Fatherhood

The other night, I was on the phone catching up (as I do regularly) with an old friend, Fred Thompson, the retired chief of the South Brunswick Police Department in New Jersey. As I was speaking with Fred, we shared the pride in our sons as only fellow fathers can fully understand.

Fred's two sons have certainly done much in their lives and Fred has every reason to be proud. One is the highest ranking rising junior at West Point- the United States Military Academy- and the other is bound for prestigious Duke University to study government and public policy. Both are clean-cut, honorable men. Just like their father.

Here is a picture of then-Captain Fred Thompson in a 1980s auxiliary police officer recruitment video we made together for the South Brunswick Police Department.



So what is it that makes the difference for young men? What keeps them from "the Dark Side?"

Fred and I discussed having busy lives, but always having time for our sons. My five-year-old son, Michael, routinely plays on the floor in my home-office while I work. It reminded Fred and I of the famous picture (above) of John-John looking out from the desk in President John F. Kennedy's Oval Office desk.



Such paternal closeness doesn't come out of a vacuum. I was close to my father (that's me and Dad pictured together above right at my wedding to Anne) and spent countless hours with him. In the later years, before he passed away, my father would call me countless times and ask "how's the weather?" I would give anything to hear that question again.

When my son comes in my office, I always try to pay attention to him. These are years that will never be recaptured. Once they are gone, that's it. My son has been surrounded by my work, my friends, law enforcers, and my values. For me to be a good role model, I need to be there for him...and I am.





Already at five-years-old, my wife and I can see the shaping of a responsible young man that has compassion for animals and children who are smaller than him. One tangible manifestation of our observations is that he has taken on quite a bit of responsibility for Dexter, our small dog. I am proud that he is protective of Dexter and looks out for him.

It is true, as countless, law enforcement executives, scholars, and politicians have pointed out, that many people can be fathers, but few can be a parent. It is a quality role that people like Fred Thompson and I strive for everyday.

Taser Blog Post Gets Good Reactions (And so do my other comments)

My most recent post on Blogger concerning the Taser has gotten some good reactions. Here is an example of an email I received. This one is from an officer in Massachusetts:

I got the link to your blog and wanted to say I thought the info on the taser was excellent. My PD has kicked the idea around and it was kind of let go for the time being. Hopefully they will reconsider.

Even the controversial Fox 35 10:00 News interview I did on the traffic stop in Hillsborough County, FL, (see a couple previous blog posts) got some positive reaction. Here is one off of PoliceLink.com that I received from an officer in Virginia:

Richard,
I haven't chimed in on all the comments in regard to the traffic stop videos, but I wanted to write you personally. Thank you for your honesty and candor in regard to the officer's reactions. Lately (especially on this site), I've been fed up with some attitudes exhibited by fellow officers and have been annoyed at the idea that no matter the action-the officer is always correct. It seems as if some officers have forgotten where they came from, and have completely lost their human side. I believe theres a time and place for everything and seeing you-especially with your experience-being so honest- is truly a breath of fresh air.

I have actually had to step away from this site for a while after receiving some messages from a certain member (who shall not be named) who accused me of being too soft, compassionate, and uptight. To me, policing is like a recipe. You have to figure out the correct ingredients for whatever jurisdiction you work. What works in Florida might not work in DC-and so on.

So, thank you for your honesty. It hasn't gone unnoticed.
Take care and stay safe.

That traffic stops interview even has found its way to be a part of training officers the importance of remaining calm and composed in the face of a possibly problematic officer-citizen interaction. Here is an email I received from a Southern California city's training sergeant:

I just reviewed a news video about an interview with you regarding a traffic stop that went bad: Hillsborough traffic stop. I was wondering if I could get a copy of the video from you for training purposes? I will be teaching a tactical communications class at the end of August and I would like to incorporate it in my training.

It's nice to see that the information is helpful for law enforcement officers, trainers, and administrators.

Taser Continues to Thrive as 51st Lawsuit Dismissed

Taser International is trumpeting its 51st lawsuit dismissal over the sometimes controversial Taser less-lethal component in law enforcement's tool bag. Many people jump up and down in knee jerk reactions over the Taser. I am a Taser instructor and teach the topic in our Seminole Community College Basic Law Enforcement Academies. I've even been shot in the back by the Taser and lived (quite happily) to tell about it in less then a minute after the probes hit me. See the video below.



Like much that happens in police work, it is hard to see the successes as they do not make headlines. Just as when you take a drunk driver off the road or a gun off a drug dealer, if the case goes south later on on a technicality, you could make the argument that at least the drunk is off the road or the gun is off the street. It is hard to quantify or put your finger on the ephemeral possibility of what was avoided.

So too is the use of the Taser as it is hard to know how may deaths exactly the 50,000 volt ECW -it is dubbed under the generic moniker of ECW (Electronic Control Device) by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)- have helped to avoid. The media loves to ponder the culpability of the Taser in deaths that have occurred after the use of the device (hence my Taser death interviews with CNN Headline News and MSNBC).





I believe that the Taser saves more lives than it takes (if any). Police officer and deputy sheriff injuries and injuries to suspects have gone down. Of course, it helps that the training for officers deploying the Taser has gotten better. No longer are officers encouraged to Taser individuals who are on rooftops. You see, those folks end up falling off the roof when the Taser hits them and, of course, they can't put their arms out to break their fall.

As Taser has settled in to the police landscape, officers and their respective agencies have learned that the Taser is not a one size fits all device. It is not appropriate for all circumstances.

Some history may help to put this all in perspective. Some of the same hysteria and police overuse happened when Pepper Spray hit big (full disclosure: I am also a pepper spray instructor). Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) is not to be confused with Mace as the former is organic and operates beyond just pain compliance and the latter is man-made and is not effective on some drug or alcohol induced individuals who are feelin' no pain.

A few in-custody deaths occurred due to over or mis use of pepper spray on the part of officers. Once some training and departmental policy modifications took place, the problems seemed to abate. Hog tying, what is now sometimes referred to as three point restraint, has been restricted due to its tie with positional asphyxia. Simply put, placing an obese man suffering acute cocaine intoxication on his stomach is not a wise move.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and the advent of the Internet. The new era of communications has made the Anti-Taser movement much more virulent than the anti-pepper spray movement that preceded it. Pepper spray's enemies were not able to garner the support and vitriol of the Internet bearing anti-Taserites.

The move affot in some places to restrict the use of the Taser as an extremist knee-jerk reaction is not healthy for law enforcement or the public we serve. A more measured response backed by well-thought out policies and training, with controlled deployment in the field by officers, is the key to restoring the public faith. Victorious in the civil litigation arena does not serve to fully convince the public. We need to do a better job at using the Taser and explaining its deployment.

Sad End to New Orleans Police Beating Tragedy

As many of you may have seen in the news recently, one of the New Orleans Police officers caught on video tape and accused of beating 64-year-old retired school teacher Robert Davis committed suicide about one month before his trial was slated to begin. Former "Big Easy" cop Lance Schilling, 30, killed himself at his home in suburban Metairie, LA.

As I wrote in a January 4, 2006 PoliceOne.com article and have also been quoted in England (See my blogger post from February 27, 2007), he used his gun to end it with a gunshot to the roof of his mouth adding to the statistics of police officer suicides.

While I do not condone what it appears these officers did in a highly publicized way on October 8, 2005 to Mr. Davis and the image of a battered post-Katrina New Orleans Police Department, I would never wish such a tragedy to be compounded by Schilling's final act. I am sure his family is suffering and, likewise, the closure is surely not there for Mr. Davis and his family.

The beating was videotaped by an Associated Press Television News crew and was played over and over on newscasts around the world. One of the APTN news crew, producer Richard Matthews, was captured on tape in the same incident being battered by another officer, Stuart Smith. That case was dropped due to an apparent violation of Garrity procedures. Smith's statements to internal investigators were turned over to the District Attorney's office for criminal action.

The move caused Smith's lawyer, Eric Hessler, to allege a Garrity violation of his client's rights. That is when an officer is compelled to talk to his or her employing law enforcement agency with the resulting statement to be only used in the administrative proceeding; not for any criminal prosecution.

While I hate to draw conclusions on officers cations, the era of video tape affords more information than ever before. I was appalled by what I saw on the tape, especially since the apparent actions of the officers flew in the face of the countless officers and deputy sheriffs that do their job admirably and with honor each and every day. But of course, the public does not have a tape of them doing such noble service played endlessly in the 24 hour news cycle. Officers beating people quite simply tarnishes the badge. No professional officer should want to stand behind bad policing.

I was so concerned about the situation and the understandable backlash from the public that I wrote an editorial on it for the Orlando Sentinel daily newspaper here in Florida. The Orlando Sentinel published my editorial, "A rip in fabric that holds law enforcement together," on October 19, 2005. Here is the text of it:

Like many Americans, I watched with great interest, and with increasing anger, the recent beating of a 64-year-old retired schoolteacher on the streets of New Orleans. The glare of the public eye almost wasn't there. A New Orleans police horse appeared to be made to walk backward, apparently to block the probing eye of the TV camera.

Unlike many Americans, as a former police chief and current manager of a police academy, I have learned that the facts of alleged police misconduct are many times at odds with the information that comes out publicly. Time after time, I would investigate complaints against officers, only to find the issue to be clouded in misunderstanding or sometimes even blatant lies against an officer making a lawful and professional arrest.

However, even in the eyes of law-enforcement professionals across the nation, who tend to hold back criticism of fellow officers until the very last shred of damning evidence is in, the New Orleans situation was very disturbing. Every officer and police instructor I spoke with in different regions of the country had a similar reaction: disgust.

As the picture speaks a thousand words for itself, so, too, does the obvious crossing of the line with Robert Davis. And while there exists a sliver (and I mean a tiny sliver) that there could be some truth in the position of the arresting officers, an even more unsettling development out of the same situation was the New Orleans police officer who threatened and used profanity with an AP television producer while physically pushing him back against a car.

The blatant and open hostility vented by the officer revealed a brand of law enforcement that could not support a bona fide arrest of that producer and could offer no credible explanation for the verbal barrage of expletives and obvious physical battery. Even if the producer was subject to a legitimate arrest, the officer's behavior was not acceptable.

When I took the oath of a law enforcer years ago, I told myself that the true measure of what separated me from the bullies and predators in our society was not my badge. Rather it was the inner strength I possessed to curb my impulses and shape my behavior so that "I" did not become "them." The badge was but the symbol. The true manifestation of policing was within me.

And the true essence of being an honorable law enforcer is in most police officers, deputy sheriffs, and state troopers. New Orleans is a situation that stretches the thread that binds the police fabric together. It pulls at the material and frays the edges, making it easy for an officer to fall victim to his impulses to loot sunglasses or take TVs.

The hidden strength in the blue fabric should be the presence of other interwoven blue threads that lend support for those rare moments of personal weakness. It behooves the rest of us in this noble profession to see the signs of tired and stressed threads and give them support.

When the officer pushed the media producer against the car, I observed several other officers that stood by and watched. Those officers should have been the "cross thread" that gave strength to the situation and intervened. Better yet, maybe they could have foreseen the buildup and moved their colleague down the street to cool off.

The image of New Orleans police as bullies and intimidators on national television does not help the cause of an agency that has strived for some 10 years to break its negative reputation. That impetus to clean up the department's image began with the arrival of former police Superintendent Richard Pennington (now the police chief in Atlanta) and has come full circle with the recent events.

Nor, for that matter, does it help the image of police professionals elsewhere. While all would acknowledge that the stress on the New Orleans officers during this post-hurricane period has been inordinate, the oath has no clause that makes for
allowances of police abuse and brutality.

My 4-year-old son interacts with police officers regularly, pretends that he is one, and wants to be one some day. I am ashamed to say that I had to have him leave the room when the images of those officers breaking their oath came on the television again and again. My little, wide-eyed boy did not yet need to see what happens when the blue fabric that holds the law-enforcement profession together is ripped.

Richard B. Weinblatt is professor/program manager of the Criminal Justice Institute for Seminole Community College in Sanford. He may be reached via his Web site www.policearticles.com.

Schilling's suicide is a tragic end to a sad tale. I hope it serves as a cautionary lesson to other officers who contemplate dishonoring the badge.

Bulletproof Vest Interest Continues

It seems that the interest in bullet proof vests on the part of the media has not waned (please see blog post below). The day after I did the bullet proof vest show and tell in the downtown Orlando studios of Central Florida News 13, Fox 35 10:00 News had me come to their WOFL-TV studios in Lake Mary, FL, to film an interview with reporter Kelly Joyce.

Kelly, upfront and gracious as always, told me that piece would be fairly short and air within the first 15 minutes of the newscast. Out of the sound bites I offered them, Fox 35 picked my sentiments that agencies should make wearing a bulletproof vest part of a mandatory officer safety policy.

Luckily for the deputy sheriffs who were shot (remember, this was the incident that sparked the interest in law enforcement bulletproof vests), they wore their vests. One deputy took a round to the left chest and the vest stopped it.

Maybe these segments will encourage more officers to wear their vests and perhaps budget managers at smaller agencies will see the need to supply all officers with bulletproof vests. You can view the Fox 35 10:00 News video below.

Deputies Shot and Bulletproof Vest Saves the Day!

This afternoon I was at work in my Seminole Community College office working on Police Academy Instructor evaluations when I got a call from Central Florida News 13 Assistant News Director Rudy Murietta that made my heart stop. Not watching the news or checking online news site, I was unaware that two Orange County deputy sheriffs had been shot not far from Disneyworld. One was shot in the arm and the other was shot in chest.

According to footage shot of Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary at the scene, The deputy sheriff's vest appeared to have saved him. Yay! I was thrilled that the two law enforcers would be fine. And I was thrilled that the bulletproof vest got ample credit for the save and may thus encourage other officers to wear their vests everytime they are in uniform. By the way, the three bad guys were caught.

Central Florida News 13's Rudy Murietta and I discussed coming down to their downtown Orlando, FL, studios to share the miracle of the vests with the station's viewers.

Once down at the studios, I was hosted wonderfully by Rudy and his crew. I met the new news director and then we set about shooting the video package with Brad the camera dude.

Rudy wanted a standup piece on one of their studio sets and we did three takes perfecting a "show and tell" explaining the virtues of the vests to law enforcement officers (thus hopefully encouraging those officers watching to wear their vests).



I conceded that some officers eschew their vests due to them being hot and uncomfortable (especially in the Florida climate). I added though that officers do get used to the vests and they start to form fit after a while. I wore vests in New Mexico in 120 degree heat in the shade. I know first hand how hot they can get and I always wore one.

I explained how I always wore my vest in uniform even as a police chief (to me it was leadership by example). I even wore the same black shirt as the officers and my duty belt with all gear (Glock .45 duty firearm, expandable baton, radio, double magazine pouch for ammo, two handcuffs, and OC pepper spray).

In fact, I mentioned how I arranged a grant to get vests for every officer in my police department and then put into effect a policy that made it mandatory to wear the vest for all on-duty functions except as exempted by the chief of police (undercover narcotics type of work, etc.).

I was proud of that policy and feel that it is even more important in these violent times we live in that officers wear their vest. And I am proud of the deputies today in Central Florida who get to go home to their families because they were responsible enough to wear their vests.

You can view my Central Florida News 13 Bulletproof Vest show and tell below.

Traffic Stop Uproar

Well it seems that the interview that I did with Fox 35 10:00 News on the Hillsborough County, FL, Sheriff's Deputy's traffic stop caused quite a bit of controversy. The video of the interview I did is policelink.com's most watched and commented video and I've gotten quite a bit of feedback. I still believe that the deputy lost his control during the stop.

Here is the text of my response to the video's comments on policelink.com. The response was published online this morning.

This is Richard Weinblatt and I wanted to weigh in on the heated run of comments on the Hillsborough County deputy sheriff’s traffic stop.

I was pleased to see that some of the comment writers noted that I said, at the time, that not all of the facts were known. They also acknowledged the fact that the Fox 35 News piece indicated that I said both sides were wrong in how they handled the stop.

However, I was disappointed that many commenters sided with the deputy fully without consideration for the total picture. One even started to attack my background (by the way, I have had many felony arrests as a deputy in a capital county – Santa Fe County, New Mexico, a 2,500 square mile high crime county with minimal backup). The issue is not me…the issue is the traffic stop and the higher standards that we as professional law enforcers should be held.

My question is, would you want your mother, sister, or wife treated in this manner? The deputy stopped this woman at Community University Hospital where she was heading to see her heart attack-stricken father. She waited for three minutes and then yelled to the deputy that she was pulling into the hospital’s parking lot. The deputy told Hillsborough County investigators that he did not hear her. It was at that point he chased her into the lot. He was so pumped up that he tried to pull her out of the car while her foot was on the brake and the car was in gear. She also still had her seat belt on and he could not yank her out of the car at first. After he gets her out of the car, he yells not the loud repetitive verbal commands that he should; rather he taunts her out of anger saying that Good, now she won’t see her father. She hits the trunk hard enough that her feet come off the ground. Is that an example of a professional, compassionate, and under control deputy sheriff? I don’t think so.

And we wonder why the public hates us (and I’m not just talking about the drug dealers, low lifes, etc.). We are our own worst enemies in this business when we fail to use discretion properly.

That backup deputy got there in seconds when the deputy called for assistance. That same deputy, who was up the road, could have gone into the hospital entrance (which was right there) and verified the story. The deputy could have also mailed her the ticket later. That is allowed under Florida law. The deputy could have followed her a short distance into the parking lot and into the emergency room to verify the story. Any one of these options would have stopped the situation from escalating. That’s our job as professional law enforcers.

Do people lie to us, yes. Do people take off with bad agendas on their minds, yes. The woman was wrong for taking off into the hospital parking before the stop was concluded. But it is clear her anger is not directed at the deputy. She keeps pleading about her father. Hillsborough County’s own internal investigation revealed that the deputy should have controlled the situation better and not used excessive force at the end. He got five days off and the woman had all charges dropped.

We need to see the big picture of this situation. We are the professionals that are held to a higher standard of emotional control. The Fox 35 reporter said to me that maybe the deputy had a bad day. My response was, and still is, we can’t have a bad day in law enforcement. We have a bad day, lose our temper, and dirt bags get our badges and sometimes people die. We can’t lower ourselves to the standards of dirtbags and lose control. Therefore a bad day can cause us to lose control and our badge to even a dirt bag. We should not give them that satisfaction.

We are the most misunderstood of professions. It is time for us in policing to explain to the public, that we all work for, what we do and why we do it. And we must point out errors where they occur and work to fix them. An open-minded examination has to take place.

Now is not the time in law enforcement’s history to circle the wagons and protect that which cannot be fully justified. My hat is off to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office administration in Tampa for righting the wrong.

I believe that the response reflects the views of other professional law enforcement folks.

A traffic stop gone bad in Hillsborough County, Florida

Last Wednesday (May 2, 2007), I was watching the Fox 35 10:00 News with my wife when I first viewed the tape of the Hillsborough County deputy sheriff stopping the female motorists on her way to see to her heart attack stricken father in the emergency room of a Tampa, Florida, hospital. We were both very distressed to see the way the traffic stop was handled.

While the woman was wrong to take off before the stop was concluded, it was clearly the deputy's fault for the situation to escalate as it did. As I discussed with a police academy class the next day, the onus is on us as the law enforcement professionals to remain calm and de-escalate the situation. I also told them that the deputy's actions in that nationally viewed dashboard video tape will make their job when they get out of the police academy that much harder. The picture of me below is in the classroom discussing this very topic.



Towards the end of the day, while enroute to the gym to workout, I received a call on my cell phone from Fox 35 10:00 News reporter Kelly Joyce. While I had not worked with Kelly before (she got my number from ten-year station veteran reporter David Martin with whom I have worked before), I was eager to meet up with her and explain my perspective on the stop as she requested.

I met with Kelly and WOFL-TV Fox 35 photographer Steve Cegielski at 6:15 (after my workout -- I couldn't miss that) by the college's police academy police cars and we talked extensively about the situation. At that time I did not know that the Hillsborough County, FL, Sheriff's Office had concluded their investigation. The AP story came out later in the evening. The result of their investigation concluded that the deputy used excessive force. The deputy got a five day suspension and all charges against the driver were arrested.

My comments to Fox 35 would have been even stronger had I known that. As it was, I made it very clear that as law enforcers, we are not allowed to have a bad day. I told Kelly that when we have a bad day, people can die. It is up to us in law enforcement to be professional and to remain calm. I have posted the video of my Fox 35 10:00 News interview below. I hope you'll agree that professional law enforcers should be held to a higher standard.

Virginia Tech massacre

The tragedy of Virginia Tech's massacre has no doubt settled in and people are hunting for solutions to the myriad of issues that the tragedy has brought to light. I certainly feel for the victims and their families (they are often the unseen victims). Hopefully some good will come out of this. Policing needs to constantly evolve and improve in order to better satisfy our mantra of public service and protection. Maybe we'll see better media relations, better identification and care of the mentally ill, and better tactics (although who could have predicted chained doors in Active Shooter training).

In the wake of the situation, I was featured in a PoliceOne.com article by Associate Editor Rachel Fretz (The Big Picture: Working withg the Media) http://www.policeone.com/media-relations/articles/1227908/ , authored my Weinblatt's Tips column (Tips for major incident media relations in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting) http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/RichardWeinblatt/articles/1238549/

I also did an approx. three minute interview on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 in the downtown Orlando studios with Central Florida News 13. You can check out the video of the interview below.


I was on the firing range for Seminole Community College with the day law enforcement academy (I'm a firearms instructor - hence the red firearms instructor shirt you see in the interview) and then I had to give an exam to the night law enforcement academy folks at the main campus, so I was trying to figure out how to fit this interview in when the Central Florida News 13 folks called. Luckily they were able to have me come to their downtown Orlando studios at 8:00 pm Wednesday night (after I gave the exam) to tape it for their news loop. Several days on the range gave me that sun burned and wind blown "look."

The folks at Central Florida News 13 are always pleasant to deal with and it was good to see anchor Ybeth Bruzual again. Although, I didn't see her in person this time as she was in Studio 13-A and I was in studio 13-B. But we got to chat through the vido and audio feed. As she and I discussed, we always seem to meet after some tragedy. It's the nature of our respective businesses.

Hopefully, the tide turns for the Virginia Tech community.

Quoted in England on Police Suicides

Well, I've made the international news as I've been quoted in Police Magazine, the magazine for the Police Federation of England and Wales. The article for the January 2007 issue, A Quiet Killer," looks at police suicides in different countries and the reasons behind such tragedies. www.polfed.org/page16_17_quiet_killer_90107.pdff.pdf




I've been to London and found their brand of law enforcement to be interesting. While decidedly not gun oriented as American law enforcers are, British bobbies have a bit in common with their Yankee counterparts across "the pond." Unfortunately, in this case the commonality is police suicides.

Florida Deputy Sheriff Weathers Tornadoe

Just when you think you might have a rough shift, take a look at the damage to this Volusia County, FL, Sheriff's Office patrol car. The recent tornadoes that tore through Central Florida, missing my home, did a real number on Volusia County (North of us and Orlando) and Lake County.



The Volusia County deputy sheriff in the Crown Victoria was pummeled by mud and debris and rode out the storm in his car. After the tornadoe passed, he got out of his car and started to direct traffic. Now there's dedication for you. I salute this deputy and his colleagues who rose to the occasion to help their community recover from a storm that claimed 21 lives.

Check out my Slide Show!

Sheriff Greg Solano...A Great Blog from Santa Fe County, New Mexico

Here's a great blog that I've been following closely. http://sheriffgregsolano.blogspot.com/ Greg Solano, the Sheriff of Santa Fe County in Santa Fe, New Mexico, writes entertaining and informative missives from my old stomping grounds as a patrol deputy II. with that busy agency's Patrol Division.

I've been able to keep up with developments concerning my old agency such as the latest blog on Benjie Montano, the Sheriff when I was out there, who was named deputy chief of the Santa Fe Police Department. http://sheriffgregsolano.blogspot.com/2007/02/benjie-montano-joins-city-police-as.html

But it's more than the interesting updates on the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and my friends. Sheriff Solano personifies the modern law enforcement executive who recognizes the need to use the media (in it's various forms) to reach out to the community. I encourage you to read his dispatches from the Wild West.

Expanded Reach

Here's something I found interesting today which reinforces my reasoning that embracing the Internet as a communications tools breaks the normal societal boundaries and expands the communications reach potential (beyond that offered by traditional media such national and local TV news). It's a different approach than that offered by traditional such as the CNN Headline News interview I did pictured in this blog post.

My police writings certainly have reached different populations within the law enforcement community, but the Internet has pushed those missives onto the reading eyeballs of people from other walks of life that find a commonality within the message.

The example I sumbled on to day concerns a section reprint of "The absence of a police marketing mentality,"one of my "Police and the Press" columns for PoliceOne.com, on the "Out of Site: Other Web Resources Recommended by our Staff" Blog section of Advertising Age (http://adage.com (http://adage.com/outofsite/index.php?start=65§ion_id=310). Advertising Age is a well-known marketing and advertising publication for Madison Avenue and beyond...

"Police Academy Needs Marketing 101

I didn't know it should be part of the "to serve and protect" policy, but police
just don't market themselves very well. PoliceOne.com has an essay all about it
under "Police and The Press."

Word-of-mouth may be a hard concept to
worry about when you carry a gun, but Richard B. Weinblatt thinks it should be
hard-wired into cops' brains: "With a police marketing mentality, the positive
stories on policing and those hardworking men and women who serve should vastly
outnumber the crime driven and negative, department scandal driven items. We
would finally keep pace with and perhaps surpass the fictionalized version of
policing embedded in society's psyche. Only then would the true nature of law
enforcement's service to the community be known and believed by the public."

Suddenly the war on drugs seems much more win-able by comparison.

Posted by Brooke Capps on 11.20.06 @ 04:31 PM 0 comments"

So now we have advertising gurus contemplating the marketing of the police. The power of the Internet...it's amazing.

OK, I did it...

OK, I did it...I've created an online blog at Blogger.com. If my five-year-old son, Michael, can fly around the computer playing his pre-K games, then Daddy (pictured here with Michael during this past summer- 2006) has no excuse not to be on top of the world's new fangled communications conduits.

It is clear to me that movement into other Internet venues (such as Blogger.com, youtube, flickr.com) are the wave and I guess I've now caught the wave. If presidential hopefuls, such as the very impressive and diplomatically gifted New Mexico Governor (and former U.S. Congressman and Energy Secretary) Bill Richardson, can have a presence on all of these powerhouse websites, I reckon I should too.

With this blog on blogger.com, now I am truly in the Internet communications swing of things. I have long strived to be an artful communicator. Now, in the 21st Century, it seems to be that media beyond that the traditional mold are an integral part of the communications process. My forays onto the Internet can't, and won't be limited to my website (www.policearticles.com) or my www.myspace.com page. This is the first leap into the Blogosphere.