A cop friend of mine sent me this today, I thought it was worth sharing so I cleaned it up and posted it. I hope someone else likes it too.

Anyone ever wonder why cops are such 'jerks'? Every ******, rotten,
horrible, scary situation that exists in life, cops deal with it.
Repeatedly. Every darn' day. Your 'worst day ever' is just another
tour. Car accident, homicide, rape, robbery, baby mama drama, baby daddy
drama, family dispute over who gets the last pork chop that winds up with
a dinner guest sporting a steak knife in the chest, a kid that goes
missing or runs away, a Dad who gets tanked up and uses Mom as a speed
bag, a drug overdose, hostage situations...every despicable thing that one
human being can do to another is what the police are immersed in every
day.

Just this week, police in Newburgh, NY were at the scene where a
wonderful upstanding citizen was holding others hostage. Earlier this
year, this young man's brother charged the police with a knife (it was the
last thing he did on this earth...) and the present hostage situation put
the lives of 2 people in peril as the perpetrator ranted and raved. The
police charged him and subdued him. What does his family do? Why, they
charge the police of course! Listen, one family member was a savage who
tried to kill the police and just a few months later his little brother is
threatening the lives of others while he holds them hostage. Just after
minimizing the threat from this psycho, they have to hold off his family
who tried to rush the police. Just a little note, when your 'emotionally
disturbed' family member is off his/her meds and is a danger to himself or
to society and the police have to be called to the scene, try to remember
they are the POLICE. If you wanted a social worker or a psychologist, you
should have dialed one directly.


This past month, a young NYPD officer gained some notoriety when he
bought a pair of boots for what appeared to be a homeless man down on his
luck on the streets of Manhattan. It was a selfless gesture and the story
went nationwide. It was an opportunity to see the police in a kinder,
softer light and quite a human interest story. Of course the media wanted
to know all about the recipient of the benevolence - who was he? What was
his 'story'? Well, it was learned that Mr. Hillman was not (and is not)
homeless. He has a nice apartment in the Bronx, he receives Social
Security and Veteran's benefits and has a loving supportive family in
Pennsylvania. When asked what he did with the boots, he claimed that he
hid them because he didn't want to be robbed and that they were valuable
(bull - he sold them).

Mr. Hillman also claimed that he intends to sue the photographer because
he didn't give permission for his picture to be taken and he wants a
'piece of the pie' . So Mr. Hillman is a straight up 'playa', yo. Officer
DePrimo said that he was going to keep the receipt in his bulletproof vest
as a reminder that no matter how hard a day he was having, he would know
that someone else is having a harder time and that he would always be
grateful. Officer DePrimo did an honorable thing, but the death of his
innocence and naive has begun and in it's place, cynicism and disdain may
have begun its germination.

Stuff like this happens all the time. You call, they come. When they
come, it is likely that someone will be leaving in handcuffs. You cannot
call the police to a violent situation and expect that in the end,
everyone's tears will be dried, hot chocolate and cookies will be handed
out to be enjoyed by all and "Kumbaya" will be heard in the background.

They are law enforcement officers. They enforce the law. You do not get
to determine how they execute their duties. If you could have handled the
bag of stuff you called them about, you would have. You couldn't, so just
shut up and deal with the fact that your
husband/wife/brother/sister/baby mama/baby daddy/child/BFF could very well
be spending time as a guest of the municipality who came to answer your
call for help.

Cops hang out with other cops. They get each other; they don't have to
explain themselves. They laugh at things other people think inappropriate.

Their humor is dark, but they love to laugh. They work second jobs and
they are Boy Scout Leaders, lacrosse, football, soccer, hockey and
baseball coaches. The divorce rate in the United States is over 50%, for
cops it is significantly higher, and with good reason.

They spend twenty –plus years being tired and grumpy from the commute,
the crazy hours, the job and pain in the butt bosses. When they walk in
the door and the kids yell, “Daddy!” (or, “Mommy!”) they ‘re ready with a
big hug, a smile and a “What’s up guys?” How, you ask, do I know these
things? I have spent twenty seven years being married to one of them. He
is one of those big-mouthed tough guys who know everything. He trusts no
one. He is a cop’s cop. He has an amazing memory and eye for detail that
is astounding.

Anyone who has ever worked with him will tell you he is probably a
little crazy, but that he is the best cop they ever worked with. For
twenty years, I watched him walk out the door and I always prayed that he
would come back. There were some really close calls, but he always made it
home. I have never taken that for granted, I know too well the ache and
emptiness in the eyes of the survivors of the shield.


For twenty years, I lent my husband to New York City to patrol the
streets and to keep the wolves at bay so that the people of that city
could live under the blanket of security and safety that his existence
provided; all the while knowing that the very citizens he protected
resented his presence. In 2010, our son took the oath of office and wears
the shield his father wore before him. Again, I wait each night until I
hear the key in the door before I fall into a deep sleep.


Cops are Jerks. It's what keeps them alive and whole, because if they
let all the **** they deal with actually sink in, it would destroy their
souls. So they will deal with the things you don't want to believe really
happen. They will be physically and emotionally bruised, battered and
bloodied. And at the end of each tour when they take off the uniform and
close their locker they say a brief prayer of thanks for making it through
the day safely. There is one thing that a cop wants every day when he or
she goes into work – just one thing. At the end of tour, they want to go
home. That’s it, just to make it home where things are normal, boring and
safe. When all is said and done, that really is their job - to make it
through the day and arrive home safe and sound.


- A Cop's Wife

__________________
Shoot fast & live long
Warren