TexasCHLforum.com

It's interesting how many people like to bash the LEO's and play street lawyer. I can't count the number of times I had to answer to the brass after someone called them to complain that I didn't arrest or cite someone for cursing in public. Typically, I did what the Officer (yes, Fire Marshals are Peace Officers in the State of Texas) did and told them they were committing an offense and needed to watch their language.

If they complied, I made that the end of it. If they didn't, they went to jail.

Meanwhile, some bystander would call in and complain. Occasionally I'd get one citizen complaining because I didn't take the actor to jail and simultaneously another citizen complaining that I was throwing my weight around and violating someone's right to free speech. I'm not a peace officer any more, but if someone pops off with a bunch of foul language in front of my wife in public I'm going to say something to them about it.

And in the state of Texas, a citizen has the same arrest powers as a police officer. The big difference is it won't start raining police if you try to use those arrest powers and start losing the fight...or if you're wrong and it turns into false arrest, in which case you go to jail.

Too many people expect the law to do everything for them and refuse to 'man up' or shut up themselves. When officers do their job someone is always ready to second guess and criticize. Those guys get enough grief from their IA departments and the FBI...believe me, the bad apples are usually weeded out sooner than later and the system is heavily weighted against the officers from the get-go every time a complaint is lodged.

Shouldn't we give them a break once in a while and leave it up to the internal investigation? I'd really like this forum to be overwhelmingly pro-LEO, and I hate the glimmer of cop-bashing I see in some threads...those guys aren't the ones who write the laws, they're the ones sworn to uphold them and protect us.