Cop Enters Wrong Apartment, Kills Occupant, Says, "Oops, I thought this was my place."

As in so many things these days, this comes down to whether the person with the flaws is on "your side" or not. If it's someone you generally agree with, then their character flaws are perhaps regrettable but we can overlook them in the name of fairness. If it's someone you disagree with, well, then their flaws make them a monster who must be punished and disgraced.

Even if they do get fired, another police department is almost always happy to hire them. And if they can't get a job as a cop, they'll go for an armed security guard gig. (And having known a few of them, I can say that if you're making a list of people who should never be allowed to handle a gun, armed security guards are close to the top.)

Doesn't always work like that. You mentioned the military by way of example. I've read and heard of professional soldiers that were basically good serving in peacetime but where horrible in actual combat. The same in reverse.

I would imagine there are police officers who are outstanding in doing something like stopping armed robbers but dreadful in other aspects of the job.

Of course there are those who excel in all phases of their job and those that excel in none.

And sometimes they can get into a new situation that they can work well in. A racist cop serving in NYC getting a law enforcement job in upstate New York in a near all white community.

Man enough to shut you up?

Is that code?

Hi NotDayton.

in the military if (as an NCO) you are horrible and the chain-of-responsibility/chain-of-command are truly honest & doing their jobs, the paper trail of official rating reports will weed you out. But what you described is not necessarily a character defect, just a performance defect. Some people just struggle with different aspects of their job. But if honesty, discipline, patience, dependability and other positive character traits are lacking you are a liability no matter what part of the job you are engaged in.

I would like to understand the abstract "why" of the incident because it's part of a larger thought I've had. I've read studies and have personal anecdotal evidence that link exhaustion/overwork with poor decision making in high stress jobs. For instance, a Police Officer at the end of seven twelve-hour shifts in a row was determined to be impaired similarly to a driver who was at the legal BAC limit. It obviously wouldn't absolve her of any wrongdoing, but I wonder what her work schedule was like. I'm just wondering if that needs to be addressed.

Oh, and think about that the next time you or someone you care about is in the hospital on the weekend. There's a high chance the nurse is on her sixth or seventh twelve in a row on a seven days on, seven days off rotation.

Obviously, I can't speak outside of my own personal experience, but actually getting fired was both rare and the mark of death. If a Police Officer is actually fired around here, no one would ever touch him. In all of my years, I've only seen one Officer actually be fired. The rest were asked or forced to resign. That way they were technically "eligible for rehire" when the new agency called HR to check references.

It has always seemed strange to me that the professions that have the most minute-to-minute life-or-death importance are also the ones where we think it's okay to work people to the point of exhaustion.

well this should really help you sleep well at night: in army air traffic control (they have their FAA pink card and are subject to FAA rules over & above that of the army) its not uncommon for an air traffic controller to be on three different shifts (days, swings, mids) within a one week period! Any of us wordforge folks who have ever worked shifts will tell you - it takes a while for your body & mind to adjust to a new sleep/eat/work schedule. Generally a week or two to be at 100 percent functionality. Those jokers didn't know if they were coming or going half the time - good thing the pilots did!

They have to, because there is a lack of such people. If you don't have enough people to do the work in normal hours, everyone has to work extra hours. That's just the way it is.

I've wondered why that is myself. I've heard that the legendary medical practice of working residents ungodly numbers of hours is basically simply a form of "hazing" by established doctors and the medical establishment. Though I'm sure they would justify it someway as "preparing doctors for future high stress situations".

Oh wait, you misunderstood! He's just making the diver OK symbol! @Ron Paul Sherman whatever the fuck he goes by this week said so!

It's because paying those people is expensive and we never quite seem to want to pay for enough of them that reasonable shifts are possible.

It's often self-inflicted. My mom has been a nurse for over 30 years. During that time, "Seven on, seven off" schedules have always been a thing. Back when mom was actually involved with bedside care, they were only eight hour shifts though. But, "Seven on, Seven off" eights are the most expensive way to run a hospital. You have to maintain six fully staffed shifts rather than three over-staffed shifts to accommodate off days, people calling in sick, etc. Nurses loved the "Seven on, seven off" for obvious reasons, so hospitals and nurses compromised. The "Seven on, seven off" twelve. It requires the hospital to staff four shifts rather than six, cutting their costs, and it keeps the nurses happy because they still get 26 weeks off a year.

My experience in law enforcement has been similar. When I first started, we worked a screwball hybrid schedule of eight hour shifts. We would work seven off one, work seven off two, work seven off three, work seven off four, and then the schedule would start over. It was a screwball system that made living anything approaching a normal life difficult. The labor side asked for the twelve hour shifts because it brought some normalcy to their lives. It's a system that allows 84 hours per pay period and you get every other Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. The first week, you work five twelves, with Wednesday and Thursday off. The second week you only work Wednesday and Thursday and have five days off.

I wish we would go to 10 hour days where I work so we could have three days off every week. I actually think that would be good for everyone.

I could do 12 hour as well.

I'm seeing a rise in the ten hour shift. Everyone in our SO, all the way down to the custodial staff and the office clerks, now works four ten hour shifts per week. It rotates some, obviously, but they love it. But, the office, admin people, and Investigators either work Monday through Thursday 7a-5p or Tuesday through Friday 7a-5p. Two of the big local manufacturing plants have also gone to four tens. They work two shifts Monday through Thursday. First shift is 6a-4p and second shift is 4p-2a. Maintenance then has four hours to do whatever they need to do between shifts.

Dallas PD has fired her.

We have the option to do a 9/80 schedule here. 9 hour days for the first 4 days of the week, then an 8 hour day the first friday, and the 2nd friday off. I tried it for a while, but the 9 hour days get old real fast.

I heard of schedules like that back when Bechtel gave it a shot.

Seems appropriate given what's been reported.

What an amazing bit of info, thanks El.

Work two extra days get five extra days off - is there any wonder we've achieved such consistent high year-over-year increases in health care costs. No question mark because it's not really a question.

As to OP and update, sounds good, but until sentencing can't really know what to think.

84 hours over a two week pay period, numbnuts. It saves money having fewer shift changes.

Why does being rabid right require reduced cognitive abilities?

Replaced by 12 hour shifts, idiot.

Also, nurses (cops too I think) are paid by the hour, not salaried.

ETA: the nursing staff is not a big driver in US healthcare costs. Wages have remained stagnant in this sector of employment as it has everywhere else.

The biggest driver in healthcare costs are drug prices followed by unnecessary hospitalization brought on by poor preventative care.

Our private employer based insurance has also increased costs over the decades by encouraging "frills" to attract patients rather than sound patient outcomes.

Single-payer would go a long way to correcting these market imbalances.

Woof woof.

That's your most intelligent post in a long time. Keep up the good work.