Eric Garners Death

Unfortunately policing is not all about them being heros. There are officers who make mistakes and there are officers who disgrace the badge. In the case of Eric Garner police made a serious mistake which disgraced the badge. Eric was a 43 year old father who was killed in police custody while they stopped him on staten island. He repeatedly expressed that he could not breath but the officers did not listen and he died. He was being arrested for allegedly selling untaxed cigars and this lead to him dieing. In the video shown there were no signs of resist but the police still used serious force. As a person wanting to be a police officer i sometimes try to see their side of stories but in this one i really can not. They killed a man for no reason at all. It was an accident maybe but that is also known as involuntary manslaughter and that is a crime.

According to channel 4 new york the medical examiner determined his death a homicide from the choke hold he was in by police. Garner's family had gone to the district attorney with his death and had requested it to be investigated which lead to the autopsy report. As they were arresting him he was being choked and shoved into the ground. There was no clear reason why he was being arrested but he is a overweight asthmatic. This and being shoved into the ground while being choked lead to his death.

According to channel 4 commissioner Bill Bratton of the NYPD is cooperating fully with the investigation. He has suspended the officers involved without pay. He has also ordered the whole police force to take part in use of force training because the way that garner was arrested was a banned use of force. The NYPD has banned chokeholds to apprehend suspects. Channel four states that the mayor's office and the district attorney's office are all informed about the matter and will be taking action. The mayor stated that he will work “to ensure a fair and justified outcome.” He was also quoted by channel 4 saying “We all have a responsibility to work together to heal the wounds from decades of mistrust and create a culture where the police department and the communities they protect respect each other -- and that’s a responsibility that Commissioner Bratton and I take very seriously,"

Wearing the badge does not make you above the law. Wearing a badge means the complete opposite. When you take the oath of an officer you swear to protect the people of your jurisdiction at all cost. You swear to follow the law and be better than those you watch over. Be an example to them. These officers spit on that oath when they decided to use lethal force in a situation where it was not needed simply because they have a badge and a gun. It is officers like this who make all officers look bad. I am here to tell you that yes there are bad cops out there but if you talk to most about this situation they will tell you that these officers do not deserve to wear the badge after this incident.

Video:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Eric-Garner-Chokehold-Police-Custody-Cause-of-Death-Staten-Island-Medical-Examiner-269396151.html

Source:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Eric-Garner-Chokehold-Police-Custody-Cause-of-Death-Staten-Island-Medical-Examiner-269396151.html

Chase turned to 9 car pile up

On April 15th, 2016 at around 2:30 pm there were people driving on the Everett Turnpike in Nashua were terrorized by a carjacker. Jonathan Calvin, a thirty-one year old Nashua native, was reported stealing a car in Nashua. He then fled down the Everett Turnpike between exits four and five, where he then proceeded to crash the stolen car. When another driver saw this she stopped to help him. He then stabbed her and stole her car and drove south down the highway where police caught up with him and the chase began. He was chased all the way into Massachusetts where Mass. state troopers took over the chase. There is no information on how far into Massachusetts he got before turning around. He then went back north towards New Hampshire where the New Hampshire state police took control of the chase again. You may be thinking why haven't they stopped him yet but when you think about it the police must take account for public safety and this driver most likely is not doing that. We know for a fact he has no problem hurting somebody to get away. There is a certain tactic in doing a police chase that they learn in the academy in order to keep the public safe. There is a rule in Massachusetts that officers can not chase a motorcycle going one hundred miles an hour or over because it is a danger to public safety. The chase continued into New Hampshire until Calvin caused a nine car accident and was thrown from his vehicle where he tried to flee from officers.

He tried to fight them off and it took about ten to fifteen officers to take him down. Due to the amount of cars in the accident the highway was closed down for two hours during rush hour times. People were detoured to avoid more back up and to avoid the scene incase anything else happened.

Luckily only few people were taken to the hospital for non life threatening injuries. The women who was stabbed is reported to be ok and alive. Calvin will be arraigned on multiple charges including carjacking, assault and battery, endangering public safety, and many more.  He will also be responsible for the damages caused to the vehicles in this accident which usually will be paid for by his insurance. There is a catch though, in New Hampshire unlike Massachusetts you do not need car insurance but you must be able to pay for all damages that you cause. I do not believe that he is insured or has the money for the damages because he was obviously stealing the car for a reason to get money.

He will be found guilty and be sentenced to prison time, but will also be taken to court by the people who were involved in the accident. It is most likely that he will have to give at least one hundred grand to each person if they were injured in the accident.

Video:

http://www.wcvb.com/news/multivehicle-crash-along-route-3-in-nashua/39048804

Sources:

http://www.wcvb.com/news/multivehicle-crash-along-route-3-in-nashua/39048804

http://patch.com/new-hampshire/nashua/high-speed-chase-mass-ends-nashua-crash-0

being a detective

Becoming a detective takes a special type of person. You need a unique set of physical and mental skills. According to (study.com) you need keene perception, leadership skills, communication, multitasking, physical stamina, basic computer skills, experience, and comfortability using law enforcement tools.

You can not just decide to be a detective. According to (study.com) Detectives start out as police officers so you must go through the requirements and police accademy first. You must also work as an officer on your probation period. In most precincts being a detective is a promotion so you will be competing for it. Not all places require a college degree but you will have an upper hand over a guy who just has a high school diploma. Earning a college degree not only prepares you for the academy but it can help you build the skills to become a better detective. It is a good choice because you must be 21 to go to the academy so may aswell get a degree while you are waiting unless you decide to go military.

As a police officer you should already be in good physical shape but as a detective you will need that. Contrary to popular belief it is not just desk work. You will be investigating and following up on leads and someone may run from you or try to attack you and you will need to take control of the situation. Also because our world is evolving crime is too so you will need to be educated on the basics of technology because crime is not just physical.

You need to be healthy mentally as well. If you can not handle looking at a dead body or things like this then being a detective or even a police officer is just not for you. Maybe you will never see one on the job but depending on where you work you will be investigating murder and there are some sick people out there who commit some gruesome murders. You need to not only be able to stomach this but you need to keep sane. If you can not keep your cool or stay sane while working cases like this you will not last. Like i said before you need to have a unique sense of skills and be able to see things normal people just don’t. You need to be able to determine when people are lying to you and when they are being sincere. You also need to read a room or situation and see that it is a dangerous one before anything bad happens. Most importantly you need to prepare to be attacked at one point not just physically but mentally. As you are investigating cases you will deal with people who can get in your head and destroy you. You can not let them. This is why the weak minded will not do good here. Before you choose a career path that will lead you here make sure you have these requirements so you do not ruin yourself.

Video:

http://abc7.com/news/dna-helps-vc-detectives-solve-cold-case-murders/1010702/

Sources:

http://study.com/become_a_detective.html

Becoming a StateTrooper

Becoming a state trooper has a few different requirements than becoming a boston police officer or any other type of town law Enforcement. Being a state trooper is closer to being military than town law enforcement. Before you can even be considered for training there are nine different requirements needed to qualify.

Step one is to meet all of these requirements that (LawEnforcementEDU) has provided. First you must be at least twenty-one years of age and no older than thirty-five years of age. That does not mean you are retired at thirty-five it just means that is the latest you can become an officer. Next and most important you can not be convicted of a felony or drug offense under any circumstance. You can not have a criminal out defending people's rights as a police officer that is just too contradictory. You are not allowed to smoke any type of tobacco product mostly because of the physical requirements. As a police officer you will need to carry a firearm and be educated to an extent so in order to qualify you need to be suitable for a License to carry a firearm and have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. Obviously you need to be a citizen of not only the united states but massachusetts as well, also you must have a mass. Drivers license. Unfortunately you are not allowed to have any body art visible in the fitness uniform. Right now tattoos are not considered professional. Once you have checked yourself off for all of these requirements you need to apply and take an entrance exam.

According to (LawEnforcementEDU) you can apply online at the commonwealth of Massachusetts online job portal. This is not a usual application. These applications are usually pages on pages. You can find the entrance exam info on the state police recruitment page or the commonwealth of massachusetts administration and finance page. According to (LawEnforcementEDU) The entrance exam consists of three parts with a 100 dollar entrance fee. First part is the (WAT) or Written abilities Test which will test your problem sensitivity, verbal comprehension, deductive reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Information ordering, and verbal expression. The next part is the Life Experience Survey which is just used to find out about your past and former jobs. The last part is the Work Styles Questionnaire which is a way to find out what kind of person you are good or bad, hard worker or lazy, someone who will do what it takes to protect people. If you have passed this exam it means you will move on to the physical abilities test.
Before you are allowed to take the physical abilities test you will need to complete a medical examination. You can find the requirements to pass this test on the state police website but once you pass it you will be able to take the the four step PAT that cost 150 dollars. You will complete the same tests as the boston police department test the obstacle course, trigger pull, separation event, and the dummy drag. Step six and seven kind of go together because you must pass a psych exam and a background check first then be interviewed. If you get through these three things you will be sent to State Trooper Academy where you will have about 6 months of classes and physical tests such as (LawEnforcementEDU)“firearms; self-defense tactics; criminal law; military drills; court procedures; ethics; community policing; and diversity awareness” after this you will graduate and be assigned to a barracks because you are now a Massachusetts state Trooper.

Video:

http://www.wcvb.com/news/Day-in-the-life-of-State-Police-recruit/25762752

Sources:

http://www.lawenforcementedu.net/massachusetts/massachusetts-state-trooper/

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/massachusetts

Becoming a Boston Police Officer

Becoming a police officer in Massachusetts is mostly the same in every city and town. In this post I will be talking about how to become a Boston Police officer. This is a tough job that has strict requirements when accepting new recruits.

Not every step of becoming a boston police officer is very difficult but they are very strict and everyone of them includes multiple requirements. Step one involves the requirements to be accepted into the academy. The most important thing is you must be a United States Citizen by birth or be naturalized. The next requirement is that you must be 21 years or older. There is no requirement for higher education because you need a High school diploma, GED, or be in the armed forces for at least three years. Higher education may not be a requirement but it does help with pay because with higher education comes more hourly and annual pay. In order to be a police officer you must be able to drive therefor you must have a valid massachusetts driver's license. A requirement that only Boston and certain other cities in mass use is that you must live in Boston or any other cities that use it up to a year before your civil service exam.

Step two according to (LawEnforcementEDU) is that you must pass the Police Civil Service Exam. This is needed for all towns and cities for becoming a police officer. It costs 100 dollars. The Civil Service Exam involves three parts the written abilities test, life experience survey, and the work styles questionnaire. The written abilities test is used to evaluate your reading comprehension, oral communication skills, reasoning, and ordering information. The life experience survey is a multiple choice test about your history and how it relates to you becoming a Boston police officer. The work styles questionnaire evaluates your character as a person, motivation, and values of becoming a Boston police officer.

(LawEnforcementEDU) says that step three is a much longer process. Once your are called up you will attend the orientation and given an application packet that is extremely long. In order to become a police officer there will be a background check done by an investigator. All of your references and people in your history will be called and checked up on. There will also be a house visit to make sure that you live and boston and to check out your living conditions.

The Next step is a Physical fitness, psychological, medical, and drug test. You must be tested on your mental health, your overall health, and whether or not you do drugs. The biggest part of this test is the PAT or (Physical Ability Test).You must complete an obstacle course in 130.4 seconds or less, squeeze a trigger with both hands in less than 7 seconds, drag a dummy a certain distance in 11 seconds, and separate two people in 14.2 seconds or less. Sounds easier than it is i’m sure.

Boston is such a large city so they have their own police academy. This is the next step where you go through 6 weeks of multiple different courses on how to be a police officer. Once you graduate you will be sworn as a Boston Police Officer.  

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4IsElBICi4

Sources:

EDU, L. E. (n.d.). Becoming a Police Officer in Boston, Massachusetts. Retrieved April 18, 2016, from http://www.lawenforcementedu.net/massachusetts/boston/

B. (2015). Boston Police Academy graduation ceremony. Retrieved April 18, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4IsElBICi4

Reformative Justice

Policing is not all about Arresting people and putting them in jail. Police are not out there to ruin someone's future. There are plenty of different types of justice that do not leave a mark on your record and can put you on a path to a bright future. One of these different types of justice is called Restorative Justice. This form of justice takes Minor non violent offenders such as Vandalism, minor theft, and other charges that most young kids will commit and gives them a second chance. It is mostly used on young children and older juveniles to fix the damages they caused by committing these minor crimes. This is not something that can be used on a violent offender such as assault, rape, or murder because those things are not typically mistakes. The only violent offense that can really be put in restorative justice is minor assault such as two kids getting into a fight which now is such a terrible thing.

According to Officer Greg Ruprecht restorative justice can take up to several months. It starts by the offender or offenders admitting to what they did wrong. Without this step restorative justice will not happen because it is a kind of healing process and if you do not believe you did something wrong then it will not work. You take everyone involved like the offender, victim, parents of both victim and offender, and anyone else involved in the offense. Everyone sits down and talks about what happened and discuss what happened and the pain that was caused. After this is done they discuss what can be done to make up for this. This is a lot more effective with victims than someone going to jail. With this maybe the offender can work for the victim, help them with yard work, do some housework for them, do food shopping for them, anything to help make up for the pain or damage they had caused. This allows closure where someone going to jail and not getting better does not allow closure. With restorative justice there is a very high chance that the offender will not reoffend but in jail, prison, or probation the offender is not really treated like a human and reoffending is common.

Ruprecht had an event happen to him that changed his whole picture of Restorative Justice. He was working the night shift because he was a knew police officer. Around 8 young kids between 10- 13 years old had broken into an abandoned chemical factory. Just stupid kids doing stupid stuff we have all done it. But he went in with his dog and the kids ran. They ended up in a field and the kids were hiding. Officer greg had his gun drawn and the dog ready to go before the kids came out of hiding. He then realized that he could have seriously hurt these kids and he didn't want to ruin their futures. This is when he decided to turn to restorative justice but he was still skeptical until he had gone through it and realized it is a useful tool in policing. He since then has used it in multiple cases and even adult cases and can see that it is very successful.

This form of justice gives people a chance to change their lives and also educates some police officers on better ways to do their jobs. They are their to help not just put us in jail or fine us.

Video:

http://posi-party.org/articles/rowan-university-criminal-justice-program-2305104.html

Sources:

Rowan university criminal justice program Videos. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2016, from http://posi-party.org/articles/rowan-university-criminal-justice-program-2305104.html

About Restorative Justice. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2016, from http://restorativejustice.org/restorative-justice/about-restorative-justice/

Boston Police Beginnings

The Boston police department is the oldest in our country and has changed a lot over the years. In this post i will talk about the origin of the department through a few events that will lead us to the year 1919.

According to the Boston Police Department website the first form of police was established in 1631. This was a group of men known as the watch. The men would walk around Boston at night keeping people safe from different threats. The watch was under the control of the town meeting by 1636. Watchmen would carry a “Bill and Hook” which was a 6ft tool with a hook on one side and a club like part on the other. The hook was used to grab fleeing criminals and the club side was used for protection. In the early 1800’s the city approved a police force of six men run by a “city Marshal” but this did not mean that the watch was gone. The watch continued to run at night until 1854 when the Boston Police Department was officially Established. This was the first department in the nation. Since the city had grown since the first watch was created there were 250 officers on the first police force. The men were payed 2 dollars for every shift done and worked there own “beat” or route in which they walked daily patrolling the city. The Department did not have their first death until 3 years after their establishment.

According to “Michael Mcphee” of the boston herald the first Boston police officer to die in the line of duty was Ezekiel W. Hodsdon. He was on his normal beat keeping an extra look out for burglars who were robbing people in his east Boston area. The man who killed him was named William McNulty, a local tough guy known to have a gun. Being 1857 police did not carry firearms. All Ezekiel had to defend himself was a 14 inch club and that isn’t going to do much against a gun at point blank range. Guns at the time were not very accurate but any gun shot at a close enough range can’t really miss. According to “Find a Grave” Hodsdon was arresting one man for the burglaries but was approached from behind by another,who was later identified as William McNulty, and was shot point blank in the back of the head and the two men fled. End Of Watch was recorded on October 7, 1857. Mcnulty was convicted for the murder but later pardoned by officials.

The Boston police department was the first ever police department in our nation. It was started to protect citizens from the dangers in this world. These men were respected and people like that they had someone to protect them. Like many departments we know that through the years they have had corruption but what job has not? Today we dishonor our police officers by thinking they are all bad. Use Ezekiel's death to prove that not all officers are bad. Most are out there to protect us and some give all they have to keep us safe. Ezekiel left behind a newborn child and wife to stop two bad men and he was killed for it.

Sources:

Police Department, B. (n.d.). History of the BPD. Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://bpdnews.com/history/

Mcphee, M. (2013, August 13). A cop’s sacrifice is remembered...150 years later. Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2007/08/cop’s_sacrifice_remembered150_years_later

Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records and Online Memorials. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr

BPD Officer John Moynihan Shot in the Face on a Routine Traffic Stop

Officer John Moynihan Boston Police Department 

Angelo West "41 year old shooter"

Officer John Moynihan was a highly decorated Army Ranger who served in Iraq. He was part of the Boston youth violence task force and was a hero during the Boston bombing crisis. He had helped transit police officer Richard Donahue when he had been shot during the gun battle with the Tsarnaev brothers. He was honored in Washington D.C. by the National Associations of Police Organizations for his bravery. They awarded him one of the Top Cop awards. On March 27, 2015 John Moynihan and other police officers in unmarked vehicles with blue flashing lights pulled over a vehicle at 6:40 P.m. that Angelo west, a 41 year old convicted felon, was driving. There were reports of gunshots in the area and these officers were investigating. As Moynihan approached the vehicle and opened the the driver side door West flew out shooting Moynihan point blank below his right eye with a .357 magnum. West continued to fire at police as he ran and the officers who were interviewing the two passengers of the car opened fire on west killing him. West had been convicted on gun charges before and according to the law should not have been able to posses a gun in which case the gun he used on officer Moynihan was an illegally obtained firearm. Moynihan survived the gunshot and was taken to the hospital where he was put in a medically induced coma. He was not the only one hit in the shooting. A woman driving by was also hit but only suffered a minor flesh wound and recovered well.

Moynihan as honorary captain at New England Patriots game "Moynihan is center number 12

On Sunday the 29th of march Officer Moynihan was brought into surgery. The bullet entered below his right eye and was lodged below his right ear around the neck. He was in surgery for several hours to remove the bullet but was said it be in stable condition the whole time and the surgery was a success. Two months after the surgery he had just finished what he had hoped to be his last surgery. This one was to transplant different nerves from his foot, calf, and left side of his face to the spots that the bullet damaged on the right. Due to his injuries the right side of his face was partially paralyzed but not permanently. Moynihan had high hopes and was quoted saying “I’m feeling OK, kind of one day at a time,” he said. “It’s a slow, gradual process, but I’m happy, and the doctors are happy.” He was very thankful for the officers that took control of the situation and take down the threat saving his life. He was honored at the patriots game depicted in the picture above as an honorary captain. He had also been honored at a bruins game as well. Although he went down him and the men and women he worked with that day are heroes and this reminds us that the job they do protecting us is not a safe job and some people are out there to hurt them. Not all police officers are bad people, a great majority are good people out there just trying to make the world better.

Click here for video of shooting:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/10/boston-authorities-release-video-police-officer-being-shot/G5Zm6wfNmI7cKQE6qH4YmM/story.html?p1=Article_Related_Box_Article

Sources:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/30/wounded-boston-police-officer-john-moynihan-says-road-recovery/MJZIPMEIuWXdueGFrG0VHL/story.html

http://www.wcvb.com/news/decorated-boston-cop-john-moynihan-in-coma-after-being-shot/32074096

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/04/11/boston-police-officer-injured-in-shooting-released-from-hospital

http://southbostontoday.com/bpd-officer-john-moynihan-expected-to-make-a-full-recovery/

Average Salary of Police Officers

            The Average pay for a police officer in the United states is about 60,000 dollars. Like most of the professions in this country that involve risking your life it under pays. These men and women go out every day and risk their lives, some more than others, but they risk their lives. In my own opinion someone that risks there lives for others deserves enough money to make a comfortable living in this country especially if they have a family.

            As in most professions the higher in ranks you go the more you get paid. In Florida a patrol officer depending on qualifications they will be paid about $54,050. Detectives will be paid around $62,270 and supervisors will make around $70,540. This all depends on qualifications and a persons’ experience but that is the average in Florida.

            In California police officers make a fair amount of money when starting out. A patrol officer will make about $79,030. A detective will make about $92,390 and a superviser will make over $100,000 with $128,130.

            All of these Salaries are based on region, qualifications, and person. But the national average pay of a police officer is too low in my opinion. Someone who risks their life daily to protect others should make a fair wage at the start. Like any job if you want higher pay you have to climb the ladder but the ladder should start a little higher.

           

Information as of may 2014

National Employment of Police officers	Average hourly wage	Average annual wage
638,810	$28.64	$59,560

Percentile	10%	25%	50%	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$15.88	$20.32	$27.31	$36.00	$44.45
Annual Wage	$33,030	$42,260	$56,810	$74,870	$92,450

$18,220 - $42,840

North Carolina                                    South Dakota

Alabama                                              Arizona
Arkansas                                             South Carolina 

West Virginia                                      Oklahoma

Louisiana                                             Georgia

Kentucky                                             Mississippi

$43,270 - $51,900

Maine                                                  Vermont

New Hampshire                                  Virginia

Indiana                                                Montana

Kansas                                                New Mexico

North Dakota                                      Wyoming

Missouri                                              Idaho

Utah

                                               

$52,310 – $59,950

                                    Massachusetts                                     Rhode Island

                                    Maryland                                             Ohio

                                    Michigan                                             Wisconsin

                                    Minnesota                                           Iowa

                                    Nebraska                                             Texas

                                    Florida                                                 Arizona

                                    Hawaii

$61,200 - $88,530

                                    New York                                           Connecticut

                                    Pennsylvania                                       New Jersey

                                    Delaware                                             Illinois

                                    Colorado                                             Alaska

                                    Washington                                         Nevada

                                    Oregon                                                            California

Click her for video:

http://myfox8.com/2015/11/20/winston-salem-police-officers-push-for-higher-pay/

 Click here for sources:

http://www.lawenforcementedu.net/florida/florida-salary/

http://www.lawenforcementedu.net/california/california-salary/

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251111.htm