How not to treat your officers aka: How not to run a Police Department

A great read both for the heroism involved and how to make perfectly good officers want to leave.

But Jackson’s fellow officer, Kyle Remolino, in the vehicle nearest the Blazer, realized what was happening. He reported shots fired.

“How do you know those are shots,” someone asked over the radio.

“Because there’s a bullethole in my windshield.”

Still, the police didn’t shoot back.

The Blazer did a U-turn around a median and, like a passing man of war, opened fire on the line of patrol cars waiting to make the turn. The officers ducked behind the ballistic panels in their doors.

Again and again the Blazer pulls this broadside maneuver. But, every time, nobody shot back.

“I didn’t want to see any of these guys get hurt,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”

Jackson asked the sergeant in charge for permission to engage. But he was told to stand by.

When a lieutenant arrived and took over as incident commander, Jackson’s patrol car pulled near. Jackson and the lieutenant spoke through their open windows.

“We gotta do something,” Jackson said.

“Go do it.”

Read the whole thing here.