Stupid cops
A popular television program these days is the show”Cops.” Despite the fact that a common phrase blurtedout in society today is “stupid cops,” the programs”Cops” and “America’s Most Wanted”draw a large viewing audience each week.
“America’s Most Wanted” is successful inapprehending those featured thanks in part to the viewing audiencewho call in information tips.
SMU has a “stupid cop” attending classes and shewill graduate this December. (That’s correct, I said”she.”)
Officer Pam is an Evening Bachelors Student at SMU — at35, she is a younger “older student”, akanontraditional student. She is a thin, athletic, pretty blondewoman who is also a firearms instructor for the Dallas PoliceDepartment.
Once, as Officer Pam was walking across Airline to class thisweek a woman driving a Mercedes blew through a stop sign and almosthit her. Couldn’t the driver see Officer Pam was wearing hercrime fightin’ pants? Didn’t she see OfficerPam’s “NRA” baseball cap? What WAS that womanthinking? Officer Pam didn’t flash her shield. She did laughlater in class as students suggested potential personal injuryclaims for her.
When Officer Pam was in college the first time at the age ofmost of the SMU students, she decided to go to Florida for springbreak. Six months later she was still there. She has commented,”What WAS I thinking?” She suggested that at that timeperhaps she was stupid, but she wasn’t yet a cop.
On her return to Texas, she decided to go to work instead offinishing school. By age 22, she was an Emergency MedicalTechnician and driving ambulances in Austin. After five years as anEMT she decided to move from the medical field to the criminalfield.
She is more than 10 years older now and she says a lot smarter.This “stupid cop” decided that even though she wasworking a great, full-time job, she knew that not having a degreewould hold her back in some areas.
Dallas requires 45 hours to apply for officer ranking in thepolice force. Promotions beyond rank of sergeant often look for adegree, so Officer Pam decided to go back to school to get thatdegree.
Officer Pam started SMU in the fall of 2000 taking nine hourseach semester and three hours each summer session. That may seemlike a light load compared to 15 hours, however, when you add inher regular full-time shift and the additional 25-35 hours sheworks in overtime, she says it seems she has three full-time jobsat times.
Still, Officer Pam manages to stay on top of her school work.Officer Pam usually makes A’s on her tests but admits sherecently made a B+ because she spent time painting the bathroom inher new home instead. The common statement among those of us whohave classes with Officer Pam, or have had a class with her, is ifyou don’t understand something from the lecture, “AskOfficer Pam, she’s smart.” When asked about her GPA,she said it is either 3.8 or 3.9, but she is too tired to take thetime to look it up to be sure.
Many of us have overheard her asking, “Why didn’t Ifinish this when my parents were paying for it?”
And speaking of parents, Officer Pam’s mother stopped byher home this week. Officer Pam had cartridges lying around herhouse from a sniper rifle she had recently fired. Not surprisingly,her mom inquired about those objects.
“Note to self: hide the ammo before Mom arrives,”Officer Pam said.
Ironically, Officer Pam’s mom is a pacifist who believesthe way to deal with everything is to sit down and talk about it.But she has a lot in common with other family members.
Officer Pam’s brother is an explosive ordnance captain inthe army and when he comes home for visits the siblings talk incode that drives their mom crazy. All siblings in her family are insome sort of civil or public service.
When she travels out of town for job-related education she hascommented that she is always called on and used in demonstrations.Usually she is the only female in the classes. As a police officershe’s the minority in a male dominated profession. Herminority status becomes even more profound because she is afirearms instructor. Not many women choose that career path. Men,especially in Texas, tend to be raised around guns, but not as manywomen can say the same.
Prior to her assignment to the pistol range, Officer Pam workedthe downtown Dallas beat which included Friday and Saturday nightsin Deep Ellum.
She has had her share of fights, arrests and has sufferedserious injury. Such incidents included broken bones, while on thejob.
When a case in which she was assaulted was prosecuted it endedin a hung jury. The jury was polled and one holdout juror commentedthat she didn’t believe anyone with a tattoo could possiblybe telling the truth.
Officer Pam wore a short-sleeved shirt to the court that day andher tattoos were visible. “Note to self: wear a long sleevedshirt next time,” she said.
When her mother originally saw the tattoos, she said,”Pammy, why did you do that to yourself?”
We non-traditional students frequently partake in what I willhereinafter refer to as “warm-up sessions” prior toclass. (The need for these sessions may be the desire to unwindfrom working all day, but we will leave the basis for that to thepsychology department for further analysis.) Even the traditionalstudents enjoy the “warm-up” seesions a.k.a. comedyroutines, and our professor was seen this week trying to hide heramusement behind the lectern.
Professors, students (traditional and non-traditional alike),and staff that have come to know Officer Pam, delight in her senseof humor during these “warm-ups” before class.. Her”notes to self” are dryly delivered and reveal herinsight. We give Officer Pam thumbs up at night as she walks awaywith authority. She always reminds us of her support saying,”I’ve got your back.”
Last week as we were all walking out of class she commented thatshe needed to go home and bake a cake for a retirement party. Whena gasp rose from the group, she replied, “Not only can Ishoot, but I cook too.”
Officer Pam commented that the prejudice of the “stupidcop” label most often arises from lack of knowledge, orbecause of a disagreement with one cop.
Officer Pam is far from stupid, and she challenges thatstereotype at each meeting.
SMU has a diverse student body. The world is comprised ofdiverse people. SMU offers classes that allow for an education tohelp us understand that the world needs diverse people. Studentsare challenged in their classes to address prejudices —prejudices like the ones directed towards cops — that hold usback. In this case, Officer Pam challenges said prejudices.
For those of us who have been fortunate to meet Officer Pam, wehave been blessed, as has the City of Dallas. This woman has bondedwith traditional students, nontraditional students, Secret ServiceAgents, US Marshals, Armed Services Commanders and many others.
Officer Pam is no stupid cop. 10-8 (cop-talk for “clearand in service).
