General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: There are roughly 800,000 cops in the United States... [View all]DefenseLawyer
(11,101 posts)Just my own experience dealing with police for the last 20 years. One thing that has changed in that period of time, at least has it appears to me, is a huge increase in the number of people who join police forces after being in combat in the military. Of course you can't blame them, it may be the best job available to a former soldier. The "military" culture of most police agencies is certainly welcoming and familiar. However, the specific skills and life experiences gained in combat certainly don't translate very well into being a peace officer. When you toss PTSD into that mix, it becomes even more distressing. I have been paying a lot more attention to police shootings and it seems to be the norm that more often than not the shooter has been in combat. I don't have any statistics, it's just an observation.