Police Officers


About two years ago, one of my good friends started working in the Chicago Police Department. To say I was surprised is an understatement. He had been the quintessential rebel in high school, and I certainly never expected him to get involved in police work. He always did his own thing and went his own way, defying authority at every turn. Police officers, by contrast, are the model of authority. I couldn't figure out what would get him involved in police work in the first place. Was a police officers salary that good? Was the job market in his chosen field – graphic design – that bad? I was almost afraid to ask him, but one day I brought it up over drinks at our local bar. I was surprised by his answer.

Apparently, my friend wasn't your typical police officer. I was right in my thinking that most rebel kids do not go on to become cops. That, in fact, was exactly why he joined the police department. The police jobs seemed cushy enough, and the pay was pretty good, but what he really wanted was to have the chance to change things from inside. Both of us have vivid memories of  How Chicago police officers would treat us when we were growing up. All you had to do was be a teenager, hanging out on the street with your friends, and you were fair game for the cops. They would question you, write you up for tiny infractions, and basically do anything they could to drive you away.

That sense of injustice, of being picked on by police officers and being mistreated just because of who he was, stuck with my friend into his adult life. That is why he decided on a criminal justice career. Unlike many people who get a law degree to try to make the world a better place, he said he could do the most good in the police department. After all, almost everyone who becomes a police officer sees the world in black and white. There are good lawyers out there who can see beyond this kind of polarized thinking, but there aren't many cops who can. By bringing a more subtle, nuanced, intelligent outlook into a major metropolitan police department, he thought he could do more good than he could as a lawyer. Although it doesn't seem like he has a chance, I still respect his integrity for trying. If nothing else, he will be an honest cop.