Cops and the Constitution

July 8, 2010 by Brad
Filed under: Issues, Police, Question

Find a police officer out in public and ask them what the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution is. After that, ask them about the 6th. Just for kicks, ask them how many rights the 1st Amendment restricts the government from infringing on.

I guarantee you that ninety percent (plus) of the police officers you ask wont know the answers. Why? Well, the police academy does not teach the entirety of the US Constitution or the NH Constitution. Doesn’t this seem like an important thing to teach the people who are the “boots on the ground” portion of the government?

I’ve attended both the New Hampshire full-time and part-time police academies and neither taught anything more about the US or NH constitutions other than the basics about searching and seizing. Were I able to re-attend the police academy I’d love to ask the instructors from the Attorney General’s office what my responsibility is to Part I, Article 10 of the New Hampshire Constitution. Clearly, these words on paper combined with my required oath to defend them mean something, don’t they?

Question: How can someone take an oath to uphold and defend something that they know almost nothing about?

(the oath to uphold it is almost as much of a joke as the law enforcement officer’s code of ethics is … nothing more than a PR trick.)

Comments

17 Comments on Cops and the Constitution

penn on Thu, 8th Jul 2010 9:41 pm

If that is true, show me and I will get a soapbox. That can’t continue. I think I would need a curriculum and confront that academy first before I dragged their response to the public…are you serious?

Bradley Jardis on Thu, 8th Jul 2010 9:48 pm

Very serious.

I have all my old training manuals to assist in proving it.

You can just call NH Police Standards and Training and ask them what is included in their Constitutional law classes. You might get some success.

thinkliberty on Thu, 8th Jul 2010 10:00 pm

Cops no nothing about the bill of rights, unfortunately most people don’t have the money to take the police to the federal court houses.

Here’s one that was forced to take a class on the first amendment:
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_b6b931ef-32dd-5743-9e72-2d6f23f4a3a6.html

Like that will stop a control freak from trying to control people.

penn on Thu, 8th Jul 2010 10:03 pm

my 12 yr old son wants to be a cop-AND this is the kind he means:

“As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality and justice.
I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.
I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities.
I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held as long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession … law enforcement.”

*grabs soapbox*

Bradley Jardis on Thu, 8th Jul 2010 10:11 pm

Penn,

Your son, like many well intentioned people, get into police work for those very reasons.

The code of ethics hangs on the wall in the halls of the police academy. I marched past it for twelve weeks, reading it each time I did. It is nothing more than words on paper… and a feel good PR tool.

I’d love to hear an explanation by the Director of NH Police Standards as to why new officers are not taught the entirety of the documents that they are “sworn” to uphold.

I think it is a great example of how the system is more or less a sham.

Bradley Jardis on Thu, 8th Jul 2010 10:13 pm

Thinkliberty,

That is an awesome article. Thanks for sharing it.

That sheriff was pwned by the federal judge. When someone so blatantly and mischivelously violates their oath they should be removed from office.

Sam A. Robrin on Thu, 8th Jul 2010 11:07 pm

A POLICEMAN’S PRAYER

LORD, when I don the badge and blue,
Make strong my heart to keep
My goal to ever be like You–
In charge of all the sheep.

With Thy tough oversight, ensure,
When I confront the mob,
What matters most is kept secure:
My ego and my job.

Guide my imagination
So citizens will not
See through some regulation
I’ve made up on the spot.

If I should take a life, O Lord,
Grant full exoneration.
Add to my life the rich reward
Of two weeks’ paid vacation.

When I’m in court, Lord, keep the eyes
Of judge and jurors closed,
So even my most bald-faced lies
Will never be exposed.

Guide, too, the men who make the laws
Each time they meet in session,
That there will always be just cause
For my acts of aggression.

Keep the populace so dumb
That they’ll always agree
They must have my protection from
A greater threat than me.

Exact upon them, from above,
Thy judgment most severe.
I don’t need their respect or love,
But please ensure their fear.

Paul on Fri, 9th Jul 2010 1:17 am

Penn, I like most of what your son said very much, but I do have a concern about this:

With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law …

I encourage you to make it clear to him that above all, fundamentally, he will be a man who is responsible for his own actions, and that if a particular law is either immoral or unconstitutional, he should choose to follow his conscience first and foremost, rather than blindly following the orders of politicians, or fellow officers.

penn on Fri, 9th Jul 2010 8:55 am

Paul,
Those were not my son’s words…they were the code of ethics contained in Bradley’s original post. Thankfully, my boy defines a “criminal” as someone who willfully or negligently causes another person harm (bodily/personal property) and does nothing to make it up to them.

Paul on Fri, 9th Jul 2010 11:05 am

I was going to say … your son has excellent English skills (doh)

I’m glad to hear about his principled stand! We seriously need more good cops.

Bradley Jardis on Fri, 9th Jul 2010 11:41 am

I’m glad to hear about his principled stand! We need good cops.

Were a police officer to abide by the “Code of Ethics” they’d be fired for dereliction of duty, insubordination, or something else similar.

Really.

I’d love someone in law enforcement to debate me on that.

bigScrotum on Sat, 10th Jul 2010 2:43 pm

“U.S. District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett has ordered Osceola County Sheriff Douglas L. Weber to issue a gun permit to a resident and to complete a college-level course involving the First Amendment.”

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_b6b931ef-32dd-5743-9e72-2d6f23f4a3a6.html

Judicial system works (sometimes).

Bradley Jardis on Sat, 10th Jul 2010 2:47 pm

Scrotum,

I’d be much more likely to agree with you would the sanction against this Sheriff who blatantly violated his oath was removal from office and imprisonment…. rather than a slap on the wrist.

What incentive is there to follow the Constitution when, if you get caught, the punishment is essentially nothing.

Let’s not forget that this Sheriff’s violation of this man’s rights forced all people in the respective county to pay the legal bills for his malice-driven rights violation.

bigScrotum on Sat, 10th Jul 2010 4:21 pm

Bradley,
I don’t disagree with you. I posted the link because I thought it was interesting and directly on the point of your post, in that the Sheriff was “remanded” to get educated on the most basic Constitutional concepts.

Judge Burkah on Mon, 12th Jul 2010 7:20 pm

…a PR trick”???…WTF???…those GOD-damn peurto ricans! always tricks” Damn peurto rican tricks. shist….///…NH Constitution? Article X. Everything else is *FEDERAL*…///…maybe if they taught the *CODE*, then you cops could decipher it, and actually read it. Maybe it should be the “LEO’S Plain English of Conduct”…that “code” stuff is just confusing…

Bradley Jardis on Mon, 12th Jul 2010 7:21 pm

tKoK!

How you’ve been missed!