Building the Better Motor Officer

Some people learn things quickly.  Some people have this uncanny ability to recognize outcomes and adapt their conditions and environment to effect that outcome in a positive manner.  That's not necessarily me.  I picked being a Cop for a living - what could go wrong there? And if the outcomes of that career weren't iffy enough, I decided to try it on two wheels for more added excitement and I've done that for almost 3 decades now!  

The fact is that the job of being a Motor Officer in of itself does have its dangers.  But here's where people like me can add extra danger to the job.   I was prone to bad health habits.  I smoked - heavily.  Exercise?  I exercised my right to prop my feet up on the couch and flip channels like a pro.  Training?  I was the guy in the back who didn't listen.  Over the last several years I noticed things.  I was out of breath just climbing stairs.  Fights on the street absolutely exhausted me and backup always felt like hours away.  My tactics suffered, and my shooting skills were mid at best.  My riding skills?  They were still pretty good, but in my mind as a Motorcop that's all that mattered.  I was wrong.  Almost dead wrong.

Fast forward watching several co-workers pass away - not due to gunfire or violence or crashes, but heart disease.   Some of them were much heathier than I was, yet still they are gone.  I started some self-checking and found areas I absolutely needed to get in front of.  I started focusing on my physical health initially.  I eventually stopped smoking.  I found my way to the gym.  I paid attention in In-Service and other training opportunities. I went to the range often.  I listened to the door-kickers, the health nuts, the guys who knew what they were talking about.

If I wrote this 4-5 years ago you would have every reason to call me a hypocrite.  But a couple years back they cracked my chest open to fix an aortic aneurism.  As a motorman I brushed with death often and this was yet another time I felt the whoosh of the Reaper's robe as he went by.  But it was my wake-up call, and my second chance and doing things the right way.

Don't spend your entire career watching others do things the right way, being that guy, and risking letting your life get cut short because of your lack of interest to learn, train, or become physically fit. 

Just my two cents - Ride Safe and Train Often!!!

Joe