It's a crack in the blue wall. Why some full-time police officers and reserves hate each other was a hot topic when I originally wrote two related articles for as part of my "Reserve Power" column for the mega police website Officer.com in 2006. It still is. Both columns were just posted on my new website PoliceReserveOfficer.com. The first part can be read at "Why Some Cops Hate Reserves: A Crack in the Police Family" and the second installment of the column can be read at "The Flip Side: Why Some Reserves Hate Cops"
Part of what I covered in those columns, in concepts and terms that are still as valid and germaine today as they were then, is that full-timers and reservists should not paint each other with a broad brush based on the less than stellar actions of a few within their respective ranks.
The aim should not be to crush the other guys. Rather it should be unite to accomplish the mission of policing. With all the attacks on law enforcement officers we can certainly do without grenades being lobbed from within the police family. Such negative forces create cracks in our wall.
It touched a nerve and I ended up getting an avalanche of messages and emails. I think the concerns resonate today in law enforcement buildings and patrol cars everywhere.
Let me know what you think?
