But, how many of you have ever stood in a highway lane while literally
hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles pass by you at arms-length
distances, traveling at speeds of 65-80+ mile per hour!

I have, and I've never liked the experience. I well remember one afternoon,
while working a scene, that some moron sideswiped me close enough to tear my
uniform pants and knock me a few feet back from the point of impact. I was
*not* amused.

On another occasion I had my foot crushed, but managed (with difficulty) to
complete my assignment before I sought medical help.

LOL...on *another* occasion I was shot in the leg while working a protective
detail at a 'peace march'; later, my supervisor asked why I was walking 'kinda
funny' and I showed him the wound, and he chewed me out for not reporting it
earlier. No big deal.

Here's a thought: in my State, when a State
police officer is killed in the line of duty, he/she has a HUGE
State-sponsored memorial, and among other things, has an entire
freeway named after him/her.

In Louisiana, I know of a State officer who was run down and killed by a drunk
driver, and he got no memorial whatsoever.

I remember this because I used to work with him. His name was Sgt. Gilbert
Mast, and his killer, Josh Gimelstob, got the usual 'slap on the wrist'
punishment.

You can still read the specifics of that case on the Internet; I know of yet
another Louisiana officer who was stabbed to death in the line of duty, but
can't find anything on the 'net in reference to it.

Perhaps different States honor their personnel in different ways.

Not to mention
their tiny salaries, compared to the other "dangerous" civil servant
jobs out there. Public servant salaries are public record. Check
the websites of any public agency--you'll see.

So, what's your beef? In my last job, as a State police officer, I had not
only the 'regular' duties, but also had to take on the additional
responsibilities of Crime Scene Investigator, Intelligence Officer, and
High-Tech Crime Investigator, as well as Training Officer.

I got paid for one job, of course, and yes, as you see from public records, I
was paid the princely sum of $1367 a month. This was in 2002, by the way.

Plus of course I had to supply my own sidearm, ammunition, etc.

I couldn't afford the medical insurance package, so I did without it.

Yes indeed, all that 'big money' and glory out there, ripe for the taking.

Heck,
who do you thing is usually the first on scene of a freeway crash?

The drunk driver and the victim?

Every job has its perks and negatives...

That's something we both agree on g.


James S. Prine
http://hometown.aol.com/jsprine/