One thing I see a lot of in the media is the judging of cops and their actions.

We are all judged in our actions - every single one of us. But the difference between cops and civilians is most of the time you have minutes to hours to days to think about what you are going to do. Sometimes we have less than a heartbeat.

Several years ago I was called in on a guy that was armed and resisting arrest. He had a criminal history, and gang affiliations.

He had not presented his weapon, but was brandishing it, so the officers on scene did not feel the need to fire. When I got there with the dog, the other officers were jumpy, as they or anyone else should be, and I decided to send the dog in. Realizing that there was no way we were going to get him to give up his weapon, and after escalating things as far as we could without shooting him I gave my warning and cut Rino loose. When the bad guy saw the dog coming at him he raised his weapon and the other officers shot him. Hitting Rino as well.

Rino died on the spot, the suspect lived. When he made his statement he said he was trying to throw the gun away.

The cops that fired on him ended up being removed from the force and lost their pensions.

Incidents like this happen all the time and the public instantly makes a judgment on what they see or hear on the news and public officials hear this cry from the public. We all know that public outcry can and does affect the local governments decisions. Just think before you judge.

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“It is anomalous to hold that in order to convict a man the police cannot extract by force what is in his mind, but can extract what is in his stomach.”