By Jim Glennon
I was a cop for 29 years and as of this writing I’ve been teaching for over 30. I’ve taught for various organizations, formed a couple of companies and finally bought Calibre Press in 2011.
Requests for Ethics classes, for many years, came in fast and furious. For many agencies such instruction was a required mandate. A training must!
Police agencies, law enforcement conferences, private businesses, colleges and universities clamored for courses focused on the oft misunderstood subject we lumped into a one-word title, Ethics.
While there was no true end game for those attending such classes, truthfully, they were fun to teach. Eliciting a surprising amount of emotion, discussion and contentious discourse.
Eventually I started my courses with warnings against name calling and personal threats.
Why did I do that? Because those things happened.
Case in point.
Creating a particular dicey ethical dilemma presented to the class, a commander attending was boxed in between reality and his stated ethical position. When forced to choose between a behavior that would save innocent lives or adhering to his declared moral platform, he became so upset that he stormed out of the class swearing at another student during his exit.
Though the reviews for our Ethics classes were stellar, we haven’t had requests for those programs for years.
Why?
I believe it’s due to the general lack of ethics, integrity and principled morals on the part of many in positions of leadership around the country.
A Few Quick Personal Experiences
I was asked to teach a course in a Midwest state. The Chief explained that one of the officers was caught taking a free cup of coffee and the entire organization was therefore required to attend my eight-hour Ethics course.
I informed the Chief that I’d be happy to teach the course several times, over as many days, but I also mentioned that the coffee incident wasn’t really an ethics issue as much as a rules violation. Still, he insisted his officers needed the training.
While the students enjoyed the gist of the class and ethical scenarios, an issue kept creeping into the discussions. They explained that while the cops couldn’t take a free cup of coffee from very insistent shop owners, the Chief had just accepted a free golf membership at a private country club.
The Chief’s excuse when confronted by officers after the coffee officer was disciplined?
The need to network with citizens and business owners who were members of the club.
Did any of the officers in that department buy that explanation?
Of course not.
Second story.
A good size Midwest agency had hired me several times to teach various classes. They liked me, the classes and the interaction. I liked them and stayed in touch with several of the bosses.
I was called in to teach Ethical Leadership and was looking forward to it. That is until I stepped in the classroom. I sensed a problem immediately. And I didn’t have to wait long to find out what it was.
Within seconds, a commander with whom I was both familiar and friendly, advised me of the issue right in front of about 20 other supervisors.
I’m paraphrasing and editing his vernacular, but the essence comes down to the following:
“Jim, no offense, nothing against you, but this class isn’t going to fly. Ethics?! Here?! Bullshit!”
“What happened?” I asked.
“You gotta understand that the (expletive deleted) Mayor of this (expletive deleted – I’ll refrain from using that term from now on, just understand that profanity was a significant portion of the explanation) city has complete and total authority over all public safety and is allowed to completely circumvent the decisions of the Chief of Police. Which is exactly what happened two days ago!”
He continued, again profanely, describing how the commander of the investigations division for over 15 years with a stellar reputation was summarily removed from his position by the mayor for refusing to drop an investigation on one of the mayor’s relatives.
The rest of the room chimed in with their thoughts and opinions. Again, littered with colorfully obscene descriptions that focused on top leadership.
I never bothered starting my presentation. Instead, we chatted for a few intense hours. Around 11am I ordered pizzas, and after they were delivered and eaten, I left. Returning for no more of the scheduled classes.
Leadership Hypocrisy is Open and Rampant
Not all in leadership positions are ethically challenged. Not by a long shot. In fact, while there are some seriously cowardly and selfish leaders in law enforcement most, I believe, are incredibly honorable, brave and stalwart when it comes to how they conduct themselves as leaders.
But for some law enforcement leaders and those in positions of political authority in this country, that is another story.
Never more in my lifetime has ethics been beaten, stretched, rewritten, redefined, abused, and outright ignored than it is right now by those in the highest of authorities.
To be sure, ethics has never been a singularly defined unit of understanding.
There are so many facets to what is philosophically ethical that the greatest minds in history were at odds over its actual meaning.
Still, throughout our country’s history, the majority of citizens were in general agreement about what was right and what was definitely wrong. What is a lie and what is not.
But today?
What is so incredible in this world of video, is that you can find countless examples of leaders lying about whether they said something, did something, or advocated for something. Even when faced with videos depicting them, in fact, saying, doing, and advocating for exactly what it is they are denying!
Those in Power are Responsible for the Demise of Ethical Behavior
The Hamas terrorist attack is an example of disingenuous leadership and a lack of ethics playing out in real time right now.
But first, a recap. Let me reiterate what I have written about several times and teach in our seminars; What Derek Chauvin did to George Floyd on a street in Minneapolis in 2020 was contrary to good police tactics and was by all accounts downright unnecessary. I’m specifically referring to the behavior we see in the nine minutes of video captured by bystanders that show Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck while he is handcuffed and lying face down on the ground. Yes, there is nuance to the totality of the entire incident and George Floyd’s behavior and past, but every officer I spoke with then and since has had a visceral negative reaction to what they saw and every trainer I’ve spoken with agrees that the knee directly on the neck at that point was not acceptable tactical practice.
Still, immediately after the George Floyd incident, police officers of every color and gender took a beating by the militants, the activist media and politicians. A simple request for calm or waiting for facts and due process was met with hate-filled and accusatory denunciations of perpetuating structural racism.
Any attempt to put what happened to George Floyd in an honest broader context concerning the daily behavior of the hundreds of thousands of police officers throughout the country was met with deafening screams of hate and disdain.
People lost their jobs for asking legitimate questions, saying that all lives matter, for posting George Floyd’s criminal record and toxicology report. Even ‘liking’ something on a personal social media account that flew in the face of the prevailing opinion was a life-altering risk.
All of this made it so terribly difficult for the police in this country that the profession immediately changed for the worse. All of which was both completely predictable and caused by a lack of ethical behavior on the part of leaders across the country.
Where was the support for the police on the part of leaders?
Some did step forward at their own peril, but far too many refused to risk their own positions of power.
And what, ultimately, was the result?
- Politicians turned their back on the police and victims.
- Politicians made drastic changes in laws that all but eliminated the consequences for criminal behavior.
- Police retired early in absolute record numbers.
- Police quit before they reached pension status.
- Police refused to recommend the profession to family and friends resulting in an unprecedented shortage of police officers.
- Police officers who couldn’t retire or quit, simply stopped participating in proactive policing.
- Crime rates soared!
- Scores of innocent people died and were victimized by emboldened criminals.
Santa Clara University has a pretty good straightforward definition of ethical leadership:
“Ethical Leadership means, both acting ethically and setting the standard for others to do so as well. Leaders have an opportunity to inspire others not only to do the right thing but also to consider the kind of people they want to be.”
After the Floyd event, violent riots were rampant, yet the leaders of this country and those in the media deemed them “mostly peaceful,” even with the literal backdrop of burning buildings.
The reality was playing out right before everyone’s eyes, yet many leaders, who run on platforms claiming a code of ethics, ignored that reality and/or excused the behavior.
That doesn’t do much to “inspire others (police officers) not only to do the right thing but also to consider the kind of people they want to be.”
Many police bosses (not all by any stretch, but more than should have) caved to the politicians.
I implore you to watch the documentary, The Fall of Minneapolis, as an example.
Back to the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on innocent civilians.
There are leaked media emails and memos from major and supposedly storied and ethical news publications, directing reporters and editors not to use words such “terror,” “terrorists,” “militants,” when referring to the terrorists and their abhorrent acts.
Think about that. A repulsive group of vile miscreants who attacked sleeping families, butchered and beheaded infant children, raped to the point of fracturing the pelvis regions of young and old, generally beat and abused women, all while filming and celebrating their debauchery, need be protected from uncomfortable language that may cast aspersions on their character and motivations.
These are the same media outlets that constantly, consistently and unethically mischaracterize police professionals using the vilest of terms. Who purposely misrepresent facts that at times, literally destroy the lives of individual officers.
As for many politicians, before making a statement or taking a principled stand, they first put their fingers up to check the direction of the prevailing political winds and confer with their polling data in order to avoid saying something that may risk their personal future.
As for the Hamas massacre of Israelis, some even condoned the attacks, openly defending or excusing the vile and contemptable acts.
Finally, how about those in leadership positions at institutions of higher education who purport themselves to be the shiniest examples of ethical conduct and moral virtue. As well they should be considering they are the ones directing the curricula and cultures of those attending colleges and universities across the country. They are the ones preparing tomorrow’s leaders.
Aren’t they?
Well…reality strikes again.
Last week, the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT sat before congress. When questioned, point blank, about whether calling for the genocide of Jews was a violation of their respective schools’ code of conduct, none had enough moral temerity to simply say the word, “Yes.”
They said that it depended on the context.
The context? Calling for genocide needs be considered in context?
Do they hold everyone of every position to that very same standard? The position’s context?
Of course not.
Several college campuses, today, are out of control with students doing damage, disrupting classes, and openly threatening other students and teachers who have differing views.
Why do they do this?
Because leaders simply allow it.
Who gets expelled for blocking entrances and committing outright crimes of criminal damage?
Few if any.
Conclusion
As I often do, I got long winded, veering from pure law enforcement topics.
But society at large, more than anything else, has the biggest impact on law enforcement.
Robert Kennedy said something along the lines of: Every community gets the type of law enforcement they want and the criminal they deserve.
I can tell you that cops around this country are tired of hypocrisy when it comes to leadership.
Police officers believe they are held to the highest—sometimes impossible—standards. Yet they see celebrated institutions and bosses from all walks of life, behave dishonestly, participate in corruption and lie with impunity.
The police profession is in trouble on many fronts. Things I’ve written about many times in past articles. But systemic issues throughout the profession have less to do with ethics on the part of the line level and more to do with the ethical failings of leadership throughout the political spectrum.
Being afraid to stand up for what is right is the most basic of ethical failings, yet we see those in political positions do it daily.
How many had the moral temerity to support the police during the worst times between 2020-2022? The agencies and communities that had failures of ethical leadership were hit the hardest. It’s statistically demonstrable.
I believe there are two reasons we don’t get as many requests for ethics training anymore.
One, bosses know how it will be received within the ranks. At best, with skepticism. At worst, with disdain.
Second, why bother? The behavior by those in power proves it is no longer a requirement.
Too bad, because the foundation of virtue is found in understanding the absolute need for ethical behavior on the part of society’s guardians.
We don’t expect anyone, including leaders, to be perfect or free of human frailty. But, is expecting leaders to establish the need for ethical behavior as a foundation for their organizations too much to ask?
The most basic description of integrity, ethics, and morality, taught to the youngest of students has always been, “Do the right thing even when no one is looking.”
Today, can our leaders do the right thing even when everyone is looking?
Should they expect more from their personnel than they do of themselves?
If they do, they are not only ethically challenged, but they lack the common sense necessary to be in a leadership position.
Let’s hope we all find our moral compass.
And soon.
THOUGHTS? E-mail us at: editor@calibrepress.com
You hit the nail on the head. We live in a society where we sugar coat everything…but a turd is still a turd no matter how much sugar you put on it. Hopefully we will come to realize that and correct our course.
Thank you, Jim. You continue to be our voice of reason and advocate. I wish some of the very people you are referring to in this article would read/hear your (our) perspective. Political/societal hypocrisy is and has been appalling. Shame on those who let leaders get away with it. Thank you for your continued writings. We look forward to them. Reassures us that we are not alone!
Thank you, Jim, for this heartfelt and necessary message. Like you, I also teach ethics to law enforcement officers from line officers to command staff. Some appreciate the topic while others dismiss its value. I am optimistic that change is on the way, but when that will happen has me worried.
David OLaughlin
I agree. You explained it so much better than I could,
I have 48 years experience and still teaching at the police academy.
However, they transferred me from the ethics class, to accident investigation.
Oh well, I can still make my ethical comments.
It will get worse before it gets worse. Hiring standards are undergoing steady erosion. Training standards are undergoing a steady erosion. Selection of supervisors is undergoing a steady erosion. I was a sworn officer for a total of 46 years, a trainer for 53. I have trained officers around the US, the Balkans, and the Middle East. I think I can speak with some certainty about these issues.
In hiring, we dip into the same general pool as the military, but with fewer waivers for certain behaviors. More than 3/4 of that pool are unfit for MILITARY service. Can you imagine how many less are fit for police service? I’ve seen and directly experienced training standards lowered because too many recruits could not pass the existing standards. All shotgun training removed, handgun distance decreased, time limits increased, etc. I don’t even want to get started on the incredible political BS the past decade has introduced into the selecting of first line supervisors, Middle manager’s, and FTOs. FTOs with a year on are not uncommon.
Jim – thank you for another insightful article. Once again, you eloquently stated what so many people feel, but struggle to articulate. I teach Ethics to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents and, as you stated, there is often a misconception between ethical violations and policy violations. We present the difference as Temptations (right vs wrong, violation of law or policy) versus Ethical Dilemmas (right vs right, neither violates law or policy) which leads to interesting debate. In today’s society there seems to be a prevalence for people who feel empowered to decide which rules to follow and which are “not important.” I would argue that as law enforcement officers/agents it’s in our best interest to follow even the smallest of rules, as you mentioned – even when nobody is watching. Once we start deciding which rules apply to us, and which don’t, it becomes a slippery slope when trying to enforce any rule/policy/law at any level.
Thanks again.
Jim, this article really resonates. Leaders seem to get away with leading without ethics, integrity or taking ownership. When there is no accountability at the highest levels they are emboldened. They sacrifice those in the agency who do have integrity and attempt to stand up for what is right, in the name of self-preservation. And while I agree that this is a small percentage of leaders, I think it happens more frequently than you eluded to. I believe this is in part to some leader’s belief that they are righteous and there is no one holding them accountable for acting without integrity. Scapegoating and retaliating against those who disagree is occurring and is forcing some amazing folks to leave the profession. I would love to find a solution or find a way to make leaders more aware of how their actions are impacting the lives and careers of their personnel as well as their very own recruitment and retention efforts.
Systemic corruption is due to individual corruption. The “do the right thing even if nobody is looking” has changed to do the right thing for me ( political or personal) and the hell with moral standards.
Society deserves what it gets, society created and spoon fed the unethical expectation, behavior, and is continuing to feed it mega doses of vitamins.
Retired 33 years state law enforcement and 12 years gov’t security…… boy have political winds changed….
Must admit though that I still believe it is a cyclical pattern, pray things return to “do the right thing even if nobody is looking” mantra. I know the average street guy still believes……
Most politicians are at least somewhat narcissistic. They have to be to run for the position. When was the last time you heard a politician opine their opponent had a better idea…. on anything? Even when their opponent is better qualified.
Chiefs of Police are politicians. They must be politicians to move up the ranks and then become a chief. Few people become a chief by bucking the system.
When was the last time that someone has really held someone in power accountable for their unethical actions?
People frequently quote Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
But in my opinion the more important quote comes in the next sentence: “Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. ”
I would suggest that all chiefs read “It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy” by D. Michael Abrashoff.
and
“Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win” by Jock Willink
There is no reason for a chief to set the standard and try to improve at least 1% from yesterday. He will fail, but even in failure he will improve his department.
Great article LT, you are SPOT on! As one with more than 35 years in this business, I’ve watched as department leaders have allowed the definition of gross misconduct decline to an almost unrecognizable point. And far more due to political pressures than public opinion. I too agree with your attribution to RFK that communities get the law enforcement and criminals they deserve but those are the outcomes. I think the root is that in a democratic system, we get the government we deserve then government leaders mandate police response and criminal consequences. We’re in a sad state right now and hope we are able to rebound rather than collapse.
Jim Glennon, if there was a way for you to be more than 100% correct, you nailed it.
I retired from “One of Those” departments a while back, where the Chief was “Woke” before that was even a thing. Under that Chief’s (dubious) “Leadership,” over 90% of the officers AND dispatchers have sought different employment. Usually in secret, securing a position in another department, then leaving with the minimum notice given and no foreshadowing that they were done with the Administration. The work environment went from “Hostile” to “Completely Toxic” almost overnight, under this Chief.
How bad was it? Well we all know that being a Police Officer is a calling. Something deep inside you feels the need to protect the innocent, to intentionally put yourself in harm’s way and go after those that would victimize the innocent, it’s a part of you, a part of your Soul. No one wakes up one day and thinks: “I need a job – Hey look, a police department is hiring, I’ll try to get a job there.”
This is something that is a part of you from a very young age, that only gets stronger with time. Who else in their right mind would do what police officers do? That WAS me. I was a 2nd Generation LEO, following my dad.
It was SO BAD, that the part of my Soul that needed to be a cop and had a great desire to be a protector was quite literally RIPPED OUT OF ME and completely destroyed by my Chief/Administration. Now, safely retired (only by the Grace of God), I can’t imagine ever stepping into that role again. I can’t, that part of me is GONE. It was so bad, that within a month of leaving, I turned to my (now) Pastor, had a very long talk, then joined the church, accepted Christ and was Baptized.
I truly believe that it was God alone, that got me through the last few years until I was able to retire. Yes, it was THAT bad.
So for those of you still working the Job, my prayers are with you. And for those thinking of becoming a police officer, watch your back. The criminal element might not be the deadliest adversary you’ll have to face. The attack just might come from from within the department itself, from the very person who smiled in your face, said a bunch of pretty words and gave you your Oath of Office.
Same here!
If you don’t already have ethics by the time you reach adulthood, particularly past the age of mid to late 20’s, you can’t be taught what it should be. You’ve already formed an ideological opinion on it that can only be overcome by consequences. Consequences are no longer acknowledged because the necessary consequences for moral/ethical breaches are now considered too severe to be applied. We have reached a point where the younger generation of adults are only partially to blame for their shortcomings. The entire social/parental/educational system has failed to do what was necessary to produce citizens compatible with a social structure built around a Constitutional Republic. Those systems have acquiesced to a corporate model of culturally driven consumerism and narcissistic ideologies. For at least two, possibly three generations of Americans, their education and social conditioning has become more and more truncated to the purpose of this self-destructive, selfish consumer model. Couple that with an increase in neurodivergence, more than likely caused by our national food production and industrial existence, and that causes even more disruption in normative social interactions. They cannot accept criticism, they’re unable to debate, only recognizing a difference of opinion as a threat to their ego-driven mind-set. In social media and popular culture, we have given them an artificial playground, free of any structure or rules of conduct, with an abundance of corrupting prurient subject-matter, in which to develop their growing brains, and we wonder why they are the way they are. A training class isn’t going to fix this.
Lt. Glennon,
I started my career in law enforcement in 1985 as a reserve, went to the academy, and then began full-time paid policing in 1986. Back then you could still “be a cop”, within reason, no brutality, lying, or cheating, but there were consequences for criminal’s actions, and the courts and public still had faith in our profession. Over the years I was an FTO and trained several good officers, whom I had to reassure that we can only do our part in the Criminal Justice system, and that whatever the end result of a criminal’s conviction or release was out of our hands, but to insure we did our part correctly. I have been proud to be an officer and always attempted to do the right thing, both on and off duty. I had great FTO’s who were “old school” and taught me how to treat folks decently and be respectful, which during my career has always allowed me to go home safe and sound at the end of the shift. I always tried to teach new officers that if you were respectful to those, we deal with regularly, that you usually fared well and didn’t have to end up in a fight. Over my career I have encountered a bit of everything and only had to literally fight with 2-3 folks after all other methods failed, but I was thanked by many whom I arrested for treating them with respect. I am closing in on the end of my career and see the changes that have taken place in the last several years, and it is very unsettling. I have told folks that when I started that the folks, we arrested, didn’t always respect our profession, but that generally their parents did respect us, and that now the folks that we arrest really don’t respect us, and their parents didn’t either, so the result is falling into chaos. I have worked for both types, those who would back you as long as you did the right thing, and those who would throw you under the bus in a heartbeat. I also worked in the private security sector for a few years, and discovered that in the corporate world, rules are made, yet they only apply to the chosen few, and not to the executive leadership, my loving wife told me that I needed to learn to “play the game” and be careful. Well, coming from a profession where the rules are supposed to apply to all equally, i ended up leaving the private sector with better pay and returned to “just being a cop”, and my stress level went down to zero, and my job satisfaction went through the roof, I was back where I belonged. I have always loved wearing a badge, standing by my oath, and standing up for what is right, but seems as those days are numbered now.
Thanks for what you do, I was fortunate to attend one of your Street Survival courses in Ft. Worth, with you and “Buck Savage” as our instructors, it was one of the best classes ever. I am also a bit long winded, so I apologize, but the world is changing, and wanting everyone to change with it, but ethics, morals, and principals shall always stand for something.
Our moral compass spins like an exhaust fan at a cheap burger joint.
Kennedy was right.
You are right.
The public is generally apathetic.
Politicians know what’s right but intentionally ignore it to get elected back to their well paying, low accountability job.
That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
Could we not see the unraveling of the fabric of society coming? After retiring from a long career in law enforcement and teaching state police academy I switched to teaching criminal justice at the college level twenty years ago. I was also tasked with teaching a college credit course at one of the county high schools for dual enrollment. A student was failing the class miserably. He just so happened to the the quarterback on the football team. The young man pleaded with me to change his grade so that he could play and I refused. Then the boy’s father came to speak with me and offered to have his son come do work at my house if only I would change his grade. Again my answer was no. Next the coach came to pressure me, then the high school principal. My answer remained the same. Finally, the dean of my then employer told me I needed to change the grade. I told the dean that it is against policy to require a faculty member to change a grade. When I again refused, the college went into the grading system and changed it to a passing grade. The next week I resigned. Since then, parents fail to discipline their children and teachers are not permitted to put a zero in the grade book when the student does not turn in work. In this modern society of no consequences, people are becoming self-serving and deplete of any morals. I miss the posters from back in day that were hanging in our department’s training room: No excuses, No alibis.
1) OK. The Chief needs to “network” with the public so this justifies his free country club membership.
Hey…………….Chief…………..Your line staff grabbing a free cup of coffee allows them the opportunity to “network” with the public many times over.
2) Unfortunately, it’s gotten to the point that cops are no longer expected to do their job properly. They are expected to do their jobs PERFECTLY.
This, of course, is an unattainable goal. Then they get fanged if their actions aren’t perfect.
When it became “OK” for politicians rather than police chiefs to dictate policies and procedures for law enforcement agencies it was the beginning of the end for ethical and professional law enforcement in this country. Chiefs were forced to become political whores to keep their jobs or they could pursue another line of work. I served as a police chief for 15 years. Only in my last year did a mayor and council think it was OK to dictate to me how to run the department. I advised them that ethically I could not agree to that because the department was my responsibility. If they persisted I would retire. They did and I did.
Thank you Jim for once again telling it like it is. We certainly agree that our profession is coming off of some of the worst years in history and our ability to regain control and fight our way back up is being thwarted by every media outlet there is.
But I see great work being done and amazing leadership rising out of the dust. Why anyone would want to take the torch and make the effort is hard to pin point. For me it is more than a calling, it is the gift God bestowed upon me and like it or not, it’s where I belong. I see others beholden to the same truths and working hard to bring our profession the righteous good reputation it deserves. Our good citizens deserve it, our sworn servants deserve it, and our great nation deserves it.
Its time that we as a nation stopped listening to the loud minority and focused on the deserving, hard working, patriotic, soft spoken majority. As leaders in law enforcement we should be focused on supporting the great work being done, day in and day out in our departments. Stop placating to the few whiners that need to exit anyway and get back to building up and strengthening the productive, hard working, crime fighters that make up the vast majority of our departments.
To put it simply, let’s get back to doing the right thing for the right reasons.
Political reliability is all that matters in a banana republic or communist nation. That is how we select university presidents, police chiefs, mayors and other officials now. As long as they follow the party line nothing else matters. So when a congressman says that Hamas is the victim and they vote leftist, they are okay. The nation is selecting every job based upon diversity not competence. I want police, and doctors, and airline pilots selected for their ability to do the job, not the slot they fit into, nor their political agenda.
There are many groups that seek the destruction of Western Civilization in the hope they can rebuild it in their own image and they get all these tiny 1% groups to work together to do that. It is happening in Europe now also.
I think the long term plan is to create such chaos that the left will propose a national police department to replace state and local police. That way local police will not be there to stand against Federal or State over reach when it comes to gun confiscation and voter integrity issues.
I’ve been at this business a little over fifty years. I’ve seen a few things during that time. I have to agree that the state of ethics has slipped some from what it once was.
That said, I’m fortunate to work for a sheriff with high ethical values. We talk regularly about how important it is to do the right thing even if it causes us some discomfort and blowback.
In a way I feel sorry for the leaders who just don’t get it. I have disdain for those who know better but don’t practice it.
No surprise here when you have Top Cops more interested in “holding” the office than running the office. The hose draggers better have the jaws of life on the ready to extricate suck-ass top cops to extract them from politico rectal orafices.
After watching the entire trial, reading most of the legal filings, and following the case very closely, it soon became apparent that we were (once again) being lied to. The Fall of MPLS documentary confirmed this. It doesn’t sound like your perspective on the matter has changed, even after watching the documentary. Is that accurate?
I agree that there is an ethics crisis with law enforcement. Honestly, not new but definitely hit up against the worst case scenarios that have occurred past few years.
Those incidents then glaringly showed the weaknesses of some commands. Too many times I felt as a patrolman, I could have handled the question and answer sessions with the media better than the administration brass. Any good street cop I know has been hard questioned by attorneys in criminal cases. You would think the brass would be versed in this. It’s OK to say you do not have all the information to provide because of ongoing investigation. It’s OK to not comment until you have more information. It’s also important to listen openly to the public and media and carefully analyze the question before answering. It’s also appropriate and right to stand up for your officer(s), even when the world wants their head. Even if the brass has to ultimately fire or even arrest an officer for improper action, based on further evidence and facts, standing up sends a message to the other troops that you have their back. Too many seem to throw the officer under the bus before even facts are known.
Commenting on the Chauvin case. In my opinion, there is no way the Chief and higher brass didn’t know of his past actions and history. Seems Chauvin was a “useful tool” until he wasn’t. I’ve seen it in my career. Luckily the person(a supervisor)involved never killed anyone but when that person became a liability to upper management, they were gone. Sadly it took a couple of locked on respected Sgts ready to make it a major issue with management to get things moving.
In the Chauvin case, if they didn’t know, they should have know. You’re in command. As such they all should be demoted and or removed for being out of touch. Chauvin did wrong and deserves jail but I’m sure there were some others in that department “being useful” until it bit them in the rear.
Hello Jim. Just for curiosity’s sake, how many people read your articles? (Sarcasm) I do. Iam a great proponent of yours and Caliber Press. Having served in the Marine Corps, where the bar was held high, not so much now, there were leaders that you would follow through the gates of Hell. Then a very small few not so much. Without some kind of re-boot, the profession and all it actually stands for will slowly die. Iam still working, at least for 2yrs, 10 months and 12 days, working in a liberal college town for 26 yrs, I have seen the changes in attitudes. I still have my own code of conduct but over the years the bar I used for standards for others I sold at a yard sale. I hope that the next generation will be willing to accept the help and influence of people like yourself to make this a proud career to embark on!
Spot on in every aspect, except I truly believe that the number of bad or unethical leaders is certainly more than “some.” Not all in this pool are ruthless or evil, many are simply morally weak, having a compass oriented towards self-preservation or selfish apathy. The spectrum is relatively wide on the level of narcissism in this large group of unethical leaders, but it all comes down to primarily serving self rather than others. However, I think it essentially all starts with bad politicians, who breed bad leaders in law enforcement. Another trend I see is that upper echelon management is promoting leadership and ethics training to their field level supervisors, but they themselves appear to believe they are above the same standards they are promoting to their subordinate leaders.
I think the erosion of ethics is related to the lowering of standards of what is considered acceptable behavior. Basically, that’s what ethics is—a societal or cultural (which includes organizational cultures) standard of behavior. I think sometimes ethics are confused with morals and values. An individual’s morals and values influence what they believe is ethical or unethical (right or wrong), but if the broader society or culture blurs the lines of right and wrong by placing circumstantial or contextual dependencies what is ethical or unethical becomes less clear.
As a civilian (retired full mil career), I find this article unsurprising but nevertheless scary as hell. On the other hand, it seems to me that law enforcement and politics are far from islands of ethically challenged leadership. Look at any major corporation and I think the odds are you will find the same behaviors. It is not law enforcement alone. It is today’s society.
‘Servant Leadership’ is sorely lacking in LE & in our government. What we get instead are ‘Leaders of Servants’…
Couple that with the ‘do as I say – not as I do’ attitude many in supervisory positions & in political office have, and we get the results you are seeing today…
In my 37 years in LE I can honestly say, we did not communicate well, with each other or with the public…
My expectations were way out of wack, I expected ‘instant’ compliance to my often unclear or downright contradictory commands. Many of my fellow officers were just like me…
Improve communication across the board and have more realistic expectations & SLOW DOWN…
Jim,
The incident with Derek Chauvin and G.F. Was grossly misreported and by you continuing to ignore the facts of the case and perpetuating the same media lies does a grave disservice to Calibre Press. Watch “The Fall of Mineapolis” on YouTube and stop repeating the media lies that have hurt this profession in a way that may never be able to be corrected.
Great article and great responses. Have you noticed how many chiefs have retired or have been fired shortly after being hired? I used to teach a civil liabilities course for recruit and in-service officers. I started out with a review of the state and federal statutes that govern our conduct then discuss the different ways officers get themselves in trouble, and finish up with how to stay out of trouble, kind of a do this, don’t do that approach. An instructor who was a fast rising bright young officer tried to get me kicked off the faculty because I used too many “back in the day” war stories, but each of those stories was used to illustrate a point. After all experience is worth something, isn’t it? Do we not learn from our mistakes sometimes? My second point is this. Ethical leadership does come by example. Several times personnel under me did the right thing, but pissed off some boss. Rather than pass the bullshit from the boss on, I often faded the heat and took the chewing out, but did not pass it on. Bosses must know how the job is done under the law, and know when not to interfere. When James Rochford became Superintendent of the Chicago PD, he required every exempt rank member to make one arrest ever two months or so. The exempt rank member had to follow the case up including testifying in court, and not turn it over to patrol or detectives for follow up. Did that work? For a while until the Lieutenants’ or Sergeants Associations let the program die. That was the case with most innovation, after the novelty wore off, the program died. But it was a good idea and patrol appreciated it. The point is, if the bosses do the right thing, the troops will see that. The last point is to always tell the truth and NEVER kill the messenger, “Above all, to thine own self, be true.”
What is hilarious to me, after being aware of the flexible and questionable ethics of certain elements in leadership for years, is the other training companies in my area that I’ve noticed coincidently starting to offer ethics training after the publishing of this article.
I give Calibre Press credit for keeping it’s training offerings legitimate and relevant to the actual issues most officers face and not continually bending to the political winds to offer training of which the relevance was arguably only optics based and served only a check the box (or cash the check) mentality.
I see law enforcement primarily at the ground level as the last bastion of honest government. Sadly the metric all to often is, the higher the rank the more flexible the ethics. Often having sound ethics is an obstacle to promotion…and it’s gutting the ranks of LEO’s. To those of you out there whose ethics are solid, we salute you!