The Loss of Pride in The Job – Buz Blog

“No one has a greater asset for his business than a man’s pride in his work. – Hosea Ballou

I retired from the Long Beach Police Department in December of 2002. At that time I was of the opinion that Long Beach had the best police department in the country. We had recovered from a stint in the late 1980s, when we had a chief of police who had nearly destroyed our department. Our gang units had greatly lessened the impact of gangs in our city. Our Homicide investigators were considered the best in LA County by the LA District Attorney’s office. Our response time was low. Our Command Staff then, and for years afterward, was good and had great relations with the Long Beach Police Officers Association, the police union. I thought ours was the best, but all of the law enforcement agencies at the time in California, were very good. Police corruption was rare and when it was exposed, it was a big story because it was so rare.

A portion of the media remained antagonistic to any confrontation between law enforcement and the crooks, particularly if the criminal was a minority. The baseline for most of the lame stream media was that the police either caused the incident, overreacted in response to a crime, or were criminally brutal in making an arrest. In the anti-police press, the criminal was a “gentle giant”, a reformed convict who was just trying to put his life back together, or was targeted by “racist cops” because of his ethnicity. The press neglected to report on the growing number of Black, Hispanic and Asians entering into law enforcement. Still, most people, I believe, didn’t buy all of the corporate media lies, even after the Rodney King video.

Then came the George Floyd suicide by overdose death that was again blamed on “racists cops”, even though three of the four officers involved were not White. The ensuing Antifa riots killed over 35 people and did billions of dollars in public and private property damage. The cowardice of police administrators in not going in and letting their officers arrest the rioters, further eroded an already slumping morale. Good police leaders back their officers when they do everything correctly, regardless of what the bias media reports. Bad leaders throw good officers under the bus at the first sign of pressure from an antagonistic press.

Defunding the police was soon, not just a leftist slogan, but a fact. The mental state of all law enforcement dipped further at the same time because of COVID. While the cops weren’t allowed to arrest rioters, they were forced to arrest or cite people for made up crimes like not wearing a mask in public, or having too many people at a BBQ, or surfing alone at a deserted beach. To add to their woes, woke legislatures passed laws that allowed crooks to be released without having to post cash bail. The hoodlums were back out in the streets before the cops finished their reports.

Many in law enforcement developed a “what’s the use” mentality. Proactive police work mostly came to a standstill. The thinking was, why arrest some crook if he is going to get out of jail in an hour or two. If he fights, the cop knows he will be filleted by the media and with the ubiquitous phone cameras everywhere, overcoming resistance to an arrest never looks good. Many, not all, officers began to take their time getting to calls to avoid confrontation. Many departments all over the nation were so short of officers that they had to work overtime shifts and had fewer days off.

Many of these problems are being addressed and hopefully alleviated across our country, but in California, there appears to be little progress in that direction. That brings up my latest visit to the once Golden State. In September, every year, the Long Beach Police Officers association has its annual picnic. The last few years, we’ve noticed that attendance has dwindled every year. Whether this is because the new generation of cops isn’t into that type of camaraderie or because morale is so low, is not known. It has always been a great family affair, with great food, games, prizes, and bouncies and face paintings for the kids. It is disappointing that the attendance is so low that the picnic may be coming to an end.

While at the picnic, I spoke to several other retired officers who still live in the area. The estimates of the number of police officers currently serving in the Department varied. The consensus was that the Long Beach Police Department was anywhere from 200 to 400 officers short of full strength. This is the reason officers are exhausted and many are thinking of finding employment in greener pastures.

I spoke with a friend of mine, who has a nephew who is currently an officer in Long Beach. He related that his nephew is currently looking for other law enforcement agencies that might accept him as a transfer. His nephew said that the reasons are that he is working way too much overtime and the environment in Long Beach discourages proactive police work. Every time an officer contacts anyone on the street, the cop has to fill out a form consisting of several questions. I believe this form is required by the state or the courts to combat alleged systemic racism and accusations of racial profiling.

All of the above has diminished the pride I’ve had in my department and the job they are currently doing. I don’t blame the street cops, detectives or their immediate supervisors. I don’t even have a reason to accuse the leaders of the department in most instances, because they are forced to lead under draconian state and court mandates. Also, a woke city leadership seems to ignore most police needs for more personnel and a less hostile work environment. Maybe I’m way off base, but I was unable to talk to any current police officers to confirm or deny any of the things I have heard.

One thing though, really hit the pride I formerly had in my Department and those now in leadership. I read an item in an online Long Beach news organization. The Long Beach Police Department is now operating with hundreds fewer officers than when I left. On September 15, 20 officer were deployed to DeForest Park and wrote some 40 citations to individuals that were playing pickleball at 11pm. DeForest Park, like most parks in Long Beach, closes at dusk and reopens at dawn. Signs in the park state these hours.

The question that begs answering is: why are the lights on in the pickleball courts after dusk or darkness? Another, more pertinent question: why would any law enforcement leader send 20 cops to write such c—–n s—t tickets to otherwise law abiding citizens? Especially from a department that is so short of personnel.

It would seem like a more logical use of resources would be to send two officers out to advise the pickleballers when the park closes and in the future, they might be ticketed. Parks and Recreation should also be notified to turn off the lights in the pickleball courts after dark. Whoever the police administrator who authorized this use of manpower should be held accountable. Wouldn’t sending those cops to high crime rate areas or gang hangouts been a much more practical use of limited resources? Aren’t there enough people who have a bad perception of police officers, without giving 40 more people a reason to come to that conclusion? One can see the bumper stickers now: Fight Crime, Not Pickleballers.