Behind the Badge
By John Roman
What if you were at work and a stranger told you how to do your job?
Imagine knowing this person was never trained to do your job and never held your position before. Imagine knowing for a fact that this person had no idea what you do at work.
How would you feel? What would you say?
What if someone went to your work and tried to kill you even though you had never met them before?
What if someone went to your work and said you lied about something even though it was not true?
What if someone went to your work and said you weren’t doing your job right?
What if someone went to your work and tried to hurt you because of the clothes you were wearing?
What if someone went to your work and assumed you did something wrong just because of what you were wearing?
What if someone went to your work and told your boss a lie to get you in trouble?
What if someone went to your work and started yelling at you because of the way you looked?
What if someone went to your work and wouldn’t stop interfering?
What if someone went to your work and told you how to do your job because of what they saw on TV?
Now imagine being a police officer and all of those things could happen to you, but you still put your uniform and badge on with pride.
Editor’s Note: John Roman is a traffic officer for an Orange County police agency who writes a blog, Badge 415 (badge415.wordpress.com/). His posts focus on the human side of police work and safety tips. Roman, a cop for 20 years, has handled more than 5,000 accidents as a collision investigator. behindthebadgeoc.com will share some of his columns.You can also follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/badge415.
