Impressive and unimpressive Cops.

[RO56]

My intentions weren't ever to look bad upon fellow LEOs. My response was to the Tall guy with clean shave and clean cut hair. Our former third shift guy is smaller then me but He hardly never shaved, hi uniform is wrinkled all the time, hair a mess. His hat had sweat bands visible when he wore it. That to me is unimpressive.

The attitude of the general public towards an officer can be directly relative to his or her willingness to present a professional appearance and demeanor.

Present yourself with dignity and take your profession seriously, or they won't take you seriously, either.

If there is one word that has never been acceptable in my life, in our home, for our children and their efforts, or in my work, it's mediocrity.

I didn't say that perfection was required; only the mediocrity wasn't acceptable.

[Sphagnum]

I'd think there would be great incentive for a department to keep it's officers in top physical shape.

Do any of the Verifieds here have financial incentives in their depts to stay in shape? I would think it would almost be a no brainer to give the officer that kind of incentive (and likewise pushishment for being overweight) to keep them in shape.

[shorty26]

Some "average" looking LEOs may suprise you. I am 5'6 and wrestled at 215lbs. in high school. Some of my opponents were in for a rude awakening when they shrugged me off as a short fat guy. I am reminded of a Cops episode with a one-legged LEO in Florida who ran down a guy. Boy, was that perp suprised!

That being said, I hope that someday when I am an LEO I won't get lax in my appearance. You can be a bit heavy and still keep your shirt tucked in and neat looking.

Edit: I could also run, not just muscle my way around. At 5'6 and 215 lbs, I could consistently run a 7 minute or better mile. 6 years later at 5'6 and 245 lbs, I am just breaking a 12 minute mile.:D

[BP348]

I'm in the process of trying to drop about 30 pounds. Many federal agencies have a program that lets you workout 3 hours a week while on duty.

Not a great program but better than nothing, Which is the education program we have. That's right CBP has no education program!! Well they do but it hasen't been funded since we switched to DHS. But, that's for another post.

That being said I think Switchback has it right, some guys have more problems than others. But, I really think a lot of it comes down to officer presence. I've seen plenty of "bigger" officers/Agents who have great officer presence who don't have the problems that some of the more "in shape" guys have. Also a lot of it is pride. It doesn't happen every day but for the most part when I go to work my uniform is ironed, boots are shined (OK just black), with a good shave & haircut. Same goes for the days when I have to wear plain cloths. This helps people realize that their dealing with a professional.

As far as being out run you, guys will never know humiliation until your out run by a 65 year old alien who is carrying a gallon milk jug of water in each hand .

[BlueKnight901]

Its a county thing :D

I resent that...:D

[jmac_52]

The attitude of the general public towards an officer can be directly relative to his or her willingness to present a professional appearance and demeanor.

Present yourself with dignity and take your profession seriously, or they won't take you seriously, either.

If there is one word that has never been acceptable in my life, in our home, for our children and their efforts, or in my work, it's mediocrity.

I didn't say that perfection was required; only the mediocrity wasn't acceptable.

Your words should be taken seriously by all. Appearance and attitude play a major role in all occupations, not just LE. It amazes me how people respond to you if you're dressed neatly and show a strong, positive attitude.

[Sphagnum]

The latest Maines:

"A lot of pandering started going on, and you'd see soldiers and the American flag in every video. It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism."

"The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism," Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country… I don't see why people care about patriotism."

What a *****... :rolleyes:

[Shez]

I agree that an image of fitness and good health is a positive one for all police departments. However, in my humble experience (5 years) I do say and will always say that the most important tool a police officer can use is their mouth.

Most of those older, sometimes over weight guys have world of experience in using their heads and their mouths that us younger ones can learn from them. I'm tired of seeing young kids come through that are only interested in the physical nature of the job. In my opinion our job is about 'solving problems'. The best way to solve a problem is by diffusing a sitation with your knowledge and your mouth.

[1depd]

I agree that an image of fitness and good health is a positive one for all police departments. However, in my humble experience (5 years) I do say and will always say that the most important tool a police officer can use is their mouth.

Most of those older, sometimes over weight guys have world of experience in using their heads and their mouths that us younger ones can learn from them. I'm tired of seeing young kids come through that are only interested in the physical nature of the job. In my opinion our job is about 'solving problems'. The best way to solve a problem is by diffusing a sitation with your knowledge and your mouth.

To piggyback my agency has both fit and unfit looking officers. I've seen the most professional looking officer lose everything he worked on with the image after being on scene less than 2 minutes. Which also happened to be the time it took him to open his mouth.

[Jay7376]

I'm an pretty sure that there was a small study done which indicated that officers who are in good physical shape, uniform squared away, boots shined, the whole nine yards, were much less likely to be assault on duty than those just the opposite.

The study even interviewed several inmates who had been arrested for assaulting an officer. The inmates basically confirmed this theory with their statements.