LEO question.... is this typical?

[Warchild]

I know we have a lot of LEOs on the forum, and I realize law enforcement policies in one precinct/county/state may not be the same as another precinct/county/state , still....

This is in regard to the photos of the NYPD clearing out OWS long-hairs from Zuccotti Park yesterday... is it common for precinct Captains to get down into the trenches and do battle themselves?

I ask because the question has come up elsewhere, and the Captain above doesn't really seem to be appropriately attired for street crowd control - bare handed, no face shield or riot gear - the white shirt/tie seems to suggest a more supervisory role, rather than active participation.


But, I don't really know if this is typical or not, so... honest question for forum LEOs....

[twotonevert]

Lets keep this civil folks. Just saying before it gets out of hand.

[BlueHaya]

He's never gonna live that pic down

[BusaBret]

Maybe he just wanted to get his jabs in while he could

[Warchild]

Lets keep this civil folks. Just saying before it gets out of hand.

Absolutely.... this is a honest legit question, I actually don't know the answer to it, which is why I asked the forum LEOs... :agree:

[skydivr]

That's the hard part about a picture. It only displays a snapshot in time, it says nothing about what events preceeded it. I suspect this is part of the same reason for red1100's problems in Memphis.

[Sous]

I thought the same thing when I saw the picture, but how do we know that the protesters did not get behind the police line where the captain was at. It is hard to say without actually being there, and you will not find me at a demonstration of that nature.

BlueHaya is right though, he will never live that down.

[sportcustoms71]

pretty cool pics

[Schexy1]

This is just from my limited knowledge. Typically a Captian will only come out during a SWAT or Riot situation or when staffing is insufficiant like parades and such. They usually stay behind the lines at command center. So I would say this is not typical, either the crowd got too close to the command center or the crowd was too big and extra man power was needed. But based on his dress, I think the crowd got too close.

[Busa1166]

Down here higher ups do go into the field and so does our mayor, not uncommon. Seeing them out there shouldn't be surprising

[dadofthree]

How do we know that that is a law enforcement officer

[BlueHaya]

How do we know that that is a law enforcement officer

Becasue he is punching civilians in the face......

[RussellJ]

Hell yeah! Get some Capt!

[Schexy1]

Why is he using his fist when he has a perfectly good peice of steel strapped to his side?

[nabusa]

A picture taken out of context doesn't really say much. For all we know those people could have spit in his face. All that picture show is he is mad about something.

[dadofthree]

Becasue he is punching civilians in the face......

We have a saying around here boy. You pay the nickle you ride the ride

See my problem with this is everybody knows that having a cell phone in your hand in NYCNY can get you a couple hundred rounds, maybe he was showing restraint

[aussiesuzukirider]

Front line crowd controllers here are not allowed to carry their fire arm

[GNBRETT]

I would say that is not typical but certainly not unheard of. once you make the rank of LT. you can opt to wear a white shirt or a blue shirt. white does have a tendency to get dirty obviously but many supervisors LT. and up often wear the white shirt. they tend to wear white when they first get promoted but after some time they tend to want to wear blue because it just gets dirty too easy.

you have to have a white shirt on every shift. white shirt is kind of a terminology meaning shift commander and it is usually a LT. or Capt. depending on ones PD.

you cant teach pride and some guys made it up thru the ranks because they just test well. others made it there because they were outstanding officers. the outstanding officers are usually the ones that will be the first ones to battle with those that cannot conform and will get the respect of the subordinates as a result.

NYPD is a very reputable PD and making rank there is VERY competitive so if you see a capt getting down and dirty I can almost guarentee you that he was a hard charger his whole career and earned his respect on the street.

a Capt. of LT can decide to stay inside or go on the road if he choses to but usually in the NYPD a Capt. will respond to critical incidents or incidents involving a police officer involved in a shooting or a bad car accident or a cop being arrested or demonstations that will likely result in national attention like this one and numerous other serious incidents but many just like to stay sharp and will respond to whatever he choses to so he doesnt lose that edge.

some departments (usually smaller PD's) do make LT's and above wear the white shirt but that is not the standard for a big city police department. riot gear would not be worn in a situation like that because its supposed to be a peaceful demonstration and for the most part it was. he appears to be highly decorated and that didnt happen by accident. good for him.