When my son was in elementary and middle school, I had reasonable expectations of him. These were his formative years, and I was careful to ensure that I laid a foundation that would benefit him when he reached his teenage and high school years. My rules and expectations were reasonable, and I always ensured I was there to guide and help him if need be. 

Now that he has reached the high school and teenage phase of his life, my expectations have not changed, but his ability to carry out tasks and think have grown with him. He has spent years with me to get to this point, and now, I am confident that he will make good decisions.

Don’t get me wrong: He is still a teenager and needs my guidance, but the message and delivery are now different from when he was 6, 7 or 8 years old. When I was 18 years old, I joined the United States Air Force, and my parents were confident that I would do the right thing and not get into trouble. I arrived at Nellis AFB in April of 1989. It was a culture shock to me, but I relied on what I learned from my parents and was able to flourish and thrive in my chosen career. 

Don’t get me wrong: I was a kid, and I had my share of screwups, but I had great supervisors who always guided me in the right direction, and they would correct the mistakes or bad choices I would make. I spent 10 years in the Air Force, which prepared me for my career with the LVMPD. You could say that Metro got a 28-year-old new officer who was battle-tested and mature. 

I was also fortunate enough to work with some really senior people who helped me navigate the world of law enforcement and ensure that I did not ruin this career that lay in front of me. Unfortunately, we are now faced with not having a lot of senior officers to help guide our younger officers today. 

It seems like the people in charge of this Department who are tasked with ensuring our new officers are prepared for this career are failing. As a supervisor or leader, it is your duty to ensure that these new officers are put in a position to succeed. What you get from the people handing out discipline is an explanation about aggravators, mitigators and the old discipline guide, which I have been reminded that we negotiated. What these people fail to realize is that there is a human element involved in every situation. 

My parents had four sons, and it was not possible for them to treat us the same all the time because we were alike in many ways, but our differences were glaring. We go through so much training and are told to follow policy to the letter. We have a policy that states that you, as a Department member, will report any misconduct. The way it is interpreted by the Department is that any policy violation will be reported, so if your partner is late, then you have to report it. But is it reasonable to expect a 24-year-old kid to run to a sergeant and tell the officer that so-and-so showed up late for briefing? 

An officer had a portable listening device that played music. When a sergeant observed the device, the officer who had the device admitted to the violation, but unfortunately, a different officer was accused of knowing about it and not reporting it. This officer received the same punishment as the owner of the device. 

As a union, it is our job to ensure officers receive fair treatment. Generally, the officer is held hostage and made to feel that they have committed a crime. I wonder who is reporting a supervisor if they are late or if they are using their phone for nonduty-related issues. I have known, and I currently know, some really good supervisors. I can only hope that the good will always outweigh the bad. Great leaders learn from the people they are trying to lead. A great American once said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something that you want done because he wants to do it.”