What Every Officer Should Know About Job Security, Ethics, and Planning for the Future

Good Morning, it’s Monday, December 30th, 2024.
We’re kicking off this week with a huge thank-you to everyone who attended our recent Meet & Greet and First Amendment Auditors webinar. The turnout was amazing, and your engagement continues to strengthen our community! We’re planning to host Meet & Greets every month so officers can connect with each other and our audience.

👏 Subscriber Shoutouts

A special thanks to these amazing supporters:

• Christy – Milledgeville PD, GA

• Shak – Alameda County Sheriffs, CA

• Trevor – Reserve Officer, Henry County PD, now working with Brinc Drones

• Chief Martin – Wilder PD, KY: Inventor of the Progard Space Saver Partition Viper Shield

Thank you all for being such a valuable part of our community!

🎯 Interested in being at the January Meet and Greet?
Click "Yes" on the poll below and leave your email when prompted. We’ll coordinate a convenient time so you don’t miss out!

🎯 TODAY'S SCENARIO

Just a Friendly Poll: This scenario will merge two court cases and highlight the importance of “reasonableness” when a police officer makes a mistake pertaining to the law.

Scenario

An officer in KY stopped a vehicle for having front-facing red lights, which he believed violated a new vehicle equipment law under Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 189. Unbeknownst to him, this law had been passed but was not yet in effect at the time of the stop.

Cast your vote (Yes or No) by replying or clicking on our quick poll link. Keep reading to see the explanation and legal background!

🗓️ What to Expect in This Issue:

•  Last Week in Policing: Key takeaways from this past week.

• Budget Cuts & Layoffs – Why Every Officer Needs a Backup Plan.

•  Legal Update: Revisiting Mistakes of Law – From Heien to Vincent.

• Officer Training: Are You Ready to Stand Up When It Counts?

 📚 Last Week’s Recap: Dec 23– Dec 29, 2024

Here’s what went down in law enforcement last week:

👮‍♂️ Weekly Line of Duty Deaths: 3
🐕 Weekly Line of Duty Deaths: 1

🚨 A Wake-Up Call: Budget Cuts Hit Close to Home

From Chicago to Miami, the headlines are alarming:

• Chicago PD faces budget challenges under its consent decree.

• Edmonds, WA, officers agreed to sacrifices to keep their department afloat.

• California slashed $185M from public safety funding in its latest proposal.

• Oakland, CA, is bracing for $63M in cuts.

• Miami-Dade Police could face significant cuts.

• Pittsburgh’s 2025 preliminary budget slashes $70M in police funding.

Even my local rural department is facing potential budget cuts and the risk of layoffs.

Here’s the reality: A government job doesn’t guarantee job security.

🛑 Why You Need a Backup Plan

This isn’t about leaving law enforcement tomorrow—it’s about being prepared for whatever comes next. In our recent Cop to Corporate webinar, Colin shared a crucial piece of advice:

“Police officers need to plan 3-5 years ahead to transition out of law enforcement successfully.”

Pivoting to a stable, fulfilling career outside of policing takes time. Waiting until layoffs happen or you’re ready to retire isn’t enough.

Planning early gives you options. It’s about building a safety net so you’re prepared for the unexpected.

🧭 We’re Here to Help

The Cop to Corporate webinar was created to guide officers through this exact challenge.

You’ll learn:

• How to identify your transferable skills.

• Steps to begin building a professional network.

• Strategies for creating a long-term career plan.

This isn’t about leaving the profession; it’s about being ready for whatever comes next—whether you choose to stay or go.

🎯 Learn more and start planning here:
👉 Cop to Corporate Webinar

📚 Training
❓ Would You Stand By or Step Up?

A brutal video from Marcy Correctional Facility shows 13 corrections officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, who died the next day. Not one stepped in to stop it.

Let’s be clear: Doing nothing is not an option.

🧠 The Psychology of Inaction

What causes people in a group to stand by instead of stepping in? It’s called the bystander effect. This psychological phenomenon occurs when individuals in a crowd assume someone else will act—or hesitate out of fear of standing alone. The larger the group, the stronger the effect.

In law enforcement, this hesitation can have devastating consequences.

👮 Breaking the Cycle: Evidence-Based Strategies for Law Enforcement

1. Recognize the Responsibility is Yours

   • Research shows that people are less likely to act when responsibility is diffused. As an officer, remind yourself: If I don’t act, no one will.

   • Apply this mindset in critical moments to reinforce your duty to intervene.

2. Set a Standard in Advance

   • Mentally rehearse how you would respond in situations requiring intervention. Cognitive rehearsal reduces hesitation.

   • In training or roll call, discuss scenarios where stepping in may be necessary. Practice phrases like, “This isn’t right—step back.”

3. Create an Ally in the Moment

   • Research shows that once one person intervenes, others are more likely to follow.

   • If hesitant to act alone, make eye contact with a colleague and say, “We need to stop this.” This shared responsibility can break group inertia.

4. Understand Group Dynamics and Leverage Rank or Training

   • Groups often follow the lead of confident or authoritative figures. Use your rank or training to redirect focus.

   • A firm “We’re done here” or “Stand down” can reset the dynamic and stop unlawful behavior.

5. Normalize Accountability

   • Environments that encourage accountability reduce unethical actions.

   • Foster a culture where speaking up is seen as a strength, not a challenge to authority. Highlight and celebrate officers who have stepped up in the past.

🏛 Legal Update
Revisiting Mistakes of Law – From Heien to Vincent

In a previous newsletter, we discussed Heien v. North Carolina (2014), where the U.S. Supreme Court held that an officer’s reasonable mistake of law could justify a traffic stop. That case involved a misunderstanding of an existing but ambiguous law, and the Court ruled the stop lawful because the mistake was deemed “objectively reasonable.”

Fast forward to Vincent v. Commonwealth (2024), where the Kentucky Supreme Court addressed a slightly different scenario. In this case, an officer stopped a vehicle based on a new vehicle equipment law under Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 189. The catch? The law had not yet gone into effect.

Key Differences:

• Heien: The mistake was about interpreting an ambiguous law already in effect.

• Vincent: The mistake was about enforcing a law not yet in effect.

The court ruled the stop invalid, stating that enforcing a law before it becomes effective is not a reasonable mistake of law. Unlike in Heien, where the officer misinterpreted current law, Vincent involved acting on a statute that simply didn’t exist at the time. The court emphasized that speculation about what the law might eventually require cannot justify a stop under the Fourth Amendment.

So what can we do as law enforcement?

Stay informed- not only about new laws but also their effective dates. It’s a fine line between a reasonable mistake and an unreasonable one, and Vincent reinforces that acting on non-existent laws crosses it.

 💪🏽 A Few Things You Might Enjoy

• AI Cop Toolkit: Our go-to resource for making policing easier with 100+ ChatGPT prompts. It’s a quick read, and it could save you time and headaches.

• First Amendment Auditors Webinar: It’s never fun to be caught off guard. This session digs into the do’s and don’ts, helping you be more prepared next time a camera is pointed your way.

• Pursuit Redy Playlist: Check out the pursuit-ready playlist to motivate you and start your shift on the right foot.

• Share the newsletter. Forward this email to your shift or any other cop who could use it.