In life, the more coping tools a person has to deal with different types of people and situations, the more successful that person will be. Different people respond to different things. Some people will shape up if all you do for them is empathize and lend an ear without judgment. Others need only autonomy and trust to go out and do the right thing. Still others respond very well to regimented guidelines and rules about how to behave. Occasionally, there are few who need a dose of physical discipline or its emotional twin—tough love. The world is witnessing a large percentage of a generation of adults now entering society whose parents did not exact any physical discipline or use much tough love. Studies have shown the number of parents who spank their children have been steadily declining since 1985. My own personal observation and life experience corroborate this for me. In fact, an even larger percentage of today’s children are headed down the exact same path as their undisciplined elders. I recently attended a wedding where I watched one of these kids walk all over the parents, misbehave, run into people, pout, knock things over and was just in general, a terrible little child. For a moment I could see into the future and see the adult-him. He reeked of a future bully who was still a brat that nobody liked. He was still running around misbehaving, pouting and knocking things over without care or fear of consequences. It seems people who were raised without any discipline are everywhere. They grew up in a world where everyone got a trophy, they never learned how to compromise, and their parents took their side, even when they were wrong. Moreover, they almost always get their way, believe the world owes them something, never learned how to listen, and don't respond well to any type of authority. They are usually the ones living at home in their late 20’s or 30’s who haven’t accomplished much and are still waiting for what they believe they deserve to just magically fall into their laps. Life hasn’t taught them much either, because they’ve typically been so sheltered and spoiled, they haven’t logged much time out there on their own in the real world. I honestly believe parents who subscribe to beliefs about not using tough love or physical discipline actually have honorable intentions. They are doing everything in their power to try to stop their children from having to experience anything uncomfortable. And while that goal is sweet and loving, it's unrealistic—no person can protect another from the uncomfortable parts of life. We all get our turn to experience failure, loss, sadness, rejection and grief. It’s an important part of life and it also happens to be the time when people experience the most growth and change. It’s going through these negative experiences that make victory, love, success, fulfillment and acceptance so wonderful. It follows then that parents who subscribe to this “protect my child from anything negative” goal don’t want spank their kids, don’t discipline them, and don’t ever use the tool of tough love. But here’s the important part of tough love—many people need it. Many people respond to it. Many people will grow and change because of it. It’s a very important method to incorporate into your toolbox. When I was in middle school, there was a day I was standing outside the band room when I got this wild (and stupid) idea that I was going to embarrass one of the kids in the school that nobody really liked. As a big group of us stood in the hallway chatting and laughing, I noticed my target getting ready to exit the classroom. As he came out, I jump-kicked the door shut. I was just trying to get a laugh out of everyone at this boy’s expense. When I did this, the door hit him in the head and he fell backwards on the floor. Although that was not my intention, I felt I had no choice but to pretend that it was and laugh at him as he lay on the floor. After a few moments when this boy got his bearings back and saw who had done that to him, he came charging straight at me. He punched me so hard in the face that the entire row of braces on my bottom front teeth lodged into my lip. As I bled into the bathroom sink with the water running, slowly dislodging one brace after another from behind my now punctured inside lip, I thought to myself, “Boy, did I have that comin’!” When I told my parents what had happened to my swollen, bloody lip, they both said, “Well, you had that comin’ didn’t you?” They didn’t call the school and demand the other boy be disciplined. They didn’t sue. They didn’t yell and scream and blame the school staff for allowing violence in the halls. My parents realized it was an unpleasant experience, but they also understood I learned a very valuable lesson that day. That dose of humility has always stayed with me. I now understand my actions have consequences. When I became a police officer, I quickly found out one of the main job descriptions for a cop is “Parenting-For-Adults.” Police officers find themselves in the role of a parent for grownups who are acting like children. And, like real parents, police have much of the same powers. Officers can put grownups in timeout (jail), they can take away their allowance (fine), and they can even spank them (use of physical force). This country's trend of abatement of tough love and physical discipline has transferred over to the expected police response when dealing with citizens. Sadly, officers are facing more and more products of this trend, most who have little or no experience of being humbled, disciplined, or told no. We have turned loose into the world a large portion of the population who is spoiled, ungrateful and entitled. Life will (as life always does) humble people eventually as they make their way out of their parents’ basements and gain more and more life experience. Unfortunately for the police, it is the cops who most often find themselves in the role of doling out some of these life lessons. It’s up to the rest of us watching this unfold, to make sure we don’t take away tough love and physical discipline from the proverbial police toolbox. It’s up to the rest of us when we see instances of people finally receiving their slice of humility, to not rise up in anger and offense, but rather to exercise a little tough love of our own by understanding, “Boy, they had that comin’ didn’t they?” **Steve Warneke is a writer, speaker, consultant, police expert and author of From Boy To Blue. Find more from Steve at www.SteveWarneke.com

After the Columbine High School massacre, police were heavily criticized for not entering the school right away to try to eliminate the “active shooters.” Since then, law enforcement agencies in America are constantly training in what’s referred to as IARD— or immediate action rapid deployment. There’s an amazing example of how effective this has become, when a team of officers worked their way through a Las Vegas Casino on August 26th of this year looking for a reported active shooter. As one who is trained in IARD, I can say with certainty that an active shooter call is highest on the list as the most stressful call possible for modern day law enforcement. These situations are complete chaos. There are usually large groups of people utterly panicked, scattering, running and screaming. Officers must enter with typically little to no information. What little information about the number and description of suspects that IS available is usually very broad and often inaccurate. It is common to have completely different suspect descriptions on calls where lots of people are reporting the same incident to 9-1-1. I remember calls where the suspect was reported to be a younger black female, or an older white male. Bottom line for law enforcement is to be on the lookout for ANYONE who looks like they could be a threat. Enter Michael Bennett who was present at a Las Vegas casino during the report of an active shooter. The Seattle Seahawk in his September 8th statement entitled “Equality” alleged he was detained by police “for nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He also accused the officers of excessive force that was “unbearable” and threatening to blow his head off. Check out the video and you can see out of all the people in the casino (which included other African Americans, none of who were detained) a crouched Michael Bennett running and hiding behind a row of slot machines. Although it very well could be that he was running to take cover from what he believed to be an active shooter, it looks suspicious enough to investigate further. It also looks suspicious because this action stood out; other people were running away or lying on the ground. Later in another video view, you can also see the handcuffing of Bennett that clearly did not include any excessive force. In my personal law enforcement experience, there has been many times where we had detained someone at gunpoint who was suspected of involvement in a violent felony and only after a short investigation, determined they were not involved. Despite the fact that I had always explained to those detained why we did what we did and offered an apology, most were not happy with us after an incident like this. That’s certainly understandable. Unfortunately this is just going to happen from time to time, as there is no fix for this. An explanation and apology were also given to Michael Bennett following his being detained. Perhaps he would not have been detained as long, had he had proper ID on him. I suppose if you play in the NFL and are asked for ID by police officers it’s alright to tell them who you are and then insist they use their cell phones to look you up on the internet. I can tell you if the tables were reversed, I would take to Twitter to thank the officers for being the only ones running into a casino with the report of an active shooter to save people instead of running away like everyone else. I would be apologizing for being a grown man out on the town in Las Vegas and not having any ID on me. I would take to Twitter not to make false accusations of excessive force and racism compounding this misguided narrative of bigoted police, but to thank the men and women who came to try to save me from what was reported as a life-threatening situation. I’ll tell you what I see when I watch the videos being released from that night. I see officers of all different races, sexes, shapes and sizes showing their bravery and courage by standing up and entering a potentially chaotic situation to save people they had never even met. I also see a professional athlete who is in-shape, muscular and strong not trying to help others or save anyone. Instead, he’s cowered over, running to save only himself to hide and wait for the very officers he’s lying about to come save him. *Steve Warneke is a retired sergeant and author of From Boy To Blue. You can find his book, podcasts, and articles at www.SteveWarneke.com.

Current and Former Law Enforcement Participate in On-Going Study HERE! Introduction The job of law enforcement is critical to maintaining our way of life: If there were no police officers, society would descend into anarchy and chaos. The men and women who protect us sacrifice their lives every day for the peace and prosperity of strangers. After serving 15 years in law enforcement, I’ve observed another, hidden sacrifice many police officers are making simply by doing their jobs. Law enforcement produces a varying psychological toll among police officers. I have observed and noted signs of what I have termed Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome (LEDS) in different members of the law enforcement community, including myself, and have outlined the syndrome here. Not every person exhibits every symptom, and there are varying degrees of severity, but I have seen, know of, or observed each of the listed symptoms specifically in law enforcement personnel. I believe them to result from Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome. It is my sincere hope to use my research to help raise awareness so that police officers everywhere may receive proper treatment and support to improve their health, happiness, and overall quality of life. I am conducting ongoing research on LEDS and am looking for volunteers who are active, former, or retired law enforcement to take a 15-minute online survey. Please contact me at www.stevewarneke.com or steve@stevewarneke.com to receive your electronic survey. Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Ret. Sgt. Steve Warneke Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome (LEDS) is defined as a psychological condition developed by some law enforcement officers due to prolonged exposure to continuous threat, violence, trauma, accidents, and crime. Symptoms may include hypervigilance, revenge/vengeance paranoia, distrust of others, antisocial behavior, fatalistic thinking, adrenaline addiction, depression, suicidal thoughts or actions, and alcohol or substance abuse issues, although it is possible that not every officer exhibits every symptom and there are varying degrees of severity. Risk Factors The exposure to constant threat and witnessing trauma, accidents, violence, victimization, and crime combined with unavailable or ineffective coping mechanisms has a direct correlation to the onset and severity of symptoms. The duration and frequency of exposure to these traumatic events also have a direct link. For instance, police officers in high-crime areas and/or large metropolitan patrols are quicker to exhibit a greater number and severity of symptoms. An additional significant factor contributing to LEDS and its severity is the culture and climate in which today’s police officers must work. A constant public barrage of negative stories and perceptions of law enforcement has created a general distrust and disrespect of police officers. An officer’s perception of a lack of trust, support, and appreciation by the public and/or their department’s administration can increase one or more of the following symptoms. Separation from the job in the form of retirement or other means does not necessarily resolve these symptoms. Often, the resulting loss of power and authority can exacerbate many of these symptoms as the affected individual tries to assimilate back into normal society. Signs and Symptoms Hypervigilance While vigilance is necessary as it helps officers stay safe and avoid falling victim to violence or injury, hypervigilance occurs when an officer believes excessive vigilance is necessary to eradicate perceived imminent danger even if the threat of danger is not real. This excessive behavior affects everyday relationships and significantly deteriorates an officer’s quality of life. Hypervigilance exists when an officer is constantly and continually evaluating their environment both on and off duty to the point where rest and relaxation become difficult or impossible. Hypervigilance can cause one to overreact to situations, and feel a constant state of anxiety and worry. These overreactions can occur anywhere: at grocery stores, movies, restaurants, public events, concerts, on airplanes, or other events and places where, in a supermajority of instances, a safe outcome is the most probable. In severe instances, hypervigilance is paralyzing and prevents the sufferer from relaxing or resting except for a few predetermined places, often at home, or to the extreme, only in specific rooms or places in that home or another safe area. Hypervigilance is also known to be a symptom of PTSD or exhibited in people who have witnessed or experienced extreme trauma. Revenge/Retaliation Paranoia Annually, multiple officers are targeted at work and at home as retaliation for their actions and/or the actions of law enforcement in general, even if their actions were reasonable and lawful. Again, a healthy amount of vigilance is necessary for officers and intelligence branches of law enforcement who are tasked with gathering threat information and protecting the law enforcement community. Revenge paranoia deviates from normal, healthy vigilance when it becomes a belief that many actions by a person both on and off duty will be answered with retaliation and revenge. This can cause the officer to acquiesce in situations even when the desired actions would have been just, fair, and well within their right to carry out. For instance, when dining at restaurants, officers suffering from LEDS will not send food back to the kitchen when prepared incorrectly, for fear that something will be done to the food. Making complaints to management, giving bad reviews, disputing minor parking violations, or handling neighborhood issues whether on or off duty all carry the perceived outcome of retaliation in the form of damage to property or injury to the officer and his or her family. Officers may begin to allow the fear of revenge or work complaints to discourage them from participating in activities with higher risk at work. Officers may gravitate away from conflict or from enforcement, trying instead to take reports or engage in activity that is perceived as a low threat risk to the officer. In more severe cases, officers begin to fear retaliation or hostile action for their regular activities, even when non-confrontational. The afflicted begin to think many of their actions, attitudes, or behaviors might cause others to try to persecute them. For instance, many officers won’t have an innocuous personal conversation in their car because they fear the administration is listening and they will get in trouble if they say anything wrong. Separation from the job can result in an increase in the severity of this symptom due to loss of protection that comes with having a position of power and authority. Distrust of Others and Motivations Police officers are commonly lied to while performing their duties. When speaking with the police, people of interest and suspects frequently lie about their name and other pedigree information, their intentions, and when explaining their actions. Over time, this creates a general distrust about information shared and creates an overwhelming need for proof or corroboration. Officers exhibiting this symptom of Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome begin to allow these thoughts to permeate their way into their personal lives and relationships. They begin to distrust most of what people say, even when interacting with friends and loved ones they once trusted. Compounding this symptom is the belief that nefarious, selfish, or criminal reasons motivate a person’s every action. Even the most selfless and altruistic action is not taken as such by police officers suffering from LEDS and is instead assigned a negative reason for occurring. Police officers with Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome believe that people only do good deeds because they believe it will ultimately benefit them in some way. For example, if an officer exhibiting this symptom sees two people shake hands in public, he or she might assume they’ve witnessed a drug deal. Lone females standing around become prostitutes. Nice gestures or gifts are only done because somebody wants something. In severe cases, this distrust will spread to include family, friends, and significant others, even those who at one time were trusted by the officer. Antisocial Behavior For many years, the “us versus them” mentality has been pervasive throughout law enforcement. While understandable to a degree, this general distrust of others and their motivation can morph into extremes. Over time, many officers may begin to associate only with pre-existing friends and family, and other police officers. It becomes difficult to make new friends and accept people who aren’t already in their inner circle. In extreme cases, some officers will begin to disassociate with existing friends and family because of the belief that they will be hurt and betrayed, convinced that others’ intentions are impure. Often, the severely affected will form their strongest bonds with dogs or other pets as a coping mechanism, believing animals are the only ones with pure intentions, capable of true love. Their relationship with these animals becomes their primary relationship in life, and abnormal caretaking ensues. For example, a person turns down social activities, vacations, and other outings, meanwhile using the care of their animals as the reason for the declination. Chronic Fear Caused by Fatalistic Thinking People engage in and complete many innocuous tasks every day, including driving to work, performing the duties of their job, making home improvements, going to events, and so on. Police officers respond to the small number of situations where these everyday activities have gone bad and an accident, negligence, or criminal behavior resulted in significant injury or death. Over time, police officers associate the severe trauma they witnessed with these regular activities. Police officers may experience this symptom in mild or major ways. In the mild form of this symptom, the affected believes he or she can carry out most tasks successfully because they know all the associated possible risks and precautions. When this occurs, the fear is often then projected onto loved ones. For instance, the officer may trust his or her ability to drive somewhere without incident but believes a loved one would be harmed if they attempted the same task. In more severe cases, the fear begins to affect the officer as well. The affected go beyond taking reasonable precautions into unnecessary ones or avoiding the activity altogether. Quality of life suffers when the officer cannot enjoy regular activities, stops participating in them, or prohibits others from taking part due to fear the activity will go bad, resulting in their death or the death of others. In severe cases, the person stops traveling, won’t engage in many activities, and starts to exhibit signs of becoming a recluse. Adrenaline Addiction Police work is unique in that officers are exposed to a range of circumstances. During any shift, a police officer may go from experiencing a quiet night to responding to a call or pursuing a suspect, driving at high speeds toward an event that is inherently life-threatening to the officer. This happens on a regular basis, depending on the size of the city and crime rate, multiple times a day. After years of experiencing these highs and lows, it becomes depressing when there exists long periods of time without adrenaline. Frustration, anger, and depression can be present while awaiting the next dump of adrenaline. After some time, officers who move from high-action assignments to desk or administrative functions can better notice the degree to which they have been affected by adrenaline addiction. Oftentimes it takes the removal of these situations to evaluate the person’s dependence on them. Much of the research and literature on adrenaline addiction states that those affected by this engage in risk-seeking behavior. There’s no difference in law enforcement. Sometimes it may put one’s self at unnecessary risk while on or off duty. Often, this means the affected person attempts to seek out more dangerous and high-stress positions within a police department like SWAT or undercover work. In severe cases, adrenaline addiction can lead people to engage in all types of risky behavior on or off duty. These could include high-risk sexual encounters, breaking the rules or law, and even substance abuse. Over time, severe addictions occur when a person becomes mentally and physically dependent on adrenaline, experiences a high or sensation, and feels they have to do it again to recapture the feeling. Depression/Suicidal Thoughts Depression in America is a major epidemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared that in 2014, one in every eight Americans over the age of 12 reported recent antidepressant use. While depression is not unique to law enforcement workers, it should mandate discussion for the instances it occurs within the ranks. Police officers around the country undergo a psychological change during their training. This change continues to strengthen throughout their career. This phenomenon is described and chronicled in Steve Warneke’s book From Boy To Blue—Becoming One of America’s Finest. Over time, officers can begin to exhibit signs of hypervigilance, paranoia, distrust, antisocial behaviors, and fatalistic thinking. Many times, there’s a general awareness of these changes occurring but a lack of understanding about how and why. With the prevalence and progression of many of these symptoms, coupled with a lack of understanding and awareness of their occurrence can cause the affected to experience depression. Those suffering from depression are then more likely to attempt suicide. Alcohol or Substance Abuse Issues Alcohol and substance abuse are also prevalent in today’s society, but how this abuse relates to and results from police officers’ work is the focus of this discussion. It is because police officers are under constant threat and must repeatedly bear witness to accidents, death, trauma, gore, and violence, that many of these symptoms begin to exist and grow. If there is not sufficient treatment, management, and prevention in place to keep Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome at a reasonable and appropriate level, over time the affected may turn to drugs and alcohol as a method of coping. In extreme cases of this abuse, officers can abuse alcohol and/or drugs to a point where it costs them their careers. If this occurs, the affected is more likely to increase the abuse to such extreme amount that it can cost them their lives. Identification Because this syndrome is newly defined, there is no recognized identification of LEDS as it’s described here. The hope is to create an awareness of this syndrome so first responders may recognize, identify, manage, and treat this condition. Instruction of this syndrome should take place at the entry level police academies as well as during recurrent wellness training. Currently, it is up to the officers personally to be aware of the signs and symptoms of LEDS and then to take the initiative to treat and manage the symptoms so as to prevent their increase and growth. Treatment Awareness is always the first key. A knowledge of the signs and symptoms will create an awareness of their existence should they occur. Naturally, there are members of the law enforcement community who will not be affected by LEDS. Those who are may not necessarily progress into more severe displays of some or all of the symptoms. In other words, the mere existence of LEDS does not mean it will progress if the coping skills of those affected are sufficient, the exposure level is decreased, or both. If neither of those exist, there can exist a gradual progression into the severity and number of symptoms an individual presents. Counseling is an important piece of treating and managing Law Enforcement Distress Syndrome. The severity and number of symptoms will determine the respective amount of counseling necessary. Counseling can help the affected deal with the trauma and find ways to assist in coping with the job so as to reduce the severity and number of symptoms they are experiencing. Support from family and friends is important. Having loved ones be aware of this phenomenon will also assist police officers in the awareness of the severity of the symptoms. If severe enough, seeking medication from a qualified medical professional may also be an option for those suffering from depression and anxiety from these symptoms. Oftentimes, the affected are so tied to their job that leaving without any separation assistance can make matters worse. However, over time and with proper coping, leaving police work and assimilating back into normal life can greatly reduce the number and severity of symptoms. Management There are many ways a police officer and the department can assist their employees with management. Depending on the individual, ongoing counseling may be enough to manage LEDS. Along with counseling, the department administration can also be of assistance. If LEDS is identified as a problem, a temporary change of assignment can help. Clerical, administrative, or teaching positions within a department may provide a much-needed break while the employee works through their issues. Some investigative positions may also provide some relief. However, investigative bureaus such as robbery, homicide, assaults where the detective is still subjected to repeated trauma, gore, and violence may not be as effective. Continuing education and honesty are important of the management of LEDS. The more awareness of this syndrome, the more effective the management and treatment will be. Prevention Due to the nature of police work and the necessary training that goes into preparing the men and women who protect us to successfully do the job, there may not be a way to prevent LEDS. Some of these symptoms in their root form are appropriate—vigilance, paranoia, and distrust in their basic forms are necessary for an officer to be safe and successful in law enforcement. Police officers need to be on guard and vigilant because it is a fact they are under constant threat while on-duty and oftentimes while off-duty as well. In order to keep safety paramount for officers, it is also necessary that police officers be aware of the possibility of retaliation and that they maintain a reasonable distrust of people and their motivations. It becomes problematic when these symptoms progress to a level as described above and police officers’ quality of life deteriorates or the symptoms progress to such a severe level that it inhibits the officer’s relationships and interactions to a debilitating level. Be on the lookout for when vigilance morphs into hypervigilance, or when paranoia and distrust progress to a level that inhibits healthy personal and professional relationships. These are signs that action needs to be taken. The other symptoms, antisocial behavior (outside the person’s regular state), chronic fear caused by fatalistic thinking, adrenaline addiction, depression, or drug and alcohol abuse should be concerning at the first sign of their presence. Steve Warneke is a retired sergeant and award winning author, contributor and speaker. Find more from Steve at www.SteveWarneke.com. #LawEnforcementDistressSyndrome #LEDS #Police #psychology #policeofficers #police #cops #personalgrowth #relationships #hypervigilance #revenge #vengeance #paranoia #depression #substanceabuse #drugs #alcohol #antisocialbehavior #fatalisticthinking #distrustofothers #adrenalineaddiction

"On vacation one year, some stupid friend of a friend saw cops in a parking lot and said, "Why are cops always trying to dig up trouble when it's quiet? They are always looking to beat someone up or get in a fight." First of all, his premise is that cops are inherently violent. I've already discussed how sometimes violence is a necessary evil and part of the job. In this guy's world, people are all good, and they don't hurt one another. Everyone can be reasoned with or convinced to do the right thing. Secondly, I would hope all of you taxpayers would want cops our stirring up trouble when it's quiet. After all, that's what you pay us for. It's during those times when the gun-carrying drug dealers get pulled over, and good, self-initiated arrests make the entire community safer. When it's quiet and calls aren't coming out, we can finally set up on the parking lot where car break-ins have been occurring. Two of us were hiding on the roof of an apartment building one night that was having a lot of drug activity and break-ins. We were up there for a while because no calls were coming out. This was a small complex, gated with long iron bars. There was a "no trespass order" for the property, which means, "If you don't live here, you can't be here." We were sitting there waiting for something to happen when something did. Two guys climbed over the fence. They were sitting there obviously hatching some sort of plan when we came down to talk to them. They had no good explanation for and couldn't seem to agree on why they were there, where they had come from, or what it was they were doing. We patted them down for weapons. I took one [suspect], and my partner took the other. I was chatting with my suspect as I checked him for weapons. I had known the other cop for a while. He was a cool cat and very calm. When I looked up at him halfway through his search, his face was completely white and he had his gun in his suspect's back. I heard him say to the guy he was searching, "Don't move or I will shoot you. Now, I want you to go down to your knees very slowly." I pulled out my gun and kept it on both suspects. If my level-headed partner was this scared, something must have been really wrong. He reached into this kid's waistband and pulled out an uzi, and I mean just like you would see in the movies, complete with a long banana clip. It turns out this kid had a ton of crack cocaine on him. It was more crack than I had ever seen in my life. Later on as we counted it, I was reminded of the movie Training Day, where each rock of crack we counted, we were also counting out the resulting prison years. He was tried federally and sentenced to about fifteen years in the penitentiary. Then again, maybe we shouldn't have been stirring up trouble when things weren't busy. I wish we all could get along and no violence was necessary. Believe it or not, most police officers are not the kid who had their lunch money taken when they were young. Most of us are hardworking, gentle, caring, giving, sacrificing people who would give our lives for a complete stranger. Sometimes that's worthy of some recognition." - Excerpt from Ch. 18 "Lights, Camera, Action" from the book From Boy To Blue: Becoming one of America's Finest. Buy it here: https://www.stevewarneke.com/the-book.

I never thought I would live to see the day where uniformed police officers performing their duties would not only be doused with buckets of water, but also just walk to their patrol cars and do nothing. This is not necessarily a testimonial to these officers, but rather a testimonial as to just who is winning in the war on cops. Here are the main weaknesses in our society exploited by anarchists and criminals that have led us down this dangerous road to the point where this is tolerated: First is biased, one-sided media coverage. It’s the same cycle: an incident is caught on tape. The public becomes outraged. The police department doesn’t comment except to say, “We are investigating.” The media shows it over and over and interviews people who are outraged and don’t understand. By the time the police department makes a finding, nobody cares about it anymore, and instead everyone is outraged about the next incident. Second is our politicians are more concerned with placating a misinformed public than they are with the rule of law. It seems like every time there is a high profile incident, politicians have a knee-jerk reaction. They comment off the cuff without understanding the incident or police policy, usually just instituting mandatory training for everyone. They put into place new, restricting policies and rules. Politicians are scared to stand up and say, “Yes, that’s what happens when you resist the police.” Finally, more and more case law and department policies are aimed at restricting police power and discretion. When I was an officer they told us, “Case law says that a police officer’s peace may not be disturbed.” In other words, we couldn’t charge people with disturbing the peace when we were the victim. Why not? It didn’t say that in the statute. In many places including New York, verbal taunting is not against the law. Why not? It should be. There is an explosion of videos from people filming themselves while verbally taunting the police, trying to bait them into taking action. Why is that allowed? Let’s arrest them. Watch the disgusting news coverage of water being thrown on the cops HERE. Please pay special attention to the reporter’s narration as he notes the actions against the police are sickening, but also unlikely to cause injury. What is really sickening here is the tone of this entire news story and the attitude toward what happened to those officers. The message police are receiving from the media, their administration, politicians and the public when you read between the lines of what is happening is, “Unless it’s a mass shooting, we would rather you walk away then have to explain and justify your actions.” Basically, do nothing and nothing happens! Police officers are literally terrified to take action. Who could blame them? Perhaps in the minds of these New York officers was this dilemma, “Either get water thrown on me and walk away OR take action, have the video of that splashed all over the world, lose my job, get put on trial, and have to move away.” There is something very important we have lost sight of as a country—Use of force NEVER looks good, yet it is sometimes necessary. Yes, even justified use of force looks bad when we watch it, especially when that is all we see. We need to remember a few things we already agreed upon as a country: 1) The police have the right to use force. 2) The police have the right to win fights decisively. 3) Like it or not, use of force by peace officers is a necessary thing to enforce laws and protect our way of life. America beware—a culture of lawlessness is right around the corner if we continue down this path. The videos from New York prove the outspoken minority of Americans perpetrating this war on the cops are winning and as a result, the silent majority of people now live in a less safe world. What would have happened if police would have arrested the water-throwers and ended up having to use force when they resisted? I think it’s a fair assumption that brazen criminals throwing water on the police would not have peacefully submitted to an arrest. There would have been a small minority of people crying out, “The police are racist brutes! It was just a little water. Water can’t injure people! Was it worth injuring people over a little water? They were just kids messing around!!” The media would have showed the use of force video over and over. The department would have said, “We are investigating.” The politicians would have said, “This isn’t right. We are instituting mandatory training and new rules.” The small group of anarchists would then chalk up yet another victory in the war on cops and America would again be a little less safe for the rest of us. Sound familiar? It should. No. It’s time to stop this momentum the anarchists have built. Let’s get behind NYPD Chief Terence Monahan, who is one of the few to stand up and say there will be consequences for your actions! Let’s find our backbones and say, “Boy did they have that coming!” Next time, let us watch the news coverage of the police using force against resisting anarchists as we, the media, police administrations, politicians and the rest of America (while turning to our children) together all say, “See, that’s what happens to you when you throw water on the police and then resist arrest.” **Steve Warneke is an Emmy award-winning producer, speaker, police expert, and author of From Boy To Blue. Find more from Steve at www.SteveWarneke.com.

News Reporting Rising Gun Sales- Our Resident Police Expert Weighs In Our distinguished expert served 15 years as a cop. During that time he was a financial crimes detective, certified hostage negotiator, and police sergeant. He was also awarded two Distinguished Service Cross medals, and was nominated for a Presidential Medal of Valor. For his work telling the stories of police officers, he has won four Edward R Murrow awards and two Heartland Emmy Awards. He is currently speaking to police departments around the country helping reduce police suicides. So WHO WAS our special guest? Why South Florida's very own Detective of the Air, retired sergeant Steve Warneke! While Steve strongly supports the second amendment and the right to bear arms, he cautioned against just anyone going out and buying a weapon. "I'm in favor of gun ownership but with one big caveat— You've got to know how to use it." Guns in the hands of unskilled people are dangerous. Even with training, accidents are still possible. Steve told stories of people TRAINED in how to effectively use a gun, who still have accidentally shot themselves. "I worked at a gun range before I was a police officer and there was a gunsmith there that had been handling guns for 20-some years and he came in one day and he's got this huge bandage around his arm and his fingers... " 'I shot my finger off. I was working on a gun, and I shot my finger off.' This is a guy who had been handling guns for twenty years." He also warned listeners against buying a gun whilst being ill-prepared with a terribly sad story about a young boy who found his father's gun... and while showing it to his friend, accidentally shot him in the head, killing the boy instantly. Steve's main message hit home: If you buy a gun, you're now introducing it into every situation. "This is my advice... If you don't know what you're doing and you go buy a gun and you end up in an altercation that otherwise would not have had a gun, what you have done is introduced a gun into every altercation." Being a non-responsible gun owner increases the danger to you and everyone else. Take the time to learn what you are doing. The Steve Warneke Show is LIVE SATURDAYS at 10AM EST to 850 WFTL on your South Florida AM dial or you can stream live during the show at www.850wftl.com. If you haven't already, or need more information, listen to the recorded show HERE! or watch the show on Facebook! IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU WANT ANSWERED, A PROBLEM YOU WANT US TO INVESTIGATE, OR A COMPLAINT TO SHARE WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS, TELL US HERE AND WE'RE ON THE CASE! IF YOU ARE A TRUSTED BUSINESS, APPLY HERE TO BE ON STEVE'S TEAM OF EXPERTS! Until next time...

Do you have charities calling you up asking for donations? Unsure of whether it's a worthy cause or just a scam? Our host, a former financial fraud detective, tells you how to know the difference, plus recommends the top 10 police charities! The Steve Warneke Show also got a call from one of 850 WFTL loyal listeners, Constantine, who reported that she had been contacted by a police department via phone to make a donation and wasn't sure whether it was legitimate or if someone was taking advantage of her. Having spent several years in the past as a financial crimes detective, Your Detective of the Air and host, Steve Warneke, was ready for this one! We were able to locate a recent scam in the West Palm Beach, Constantine's hometown, where someone was posing as the police department. Steve informed listeners that as far as we are aware police departments DO NOT SOLICIT MONEY BY PHONE. There are some organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) who do engage in phone solicitation for donations. For instance, the Davie FOP, do in fact contract with J&G of South Florida to conduct telephone solicitations to help raise money. The Davie FOP uses donation money to support charitable community projects, such as Concerns of Police Survivors, Special Olympics, Youth Athletic programs, Davie Police Athletic League, college scholarships to local students, and other local programs.  In addition, proceeds are also used to benefit families of fallen officers, our local law enforcement community, local businesses, and the community. If you're ever in doubt, Steve advised listeners to ask the charity for their tax ID number, website, and callback number, then do some research! You can then verify the tax ID number matches the organization. Then, look up the organization and see if the website and phone number match what was given to you. Or to avoid any question of trouble, take the initiative and just simply google charities you believe in and want to be involved in and donate to those instead! As a regular contributor to Police One's online blog, Steve found a list of the top 10 recommended police charities you could donate to if you're interested! If you haven't already, or need more information, listen to the recorded show HERE! AND IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT YOU WANT STEVE TO INVESTIGATE, SUBMIT YOUR STORY HERE! IF YOU ARE A TRUSTED BUSINESS, APPLY HERE TO BE ON STEVE'S TEAM OF EXPERTS! Until next time..! The Steve Warneke Show is LIVE SATURDAYS at 10AM EST to 850 WFTL on your South Florida AM dial or you can stream live during the show at www.850wftl.com.