Page 62 - August 2017

Our daily job reviews
Imagine walking into a nice restaurant and ordering some food. When the food comes to the table, you scream, “This food is freaking cold!” Then you start reprimanding the server and the manager and demanding that the chef come out and apologize for their pathetic attempt at cooking your meal. Do you
think this approach would work? Do
you think you would be asked to leave the restaurant? This is what happens to officers daily. Officers around the country do a job and get criticized every hour of every shift, from traffic stops to protests.
ceed to tell him how to fix your car, do you?
• When you go to your accountant to have your taxes done, you don’t start telling her how to do her job,
•
right?
If your house were on fire, you wouldn’t start scream-
ing at the firemen, telling them how to extinguish your house, would you?
Why is this behavior allowed when it comes to those in law enforcement? A traffic stop turns into “Why did you pull me over?” The domestic-bat-
BRIAN MCVEY
Workers at many companies receive performance re- views once a year. Some even know when they will have their annual review. Bosses walk in, nod and walk out. That’s all. I’ve talked with friends who have had their re- views during happy hour or on the golf course. Imagine that. Not bad at all. But can you imagine the toll on ci- vilians if they were getting reviewed daily by the general public? That’s what happens to those who work in law en- forcement. Several times a day, someone who is not hap- py — and is usually angry, loud and obnoxious — tells you how to do your job. It made me think...
• When your car is acting up, you take it to the mechan- ic. Having no experience in auto repair, you don’t pro-
tery offender screams, “Why are you locking me up? I didn’t hurt anyone! Stay out of my business!” The person with 10 bags of heroin screams, “You’ve got the wrong guy! This isn’t my jacket! You can’t lock me up!” The unruly offender who was shot with a Taser later says, “Why did you have to tase me? I didn’t know you were the
police! I would’ve stopped running!”
We are called to serve. We answer calls daily. The pub-
lic fails to realize that we don’t just show up at a random house – we are called there. We are dispatched to jobs and we walk into horrific scenes that keep some of us up at night. Then it’s on to the next call. It doesn’t get any easier when those who don’t like or trust the police taunt and ridicule officers while filming them during every chance encounter.
If this all sounds idiotic, that’s because it absolutely is. Why would anyone attempt to speak about something that they themselves know nothing about?
Why is it so acceptable for every man and woman to tell those in law enforcement how to do their jobs? They forget that we are professionally trained officers.
Those who harbor disgust seem to forget that officers are reviewed daily. People every day yell at officers, threat- en them and film them while they’re working. Thanks to cell phones, people have become wannabe filmmakers. These filmmakers are on every corner, at every traffic stop and at every protest. This is absolute madness. I wonder if anyone is giving them a review of their behavior toward the police? I think not.
I would like to remind officers to mentally prepare for these daily reviews. Make these encounters memora- ble for those critiquing you. If your daily review is being filmed, try hard not to get angry on camera. Be profes- sional and try to smile. You can even thank them for giv- ing you such sound advice. Do not get caught up in their trap. Remember, they pay your salary! (Ha!)
Every day, officers face the ever-shifting landscape of threats through agitators that the media reports as pro- testors. These officers continue to act with grace, restraint and authority. The professionalism that officers show is remarkable. Local media outlets don’t dare talk about this reality of our job. d
Brian McVey worked as a Chicago Police Officer for more than 10 years. He has a master’s degree in police psycholo- gy. He can be reached at btmcvey@comcast.net.
Health and Wellness
62 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2017