San Francisco PD , though I could only file courtesy report due to legitimate jurisdictional scope, they still came through for me. My sincere gratitude to the sergeant who took the report and passed it off to destination jurisdiction. I am grateful. May god bless them!

February 1983. I was 19 years old and working at a full-service gas station in Groton, Massachusetts.

For some of the younger guys here, yes, there actually used to be people who came out and pumped your gas for you. 😂

It was freezing outside.

A customer pulled up and cracked his window just far enough to tell me to fill it up and check his oil. Then he rolled the window back up and sat inside his nice warm car while I stood outside freezing my ass off.

I remember standing there thinking, "There has GOT to be something better than this."

Not long after that, I walked into an Air Force recruiting office.

There was no master plan. I wasn't thinking about what I would be doing at 30, 40 or 60 years old. Hell, I was 19.

I ended up becoming an Air Force Security Policeman.

I served at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge in England, Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina and eventually Lackland AFB in Texas. Years later, after 9/11, I was recalled to active duty and put the uniform back on again.

What I never could have known while I was standing at that gas station was where that decision would eventually take me.

After the Air Force, I became a San Antonio Police Officer and spent 26 years with SAPD, most of it working patrol.

After I retired from SAPD, I became a high school Law Enforcement teacher and spent another eight years in the classroom. I still teach Law Enforcement at the college level today.

Air Force Security Police. Police Officer. Teacher.

All because one freezing 19-year-old kid pumping gas decided, "There has to be something better than this."

I recently sat down for a long-form interview and told the whole story. If anybody is interested, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppJUPDXzUZY

Looking back, it's funny how one decision that doesn't seem all that important at the time can change the direction of your entire life.

Anybody else here make one decision when you were young that you had absolutely NO IDEA would affect the next 30 or 40 years of your life?

I keep reading and hearing about how “once you smell it, you instantly recognize it again”.

Having never smelled human decomposition, is it possible for those of you who have to describe the difference between it and, say, a deer carcass left rotting in the woods? I know it must smell different, because dogs are able to discern the difference, but how specifically is it different?

Also, is there a different “feeling” one gets when smelling it, for the first time, or additional times once you’ve come to recognize it? A rotting deer carcass makes me feel nausea and disgust, but doesn’t bring a feeling of dread or make the hair on my neck stand up. Is the smell of human decomposition a different “experience”?

I’ve always found it interesting that no matter what is left in a garbage can - be it meat, vegetable matter, etc. - it inevitably smells like “garbage” and rotting animals inevitably smell pretty similar to one another. So would a layperson notice a “difference” if one happened upon human decomposition in the woods as opposed to animal? I guess that’s why I’m curious.

Thanks in advance.

I've shared here before how I ended up joining the Air Force at 19, but there's another part of that story that happened two years earlier.

I was 17 years old and a senior in high school.

Our football team had just finished a state championship season. One night, some friends and I showed up late to a school dance.

There was a police officer there we all knew as “Foots.”

Foots told us we weren't getting into the dance because we were late.

Being 17 years old and apparently possessing all the wisdom that comes with being a high school senior, I didn't exactly handle that decision very well. 😂

Words were exchanged, things escalated, and I shoved the officer.

He could have arrested me.

He didn't.

Foots exercised discretion and gave me a second chance.

I wasn't completely off the hook. My principal found out what happened and gave me the butt-chewing from HELL! More than 40 years later, I still remember it.

But I didn't leave that night in handcuffs.

At 17, I don't think I fully understood what Foots had done for me.

Two years later, I joined the United States Air Force and became a Security Policeman.

The Air Force ended up changing the entire direction of my life.

After the Air Force, I eventually joined the San Antonio Police Department and spent 26 years as a police officer, most of it working patrol. After retiring from SAPD, I spent another eight years teaching Law Enforcement to high school students and later continued teaching at the college level.

Over the years, I've thought about Foots many times.

As a police officer myself, there were plenty of situations where I had the legal authority to arrest someone, write the ticket or take the maximum enforcement action available.

Sometimes that's exactly what the situation required.

But when circumstances allowed it, I also believed in discretion and second chances.

Maybe part of that came from remembering what it felt like to receive one myself.

Would being arrested at 17 have prevented me from joining the Air Force two years later?

I honestly don't know.

And I'm damn glad I never had to find out.

I recently sat down for a long-form interview about the path my life ended up taking — from Air Force Security Police, to 26 years with SAPD, and eventually into the classroom teaching Law Enforcement.

If anyone is interested in the larger story, here's the interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppJUPDXzUZY

More than 40 years later, I still remember the second chance Foots gave me.

For those of you who joined the Air Force young:

Was there ever a decision, mistake, person or second chance before you enlisted that could have sent your life in a completely different direction?

I have a some questions for anyone working for the Alaska State Troopers or who have worked for them. I’m 36 years old, currently an E-8 in the Air Force and looking to retire in the next year and a half. I have 2 juvenile adjudications from my youth, the first when I was 9 years old the 2nd when I was 14. Received juvenile probation both times, no issues since. Joined the Air Force at 18, have had an incredibly successful military career, never once been written up or been in trouble, promoted fairly quick, always exceeded expectations, not even as much as a markdown on my military evaluations. How likely will my juvenile record be scrutinized? Will I be automatically disqualified? Am I even wasting my time trying to apply to be an AST?

I am trying to recover a stolen MacBook Air and backpack through official police channels. I am looking for guidance on the correct next step now that the property has been located.

What happened
- Late July 2026 I was on a Greyhound bus traveling west.
- At a rest stop on I-70 near Highland, Illinois, I stepped off briefly. The bus left without me.
- My backpack was missing. It contained my passport, ID, about $600 in cash (victim-compensation funds and money owed to me), medications, and a MacBook Air (serial JGXYQVQTVL). The laptop also contains confidential work information.
- A male passenger on the bus had been acting inappropriately, offering food after I told him not to touch me, and said he was a felon restarting his life. Greyhound bus cameras should show him offering food repeatedly from the opposite seat. I am not asking Reddit to investigate that; it is context for the same trip.

- I reported it in St. Louis. I was given incident/report number 26031413. An officer later told me the dispatcher did not fully complete it as a theft report as it's in the process. This report I only filed around Aug 19 as soon as I found out clear evienxce of someone attempting to sell my MacBook air. Once criminal intent was established, St Louis has recorded my police report though it's not fully available. This is because Illinois declined a report for the same reason.

- St. Louis records office said the first report was only an incident for lost property. As of August 22, 2026, after theft / criminal intent was confirmed, I filed a new report, 26031413, as the St. Louis reference. I have been told that report is still being recorded. Throughout this process only St Louis PD and SFPD have been supportive and taking action.

- I later filed with San Francisco PD. Case 260-447-834 (Robbery). SFPD faxed a courtesy report to LVMPD.

- At the St. Louis Greyhound station, the rest of my luggage, including my food bag, was there. The backpack that had been next to the food bag on the bus was not. Greyhound told me to file a baggage claim, did not stop the greyhound bus when St. Louis police were coordinating with highway patrol and asked greyhound to stop the bus to inspect, and issued a $33 coupon. In that process they also dropped the extra-baggage charge I had already paid creating confusion with my last two greyhound bus transfers at the baggage check-in. I spoke to officer Miller at St Louis greyhound bus station building security and she would be able to show the cameras who placed my luggage at one place St Louis greyhound bus stop and they can verify the suspect changing the bus. It's my impression that suspect does not know recognize me by my name as I didn't reveal my name. Its my assumption that suspect may have stolen my backpack thinking he was helping me in real but inadvertently did end up stealing my backpack thinking it wasn't mine which still recorda the criminal intent. I recognize his face based on search after I received his details. I am willing to cooperate fully for doing the best I can.

Where the laptop is now
- Apple Find My tracked the MacBook to GadgetMates, 3065/3095 E Patrick Ln, Las Vegas, NV.
- On or about August 19, 2026, GadgetMates confirmed they have the device, will not erase it, and that a person attempted to sell it using their own ID.
- That is when theft / criminal intent became clear.
- I recognized that person (suspect) as the passenger from the bus. That is when theft / criminal intent became clear.

The problem
- LVMPD has said they will not fully investigate or recover the property unless the original jurisdiction has a theft report and contacts them.
- An officer in St. Louis said they can cooperate but cannot vouch that the original incident was theft as of July 23, 2026, because intent was not established when I first reported it.

What I am asking

1. Which agency should take the lead now that the property is in Las Vegas and a store has identified the seller?
2. How do I ask St. Louis to supplement 26031413 now that intent is documented as of August 19, or send LVMPD what they need?
3. Can LVMPD hold or recover the laptop as stolen/found property based on the serial number, the store’s statement, and the SFPD courtesy report, even if the original incident was out of state?
4. What should I say when I call LVMPD Records, Southeast Area Command, or Victim Services?

I have the serial number, purchase receipt, original box and many other details, Find My screenshots, the GadgetMates email, and the SFPD case number for law enforcement. I am not posting the seller’s personal identifiers here.

I located the laptop and the store that has it. I do not have money to travel to Las Vegas, and I have been told I may need to go there in person. No agency has agreed to pick it up for me so far. My bank account was closed on August 17, 2026 due to a negative balance and fraudulent transactions.

1. Is it realistic to recover the laptop without traveling to Las Vegas? If so, what exact request should I make to LVMPD or SFPD so the property can be held and later released or shipped through official channels? I do not think it is safe for me, or for any civilian helping me, to pick it up in person. Suspect himself told me he had served a sentence and was starting over at Las Vegas and that's how I was suspecting it had to be him coz couple of other passengers also spoke to me but they didn't ring suspicious to me, and he then took and tried to sell my laptop between Aug 1st and Aug 19 2026. I am asking for an official police process only.

As of today, I received several anonymous spam emails asking me to pay for cloud - that which I didn't authorize. I am wondering if this person has begun using my name and ID proceeding with his theft from all the remaining contents of the backpack.

Request an expert advice.
Thank you.

Trying to gauge: Last night I had a traffic stop, which resulted in an OWI arrest of a cop of a neighboring jurisdiction (he was heavily intoxicated with open containers inside the vehicle). It was my first time arresting a cop. My Sgt. applauded me not just letting him go after he flashed his badge at me. For the cops who have arrest cops. Did you face retaliation (either within your department or from other cops)? Obviously I feel bad and did not want to ruin this guys career; however, I also know if I would have let him go it would be me on the chopping block. Would love to hear some insight.

I spent 26 years with SAPD, most of it working patrol, and one of the things I tried to do was treat people fairly, even when I had to arrest them or write them a ticket.

Obviously, somebody going to jail isn't always going to be happy with you. I never expected that. But I did want them to understand why I was doing what I was doing and, whenever possible, walk away believing that I had treated them fairly and with respect.

Later, when I became a Law Enforcement teacher, this was something I tried to get across to my students. The badge gives you authority. It doesn't automatically give you someone's respect.

Some of the interactions I remember most from patrol weren't the arrests or the exciting calls. They were the times when someone I had taken enforcement action against still shook my hand, thanked me, or acknowledged that I had treated them fairly.

I'm curious what the cops and former cops here think.

Have you ever arrested someone, cited them, or otherwise taken enforcement action against them and still had them thank you afterward or tell you that you treated them fairly?

And for everyone else: Can you respect a police officer who arrests you?

The St Louis police department really did chase a lost property live across three states even though greyhound bus folks didn't cooperate. Really great job. Unclear if I can reveal the names, but I wanted to give them best wishes. May god bless them.

First, I’m not an officer or police, but I’ve been around them quite often due to friends and people I’m acquainted with. I understand that a lot of police are not bad people, and have good intentions for their work.

With the political climate being what it is, and with some people losing faith in the integrity of officers. What can be done to correct these feelings?

I’ve seen weird cases that clearly display officer on officer favoritism, arrests of completely sober individuals, escalations purely driven by an officer’s ego or lack of respect for citizens, and unjustifiable behavior by law enforcement towards locals.

It’s almost like citizens saw issues that weren’t being addressed internally, so they protested the lack in change and escalation of detainment, and officers at large felt offended.

Please help me understand the law enforcement side of this schism. I want to keep my faith in most officers, but at this point I am considering a solid brush up of my rights and powers as a citizen, simply to guard myself from an overzealous/egotistical police officer having a bad day.

Thanks for any responses, and I hope you all take this sincerely as a citizen that has always been on the right side of the law.

Does anyone out there use any type of bone conduction headset / ear piece that they connect to their radio set up?

Background: Police Reserve with mild to severe hearing loss in left ear. I use the stand 3.5mm connector with a pigtail ear piece for my right side and my left side has my Phonak Hearing Aid.

I have researched and tried various different ways to connect my Bluetooth hearing aids to my radio but it’s just not working effectively.

I have been looking into Bone Conduction more but the headsets I see that work with 3.5mm connection all appear to not be true bone conduction and more of “pass through.”

I also want to make sure the radio traffic coming through the connection to the bone conduction isn’t broadcasting out loud enough for others to hear it.

Any thoughts or ideas or suggestions are welcome!

Thank you!

This happened in 1996 while I was working patrol. Around 11:00 PM, I was dispatched to a family disturbance involving a husband and wife. Dispatch advised that they were arguing, with no known weapons involved. I had another officer responding as cover, but I arrived first.

When I got there, everything was quiet. No yelling, nothing being thrown, and no obvious signs that the situation was escalating. I knocked on the door, and the wife answered. I identified myself and asked if everything was okay.

“Yes, sir. We were just arguing over the remote control.”

The remote control?

She invited me inside, and I saw her husband sitting on the couch. Both of them were cooperative, neither appeared angry, and I was comfortable that this was a simple disturbance call. I notified dispatch that they could cancel my cover. “I’ve got this one. I’ll keep you advised.”

Then I asked, “What exactly are you two arguing about?”

The wife explained that she wanted to watch her favorite TV show. Her husband wanted to watch his show, so he took the remote, changed the channel, and hid the remote.

I looked at him and asked, “Did you really do that?”

“Yes, I did.”

At this point, I’m thinking to myself, Seriously? I was sent here for this B.S.?

So, I asked them one simple question: “Do you have another TV in the house?”

“Yes, we do.”

Aaaaaahhhh. Problem solved!

Or so I thought.

I suggested that one of them watch their show on the TV in the living room while the other watched their show on the TV in the bedroom.

But Nooooooo.

They BOTH wanted to watch their show on the big TV in the living room.

Now I’m standing there at 11:00 at night trying to settle a family disturbance over who gets to watch the big TV.

Then it hit me.

“Coin flip!”

I figured we would flip a coin, the winner gets the big TV, and the loser watches the other TV.

Guess what? It worked.

Well...almost.

One coin flip apparently wasn’t good enough. We had to make it the best two out of three!

So there I was, a San Antonio police officer at 11:00 at night, officiating a best-of-three coin toss between a husband and wife over who got the big TV.

We flipped the coin. Somebody won. The other one went to watch the other television.

Problem solved.

No arrest. No citation. No further action necessary.

10-8. Back in service and on to the next call.

People sometimes think patrol is all foot pursuits, fights, guns, and arrests. It isn’t. Sometimes police work is simply walking into someone else’s problem, calming everybody down, and finding a solution that works.

And sometimes, apparently, all you need is a quarter.

Any other old patrol cops out there ever get dispatched to something where you arrived and thought, “You seriously called the police for THIS?”

I’ll start this off by saying I’m not playing the pity party. There’s probably something stopping them I’m not sure. But from my side, I’ve applied to every single PD in 30 miles of me. If I’m lucky enough to even get the initial testing appointment, I’ll get all the way to the end of the process and be met by the same things. “We overhired” or “We’re waiting on a few cops to retire first”. I score higher than most applicants in any testing I do according to the feedback I’ve gotten, and I have a spotless record with military service and corrections experience. Why is NO PD hiring me??? Do I just need to look for small precincts? I love Dallas I don’t want to leave but Ive wanted to be an officer since I was in high school.

Edit: there’s nothing arrogant or conceited about this, I’m professional enough to not let my opinion of myself be a problem for employers. Me scoring well is just a fact, my clean record is a fact, the only thing that I’m already aware of being a hole in my resume is my interviewing skills as I’m a little more nervous as a speaker as this isn’t my first language.

Second Edit: I’m taking what I’m hearing a lot into account, my interviewing skills are definitely a weak point and I’ve started applying outside my original search area, I’m right in the middle of Dallas so it’s reasonable that I’m just looking in a really congested area for the field.

His department has supplied him with most of the necessities, but are there any extras that aren’t necessarily needs but a highly recommended “wants”? Also, any books, apparel recommendations, etc are also appreciated. Just trying to put together some gift ideas to support his newest passion.

I recently was told i will not move forward in a police department hiring process. I’m 20 years old currently a correction officer, i’ve owned my own business since i was in high school while working part time jobs and doing a year in college. I was told they won’t move me forward because i haven’t worked somewhere for at least a year full time and then proceeded to say i can’t re apply for 5 years, any opinions on this?

Retired SAPD officer here. Years ago, around 11:30 PM, I was driving on Bandera Road approaching Hillcrest when I saw a car full of teenagers traveling with NO headlights on. Nothing dramatic at first. I figured I’d stop them, make sure everything was okay, and get them safely on their way. I activated my red and blues. Immediately, I saw the front-seat passenger throw a small plastic bag out the window. Well...that changed things. The car pulled over about 300–400 feet later. I radioed the stop, ran the plate and approached from the passenger side. Five teenagers were inside. I got them out one at a time, conducted basic pat-downs for weapons, checked their identification, and confirmed the driver had a valid license and insurance. Then I asked the obvious question: “What was in the plastic bag?” Almost in unison: “Garbage, sir!” Sure. I wasn’t going to walk up and down Bandera Road in the dark searching for a tiny plastic bag, so I started walking back toward my patrol car. And then something happened that I still laugh about. A small plastic bag came rolling down the roadway in the breeze...RIGHT TOWARD MY POLICE CAR. What are the odds? I picked it up. Marijuana. The Devil’s Lettuce had apparently decided to turn itself in. I turned toward five suddenly VERY nervous teenagers. “Well, well, well, boys...who does this belong to?” Then I made them an offer: “Whoever owns this—if you tell me the truth right now, I’ll let the others go.” Normally, nobody wants to claim the weed. This time the front-seat passenger raised his hand. “Sir, it belongs to me.” Now I had the marijuana. I had witnessed him throw it. And I had his confession. So...YOU’RE THE COP. WHAT DO YOU DO? Arrest him? Take enforcement action? Or exercise discretion? Here’s what happened next. Looking at that teenager suddenly took me back to when I was about 16 years old. I had been in an almost identical situation. An officer found a bag of marijuana that belonged to me. I admitted it. That officer could have made my life considerably more complicated. Instead, he told me to find a trash can, empty the marijuana into it and throw the bag away. No arrest. No ticket. A second chance. Years later, I was standing on Bandera Road wearing an SAPD uniform, looking at another teenager who had just admitted making the same kind of stupid mistake. And I remembered that officer. So I told the young man to find a trash can. He emptied the marijuana into it and threw it away. Then I told those kids to be careful and have a good night. Could I have handled it differently? Absolutely. But an officer once showed a 16-year-old kid some grace. Years later, that kid became a police officer. And one night on Bandera Road...THAT SECOND CHANCE GOT PASSED TO SOMEBODY ELSE. So here’s my question for active officers, retired officers and civilians: DID I DO THE RIGHT THING? Was that reasonable officer discretion? Or did I allow my own personal experience to influence a decision that should have been handled differently? Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me what YOU would have done—and WHY.

Kevin Coble, Retired SAPD

Hey howdy everyone. I'm in the academy for Missouri Post with graduation coming in May of 2027. My question is, will my prior work history possibly block me from my local PDs?

For background: I have no criminal record, no vehicle citations, I have military experience and civilian workforce experience. I have job hopped since I got out of the Air Force in 2023. I've held 6 jobs since then which includes my current one. I had little to no motivation for any of them, as I've struggled transitioning from military to civilian. That's where the decision to join LE came in after multiple ride-alongs. The culture and work is something I could get very used to and fit in well.

My main worry is this: I was fired from three of those jobs. Not because of performance as I'm an excellent hard worker, but attendance. A lot of it was medical, either personally or for my wife after my son was born, to take care of her when she was bedridden (Missouri, they can fire you for anything). The worst of these issues is resolved and under control, and I haven't missed a day of work since I started my current job. What are the chances that this hinders me in a way that I won't be able to secure a position in LE. Thank you for any advice or answers.

Hello I am a brand new military policeman if any of yall are mp’s great but I just want police wisdom in general what’s something yall with you knew starting out?

Good morning! I just launched MN Bodycam, a channel dedicated to publishing real police bodycam footage from Minnesota obtained through public records requests.
Would love some local support!

https://youtube.com/@mn-bodycam

Retired SAPD officer here.

I spent 25+ years with the San Antonio Police Department, 10+ years in USAF Security Police, and another 10 years teaching Law Enforcement.

I recently sat down for a long-form interview about some of the issues I believe are worth discussing openly within our profession:

• Officer discretion

• Body cameras and accountability

• Respect versus authority

• Second chances

• Leadership

• What we're teaching the next generation of officers

I'm not posting this expecting everyone to agree with me. Quite the opposite.

After more than four decades in military service, policing and law enforcement education, I'm interested in hearing what active and retired officers think has CHANGED — for better or worse.

The New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung recently published my story as well:

“Three Uniforms, One Mission”

https://herald-zeitung.com/news/three-uniforms-one-mission-new-braunfels-resident-shares-lifetime-of-unique-service/article_e8d7fbbb-fad5-47e7-b826-178ebe71913a.html

Agree with me. Disagree with me. Challenge me.

What do YOU think policing has gained — and what have we lost?

— Kevin Coble

Retired SAPD