unless medicated.

[noelchabanel]

Ever thought about EMT or paramedic school? It's different, but you are still responding to emergencies and fixing people's problems. You may run into some of the same road blocks with the psych problems, but the bar is a bit lower partly because you don't often have to face the possibility of a defense attorney making you look like a whack job, losing the case, and embarassing the department when you testify against his client in court. Depending on where you live you may be able to do it as a volunteer and keep your good-paying job.

[BNTF]

Best of luck to you in whatever it is you decide to do, you seem pretty forthcoming in things that you have been through- that amounts to a lot