No one disputes this concept.
At face value that is encouraging to hear from an officer.
Police Officers are akin to soldiers
I will echo what others have said; While that seems to be the common misconception that police departments and individual officers seem to be operating under this is, IMHO, fundamentally where the the problem begins.
Ask anyone who has served in any of the
armed forces and they will tell you pretty much the same thing.
No matter what your classification is in the military, you are a
soldier first. This means that everyone from a 4 star down to a PFC is trained first, and foremost, to pick up a weapon, and
neutralize ( Kill ) an
enemy. In the military right now they are experiencing the exact opposite effect we are seeing on
our streets every day, they are being transformed into "peacekeepers" and expected to reverse their role, to uphold the law, and arrest suspected criminals. They are also expected to show the locals that they are there to serve and protect
them.
Here at home, we are seeing the opposite happen, our police agencies and officers are becoming soldiers. Instead of the
peace officers they were supposed to be. Rather than protect and serve, win the hearts and minds, keep the peace, we start to hear more about "special operations", no-knock warrants being "served" by guys with better armaments than most of our military has, "terry stops" that are merely fishing expeditions. Yes you
are adopting a soldier mindset, and while you may name
crime as your enemy, it is the "collateral damage" inflicted on innocent civilians, and the shredding of their constitutional rights while fighting the
enemy that is the reason for this discussion.
we have special rights and responsibilities.
While you do have a number of responsibilities ( Including to protect the rights of every citizen ) You have
no more or less "rights" than
anyone else. You may have special privileges that the average citizen does not enjoy, but your "rights" are exactly the same as mine, or the guy you bust for armed robbery. I can see where you would get confused on this matter though, since LEAs and district attorneys have created the artificial "right" that keeps you safe from criminal charges should you "screw the pooch"