In Daytona Beach, Florida, near my hometown, a police “lieutenant” (I still don’t understand why we give cops fake military rank) was accused of stating the following in response to being cut off from getting free coffee:
“If something happens, either we can respond really fast or we could respond really slow. I’ve been coming here for years and I’ve been getting whatever I want. I’m the difference between you getting a two-minute response time, if you needed a little help, or a 15 minutes response time.”
Then the cop offered to take a polygraph and he failed. Then he was fired. At least the department did the right thing by throwing this jerk under the bus.
You think the cops are bad, in West Virginia? You should see them in Florida. There are two cops for every person. All they do is harass people all day long. And talk about overpaid… The poor cops up here make peanuts. Down there, between the unions and the sky-high property taxes, the cops (and firemen) make over fifty thousand per year starting salary. For reference, many in rural West Virginia cops make under twenty thousand per year. As much as I complain about law enforcement in West Virginia, I still thank my lucky stars that we don’t have Florida’s storm-troopers.
You can read the article here.
– John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.
I’ve thought about how to write a response to this post, without coming off as sarcastic. I’ll try not to. First of all, I’m against what the police did about the free coffee. My comment is not about that or in support of corrupt police.
My comment is about what you said about their salaries. What is wrong with $50K for the police and firefighters. Would YOU go into a burning building? Would YOU stick your neck out on the line for a stranger, possibly being SHOT UP?? Probably not.
Are you complaining about the money lawyers get paid? Let’s start their. Goodness! $175 per hour! And lawyers don’t get shot at any more often than the rest of us do in a fallen world.
I think cops and firefighters make too little of a salary for the dangerous work they do.
And lawyers? They make too much for the L1, L2 and L3 schooling they get. So what, they know the laws. Big deal. Anyone can learn the laws if they too go to college or study real hard. Not anyone can get out there in a world full of people who hate each other, who will kill over a pair of tennis shoes, and who glorify the killing of police officers. It takes a person with the courage to accept a job as a police officer or a firefighter.
Is a life worth $50K if they burned up in a house where your family members were in, but they died rescuing them for you?
Have you seen how much level 1 lawyers make? What is now? Something like $160K fresh out of school? For what? I don’t see them dodging bullets for strangers.
I agree with what you have said, except for that of the salaries. Do I think that 50k per year is too high for a law enforcement or firefighter starting salary? Absolutely, the private market would not support that salary. The money doesn’t appear out of nowhere, the taxpayers are paying it. In West Virginia however, law enforcement is not paid well enough. Who would want the job when many counties only pay 15k per year? Regarding the lawyer salaries, I’m not sure where you got your numbers. Some first year associates in the largest of the largest cities at the largest of the largest firms may make that much. But that would equal about 50k in a less expensive market. In West Virginia, the largest firm in the state only pays about 70k as a starting salary. That maybe increases about 10% per year. Most beginning lawyers in West Virginia are below 50k. Prosecutor and public defender jobs pay much less – around 30k or 40k.
Perhaps my standards are too high, but I would expect a GOOD cop, or any GOOD and compassionate citizen for that matter, would jump into a dangerous situation in order to save someone. Without worrying about how much they are being paid to do so. That’s what separates the men from the boobs… Not a paycheck.
I have witnessed cops and EMTs standing around wondering what to do during a house fire where someone was still in the house. One of the NEIGHBORS showed up and ran into the building and pulled the guy out, and did CPR as well, while all the “professionals” watched…