It also means being willing to buy your own equipment if what you are issued does not work or fit you properly. When I was the training supervisor for my agency, I had a young female officer who was carrying the issued Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol in the issued high-rise holster. Because this young lady was shapely, she wore her gun forward of her hip at an odd angle and when she drew it during a range drill, she drove the hammer spur into her breast.

Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain, and I explained that she would be better served with a holster that rode lower on her belt--to which she responded: "Screw that. If the department doesn't buy it, I ain't carrying it!" If you won't help yourself, nobody else is going to help you.

It means being willing to stay abreast of new information, tactics and techniques that become available. I once had a deputy who followed me on duty in the same beat, and when I tried to brief him on what had occurred while I was on duty, he would hold up his hand and say: "I don't care what you did. Go away."

If there was an armed robbery with a suspect description, he didn't care. If a murderer or rapist was at large in our beat, he didn't care. If someone had tried to kill a cop, he didn't care. I guess he didn't care about his own safety either because he never was concerned about these potential threats to his well-being.

This same officer was never interested in learning about new issue equipment, either. His response was always, "I'll figure it out when the time comes." It's hard to believe people like this make it through the hiring process and the police academy, but they do all the time.

The fact is, it takes a great deal of willingness to enter law enforcement in this day and age as the restrictions placed on young officers by the courts and their own agencies just boggles my mind. No longer is the use of force measured by the reasonableness of the act; it is now judged by how minimal in force the act was.

Even though the U.S. Supreme Court has established reasonableness of the action as the standard, agencies and special interest groups have watered down this standard to the point where many officers are afraid to confront criminals.

It takes a very strong chief or sheriff who is willing to stand up to such groups in order to save an officer from the anguish that a legal use of force may bring him and his loved ones.

We still have such individuals who are willing to do what is needed to keep the streets safe, and I am very glad we have these brave individuals. To those of you who wear the badge and aren't willing to do what is needed, please go somewhere else. We don't want or need you.