Who is the Cop Behind Ask A Cop?
Here is the who, what, when, where, how, and why of this thing.
Who is the Cop Behind Ask A Cop?
I’m often asked this question by people who follow me and the Ask A Cop site, so I think it’s about time, especially since moving over to Substack, to do another post addressing those questions and a few more.
That’s me, although I haven’t worn a uniform in quite some time now. I began my law enforcement career in 1996 as a Reserve Officer. (That’s a fancy term for a sucker that works for free when he is off from his real job) A couple of years later, in 1998, I was hired full-time and actually got paid to do the job (although you wouldn’t know it by looking at my paycheck at the time!).
I worked patrol for about five years, but my real interest was always in criminal investigations. I hated responding to a call, writing a report, and then handing the case off to a Detective to follow it through. I wanted to follow my own cases through. I needed to follow my own cases through to the end, or I could never get that feeling of closure. I always felt like I was leaving the job halfway complete.
During my fifth year as an officer, I was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division. Soon after that, I was promoted to Detective Sergeant, and then eventually, I was promoted to Captain. After serving as a Captain for ten years, I retired in December 2018.
Called to the Captain’s Office
Somewhere between being a Detective Sergeant and getting promoted to Captain, the man who was Captain at the time called me into his office one day. Now, getting called to the Captain’s office can be a good thing or a bad thing, and since I hadn’t pissed anyone off in a couple of days, I knew I wasn’t being summoned to take another ass chewing, which I sometimes received on a semi-regular basis.
I was right because I didn’t get in trouble for anything; however, it wasn’t exactly a party either. To understand the magnitude of what I’m about to tell you, you need to know how the leadership of the department was structured from the top down.
Top dog was the Chief of Police, and below him, we had the Captain. Below the Captain was the Lieutenant, who was in charge of supervising the Patrol Division, as well as CID, where I was. So the Lieutenant was everybody’s day-to-day boss, including mine.
The Patrol Division
The Patrol Division was not being supervised by the Lieutenant, because he was pissed off at the Captain (and the rest of the world) and decided he would just retire on duty. And he did exactly that. He just stopped doing his job. Literally.
The Patrol Sergeants would all show up 20, 30, 45 minutes late every shift. Officers were not following policy and were getting complaints for stupid shit. Cars were trashed, uniforms looked unprofessional, and nobody was making the Patrol Officers do their damned jobs. The Patrol Division was in shambles. All because the Captain and Lieutenant could not get along, and the Chief would not let the Captain discipline the LT for anything because he had been there so long.
So y’all get the picture, the department was running amock.
Now, back to me in the Captain’s office.
I will never forget the words the man said to me as long as I live.
“Ed, you are, obviously, aware that the department is not being run as it should be. I’m sure you are also aware that the Lieutenant couldn’t care less, and, unfortunately, my hands are tied when it comes to him. So, I have created the new position of “Patrol Commander,” and I want you to fill that role. You answer directly to me and me alone, and you have the same authority as the Lieutenant. I want you to clean this department up and clean it up fast. If you need to send people home, take their weapons and credentials and send them home. I want you to restore discipline in this department, and you have whatever authority you need in order to get that done, per me and Chief Smith.”
Talk about being thrown between a rock and a hard place!
I asked the Captain two questions; 1. Is the LT going along with all this? and 2. Is this a voluntary or mandatory thing?
Answer 1- He knows about it and will not interfere. (Hell of an answer!)
Answer 2- Let’s just call it “Voluntold.” (In other words, I had no choice)
WTF just happened to me?!? That was all I could think of as I headed back to my office once that meeting was over. Fifteen minutes ago, I was in my office trying to figure out who stole Mrs. Tipton’s panties off of her clothesline, and now suddenly, I’m a Hatchet Man!?!
It Can’t Be That Bad, Can It?
Now, I was always a stickler for the rules… up to a certain point. Some rules just went too far, and it’s the same in any organization, whether it’s a law enforcement agency, a warehouse, fast food, etc. But requiring officers and their supervisors to report for duty on time, in uniform, and with their equipment is NOT too much to ask of anyone. Unfortunately, I suddenly had a handful of Sergeants on my hands who did not believe in that philosophy.
I spent the first three days coming in early and staying late so that I was present when shift change occurred. I had to see for myself exactly what was going on. I had told the Captain not to announce my new position for a few days so I could do exactly that….find out for myself how bad it was. And DAMN, was it bad! I figured that out pretty quickly when the night shift Sergeant came walking in the door 27 minutes late, carrying his uniform shirt and duty belt instead of wearing them.
Oh, and he was also carrying something else as well…….HIS FUCKING PLAYSTATION! I learned later that he had been bringing it to work with him for several weeks, and they would hook it up in dispatch and play games for hours. Hours when they were supposed to be patrolling!
I guess that was when my eyes really opened, and I realized that there were a lot of cops wearing badges out there that shouldn’t be. It’s also when I developed my hatred of lazy, sorry-ass cops. The cops that usually end up on the 5 o’clock news. The cops that end up in prison. The cops that cause all of the exceptional, honorable officers to be thrown into the same dumpster with them.
*Subscribe to the Ask A Cop Substack page to hear about the crazy shit these officers were doing, how bad it actually was, and the tactics I had to employ, in order to help turn that department around.
I Packed A Lot Into 22 Years.
During my career, I have pretty much seen and experienced it all. And I mean ALL! I ran the gamut of law enforcement experiences; fights, car chases, active shooters, car crashes, ambulance rides, being attacked by a man with a knife, I have been shot at multiple times, I’ve worked homicides, kidnappings, missing persons, child abuse cases, drug raids, directed and worked undercover drug operations, until finally, a few years before I retired, I was forced to shoot a man. I could go on and on, but like I said….I’ve pretty much seen and done it all.
After retirement, when I was no longer bound by pesky policies and procedures and could speak openly and honestly, I started the Ask A Cop Facebook page. When you wear a badge, it can be extremely frustrating sometimes because, most of the time, you can’t come right out and say things to people that you want to say when they ask you for advice. Cops sometimes walk a really thin line between advising people what they can legally do and not crossing over into that area of giving legal advice. Cops are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice.
There were many, many times when I wanted to tell Mom or Dad, “You don’t need the cops; just get a belt and beat the hell out of the little bastard, and he will get up and go to school!” But, the first time an officer says that to someone, they will go too far and kill a kid or something, and then the cop’s career is ruined. But now…. I’m telling you, you don’t need the cops! Just get a belt and beat the hell out of the little bastard, and he will get up and go to school!
Another reason I started Ask A Cop is because I love to write. I also love to tell stories about my career. Both of those things led me to write my book Captain Black- True Stories of a Small-Town Cop.
“Always Treat People As Respectfully And As Courteously As They Will Allow You To Treat Them.”
When dealing with people, I don’t believe in using ten words when five will do. I try not to confuse people. I tell it like it is, without pulling punches, as I always have, and I’ve been told many times that is one of the things people liked most about me as a cop.
The law can be very confusing for people, even cops. That’s why they give us those 4-inch-thick Penal Code /Code of Criminal Procedure (PC-CCP) books to keep with us. When in doubt…look it up! Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, can remember the thousands upon thousands of laws, exceptions to the laws, defense and affirmative defenses to the prosecution of those laws, etc.
I explain the law so that people can understand it. Real people. People who weren’t able to go to college, or in many cases, were not able to even finish high school. People who struggle to make ends meet. People whose vacations consist of going to a friend’s cook-out, not going to the Cook Islands. People whom the closest they get to a trip across an ocean is when they go to Red Lobster.
Ask anybody who knows me what I am most proud of in my career, and most likely, they will all tell you the same thing; I am most proud of the fact that I treated every person I ever dealt with in the exact same manner. The mayor was treated no different than the transmission repair guy across town. The hairstylist over on the poor side of town was treated exactly like the rich women on Houston Street. And let me tell you…. some of those “important” people did NOT like me because of that.
I was colorblind when it came to dealing with citizens. I did not discriminate when it came to taking people to jail who needed to go to jail; young people, old people, wealthy, poor, laymen, professionals, or midgets. I took them all to jail if the situation called for it.
I had a simple rule when training new officers. It was an easy way of doing things, and if followed, would always keep them out of trouble. The rule is simply this; Start every single encounter with “Yes Ma’am” and “Yes Sir.” ALWAYS start with “Yes, Ma’am” and “Yes, Sir.” Now, if it ends up with “Motherfu@ker this” or “Motherfu@ker that,” so be it, but always START with being as polite and courteous as possible. The bottom line is always to treat every person as respectfully and as courteously as they will allow you to treat them!
I Need To Get Real For a Minute.
The last thing I want you to know about me is that after more than two decades of law enforcement work, and because of many incidents and events that I experienced during those two decades, I was diagnosed with and now suffer from MDD and PTSD. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, alone in these diagnoses; many, many officers and emergency responders end up suffering from major depression and PTSD symptoms for the rest of their lives because of what they experience during their careers.
According to a study by Andrew McAward and Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine - Marshall University, law enforcement officers have a 54% increase in suicide risk when compared to the civilian population. This damn job is hard, guys. It’s hard on the body (I long ago lost count of all the serious injuries I suffered as a cop), and it’s extremely hard on the mind and psyche (why do you think cops are always expecting the worst?).
I would not wish these diseases on my worst enemy. The constant struggles and internal battles that one constantly deals with when diagnosed with these issues are the hardest things most people will ever be faced with. Each person must find ways of dealing with the symptoms that best help them individually. Writing and operating this site are small ways that I deal with my depression and PTSD symptoms.
So there you have it. That’s who I am, and why I started and enjoy managing this site. I want to thank you for subscribing to my Substack and for supporting my page. If you don’t mind, please share with your friends and get them to hit that subscribe button. I sure would appreciate it.
Captain Ed Black (Ret.)