Retired officer: Times have changed in law enforcement. Where do I go now?

 
Life is not fair. The question I’ve been trying to answer for most of my adult life is, “Why?” I, along with countless other patriotic Americans, have dedicated their lives to public service, only to find that most of us have suffered some sort of great loss, whether it be to PTSD or other mental health issues, substance abuse, separation and divorce, or any combination of issues.

To make matters worse, many times we are afraid to ask for help, because it could result in being relieved of duty. “All the time, effort, and sacrifice we make just to be sidelined? No way. I’m not risking that.” Also, to be mocked and called “weak” because we have actual feelings just adds insult to injury.

All of these factors often create an insurmountable amount of stress for Law Enforcement families, which also contributes to their demise. Police Officers put their lives on the line day in and day out, and are ridiculed, harassed, attacked, and even murdered for the badge they wear and the oath they swore to uphold.

Yet, most continue to wake up, strap on their gear, kiss their families goodbye and head to the unknown violence and tragedies awaiting them during their shift. Although we didn’t speak of it too often, all of us knew the risk to our lives that was ever-present throughout our careers. Over the last 13 years it has become exponentially worse for the Law Enforcement community.

We now have government officials and politicians publicly disparaging officers before they even know all the details of an incident. They have politicized and completely dismantled the entire premise of Law Enforcement. It’s become so politically corrupted, even some Law Enforcement Officers have segregated themselves according to political affiliation. We used to be “brothers and sisters to the end”.

Now, we’re “persons, places, or things who only like certain other persons, places, or things, which may identify as something completely different, but use the same bathroom as someone or something different, only when the establishment doesn’t allow it, but only to the end if there’s something good for us to gain, otherwise we’ll stop now, because it’s just too hard to work that long…”

You catch my drift. IT’S ABSOLUTELY INSANE! None of it even makes any sense!

It seems now Law Enforcement officers are just punching bags for the citizenry at large. Any time an officer does their job, they risk being suspended, fired, arrested and/or imprisoned. But the average citizen can steal, rob, attack, and murder in our streets, and they are just released back into society to do it again.

I guess it’s not supposed to even matter anymore, since we are allowing illegal aliens into our country by the boat, truck or plane load, and taking our rights away from us and giving it to them.

I was taught that Law Enforcement was always apolitical; we enforced the laws equally across the board, regardless of who you were, what you looked like, who you voted for, and what type of plant or animal you “identified” as. It did not matter to us. If you committed a crime, you were prosecuted accordingly. Furthermore, political affiliation was non-existent in the consideration of doing our jobs.

That was not a deciding factor on whether justice was served for victims! We could care less who you were; If you hurt someone, you were getting dealt with. PERIOD. Unfortunately, Politics seems to be exactly the deciding factor nowadays. Just turn the TV on and watch for five minutes.

Early on in my Law Enforcement career I was taught by the “Old Timers” that we’d never get rich, but we’d never starve. That statement stuck with me throughout my career. As it ends up, that statement has truly proven to be accurate.

In 2022 I left Law Enforcement after dedicating 21 years of my life to protecting and serving the communities in which I and my family lived and worked, to take a chance on business ownership.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as I had hoped. I have been looking to go back to work for the last few months, so I started applying to go back to Law Enforcement. I have been getting the “thanks but no thanks” from numerous agencies, and it is disheartening. Is it my age? I’m not that old, so I would hope not. I still have many good years ahead of me to be productive.

Am I being blackballed for leaving Law Enforcement? I know it happens, but I would hope not. I have never been disciplined, I have only received awards and accolades in my career.

Is it my political affiliation? Everyone who knows me, knows how I vote. But I don’t talk openly about it to anyone other than like-minded people. I don’t feel the need to counsel anyone who votes differently, nor persuade them to change their minds.

I’ve even applied for many jobs in the private sector which I know I’m qualified for (maybe even over-qualified), but I can’t seem to get so much as a reply email back. I am an honest, loyal, hard-working veteran Law Enforcement professional with integrity who has dedicated most of his adult life to helping people in crisis.

Yet once I left, I feel like everyone turned their backs on me. Times surely have changed from when I first entered the profession.

Public Servants used to be appreciated by the people they served, not attacked. Maybe the man above doesn’t want me to go back to Law Enforcement. I know he’s worked hard to keep us all safe every shift. Maybe he has a bigger and better path for me. If he does, I’d sure appreciate him showing it to me.

All I have now is faith, and even it is waning. I keep trying to tell myself that all the lives I’ve saved and good I’ve done throughout my career will come full circle, but I’m doubtful. All I can do is pray that it will all work out and keep the faith as long as I can.