What do police have to fear when their only punishment is paid vacation?

The problem is that when a police officer does something bad then other police look into the matter. And often the incident or wrong doing is covered up and "goes away".





This is no different from when a doctor does something bad and the patient dies or is injured. Other doctors or hospital staff just cover up the mistake.





What is needed is a public "civilian" board to oversee these types of incidence, make recommendations, cause actions, and make all records public. If a police officer tasers or kills an innocent/unarmed person then this has to be made public. If a doctor kills a patient or administers a wrong procedure that then the doctor's name and hospital has to be made public.|||You are sadly misinformed.





If the officer doesn't do their job right or isn't paying attention, the punishment can be death. (Killed by the offender(s), killed in traffic, etc.)





If the officer is determined to have had a "bad shoot", they will be fired and criminally charged. This can kill a career whereas if you get fired, you just move on to another job.





And even when you drill down to things less severe than those, there are many penalties that can be dealt to officers beyond what you call a "paid vacation".





Many people are quick to point out that the offenders we arrest are innocent until proven guilty, which is absolutely the truth and a fact, but the same standards apply to an officer that either made a mistake or committed a questionable act.|||You seem to have your facts wrong.





First of all, when an officer is supended as a result of a disciplinary action, he/she does not get paid. I don't know what you do for a living, but I know that I would be hurting if I didn't get my paycheck for a month or two. So, it is not a "paid vacation".





Secondly, in many departments, suspension time affects accrued leave time, so the officer might also loose vacation (that would be paid vacation) at some later date. Also, many places suspend all benefits, and that would mean that the officer would have to pay in full to keep his/her medical benefits and life insurance paid during the period of suspension. So, it is hardly a "paid vacation".





Of course their are lots of other things that can happen, including being dismissed from the department. Getting fired not ony means losing your current job, but loosing the opportunity to collect the pension that you have worked years to earn. And, police officers are far more likely to be fired for things that wouldn't even affect most civilians.





Let;s suppose you are the clerk in a hardware store, If you get arrseted for drunk driving, you loose your license for 90 days, and have to pay a fine. That means you need to get a ride to work, or take public transportation. If it happens to a police officer, a police officer gets fired. That means that he/she looses his/her job, and his/her pension and his/her ability to get another job in the same field. And he/she looses his/her license and pays the fine, just like everyone else.





In addition to loss of job, pension and status, police officers also have to face whatever punishment is meted out by the Courts if they commit a crime. Or any penalty awarded by the Court of they are sued civilly.





Police officers who are "suspended with pay" are only placed in that status while under investigation. If the investigation clears them, then they go back to work. (You see, just like everyone else, cops are entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty). That doesn't happen too often.





So, I don't know where you got your facts, but they are not correct. I got my facts from spending almost 40 years as a police officer, and they are correct.|||Actually, when officers are being "punished" as you so succinctly put it, they are given leave WITHOUT pay. And they get written up, which goes on their permanent record. This record, or file, is held by the criminal justice academy of each state. Any agency wishing to hire a police officer has access to this file, and can see every demerit, writeup, complaint, and any number of incriminating bits of information.


So that is kinda scary. After all, it is illegal to give a bad reference about a past employee on any other job. Cops have all their mistakes carefully filed away, ready to be brought out and paraded in front of prospective employers.|||It depends on the Department. The NYPD automatically suspends someone for 30 days. (No pay or benefits) After that, they come back but in an administrative capacity (no gun or shield) until their situation is resolved. Think of it this way, people that have not done anything wrong are denied pay or benefits for 30 days and modified until their situation is resolved. Paid vacation is a myth in the NYPD.|||If you think that is the only punishment you have not been paying attention. A police officer can be fired. A police officer can be arrested, charged and convicted of crimes.





Time off with pay is used during an investigation. This is because we are innocent until proven guilty.|||they dont have a whole lot to fear since they have a monopoly on all secruity. they get the benefit of having their freinds and peers investigate them. and their held to a much lower standard. and btw all those examples of cops being punished people are giveing, are when they are off duty and commiting their crimes|||Bullsh*t. An off-duty cop in New York shot and killed a drunk driver (who was an illegal immigrant) who was trying to run him over in a car and he's in prison for 3 years.|||they have to fear all the psychopaths out there with guns.. being shot is a pretty good thing to fear...|||me-


-@impaler----%26gt;the same could be said about anyone who drives for a living and gets a dui,you lose it all too.|||You are incorrect and obviously do not read newspapers.|||Your statement is false.|||lawn work, spending extended time with the wife and kids, alcoholism ?