applying for PD

[david.mcmeekin]

im thinking of applying for the Ft Worth police dept..i am 34 and an army combat vet that is sick of my current job and i miss the excitement..if there are any officers on here that could help or give any advice i would be grateful

thanks

[UltraMax]

im thinking of applying for the Ft Worth police dept..i am 34 and an army combat vet that is sick of my current job and i miss the excitement..if there are any officers on here that could help or give any advice i would be grateful

thanks

You'll be fine on the civil service exams I would think, and being prior military I wouldn't think the academy would be all that bad for you.

Just know that we cops don't get any of the praise that soldiers get. We work where we live and are hated by our neighbors and sometimes our friends. Every thing you do will be ridiculed and quarterbacked by "experts" who have no idea what it's like to strap on this gun, vest, and badge and actually work as we do. Your split second decisions will be examined under the legal and public opinion's microscopes, and even when you did everything lawfully within your power, because obviously a 14 year old kid running at you with a butcher knife was not deadly force situation and you shouldn't have killed him with a gun but rather shot the knife out of his hand.

You'll see sick kids, beat kids, starving kids, dead kids and their screaming in heart wrenching pain parents that makes you want to cry with them, sexually assaulted kids, people that do awful things to others. Wife beaters, husband beaters, people who take advantage of the elderly....... The list goes on and on forever........

You'll breakdown sometimes because of some of the horrific things you'll see and/or go through, but that's ok, you need to let it out somehow.

Your parents/wife and family won't think like you, so you'll have to keep some thoughts to yourself.

Then you'll have to go home to your family and try and not let your job make you crazy. You also can't tell your wife about most of the awful things you see because she will end up worrying sick about you.

It's a decent career, but not for everyone.

Word of advice, keep your non LEO friends and hobbies.

Just a little insight

[david.mcmeekin]

thanks for the advice..gives me lots to think about

[bowhunter2989]

You'll be fine on the civil service exams I would think, and being prior military I wouldn't think the academy would be all that bad for you.

Just know that we cops don't get any of the praise that soldiers get. We work where we live and are hated by our neighbors and sometimes our friends. Every thing you do will be ridiculed and quarterbacked by "experts" who have no idea what it's like to strap on this gun, vest, and badge and actually work as we do. Your split second decisions will be examined under the legal and public opinion's microscopes, and even when you did everything lawfully within your power, because obviously a 14 year old kid running at you with a butcher knife was not deadly force situation and you shouldn't have killed him with a gun but rather shot the knife out of his hand.

You'll see sick kids, beat kids, starving kids, dead kids and their screaming in heart wrenching pain parents that makes you want to cry with them, sexually assaulted kids, people that do awful things to others. Wife beaters, husband beaters, people who take advantage of the elderly....... The list goes on and on forever........

You'll breakdown sometimes because of some of the horrific things you'll see and/or go through, but that's ok, you need to let it out somehow.

Your parents/wife and family won't think like you, so you'll have to keep some thoughts to yourself.

Then you'll have to go home to your family and try and not let your job make you crazy. You also can't tell your wife about most of the awful things you see because she will end up worrying sick about you.

It's a decent career, but not for everyone.

Word of advice, keep your non LEO friends and hobbies.

Just a little insight

Couldn't have said it any better myself. And remember tht sometimes, depending on part if city your in, the job can be more like babysitting than police work. But I enjoy what I do and look forward to coming to work every night. Good luck with your testing.

[popup_menace]

Not to hijack the thread, but what are the exams like? And are all academy's different???

[UltraMax]

thanks for the advice..gives me lots to think about

I can't help but reiterate the armchair quarterbacking. It seems to me that it is getting harder and harder to be a police officer. People these days are turning against us more and more it seems. They are definitely shooting at us more than they used to.

I feel as tho people want us to enforce the law and take bad guys to jail but do not like how we go about doing it, even tho we stay within the law and constitution, sometimes an arrest is a "yes sir, no sir" type of deal and others it's a hands on wrestle fest in the middle of a spring break crowd where 30 thousand smart phones are videoing us having to tase a 120 lb woman who's doped up on whatever metham-PCP-coke she snorted or smoked. And of course the video they post on YouTube will be the grainy one where all people will see is the 15 second cut in the vid where she rode the lightning and you cuffed her with a title saying "jackass cop tases skinny girl in bathing suit for no reason;" it won't show the 4 minute struggle where she was whooping you and your partner's butts trying to effect the arrest.

But that's the world we live in.

People expect us to only shoot when a gun is pointed at us, not shoot anyone less than 17 or older than 55, they think we can shoot guns out of people's hands like the cops on TV do, and do not understand why a cop would ever shoot an unarmed man. It happens, and justifiably so in most cases.

They also expect us to be able to decipher a real AK47 (or insert any weapon) from the AirSoft AK47 (or insert any weapon) and wonder why we shoot 14 year olds who point these "weapons" at us.

I do love being a police officer, but the public we are sworn to protect and serve sometimes makes it difficult to protect and serve. That's why we really appreciate those that do truly appreciate us.

[Bily Lovec]

I prolly wouldnt mention this part...

i miss the excitement...

good luck to you and Thank You for your service...

[UltraMax]

Not to hijack the thread, but what are the exams like? And are all academy's different???

All civil service exams are similar. Do a quick google search of civil service exams and you should be able to find some like questions that could be on the test.

As far as going through an academy, all of their procedures are different depending on the academy. But they all have the same goal and that is to get you past the TCLEOSE test and give you just enough "know how" and some good officer safety practices so that you don't get your butt shot off the first few weeks of your rookie life. Remember tho, you'll have an FTO who hopefully is competent and will not let you get beat up too bad.

In my experience tho, the academy teaches you law and that's it. The academy can never prepare ANYONE for the street. That experience can only be accomplished by OJT.

You'll walk out of the academy thinking "hell yeah I got this!!" And then you'll show up for work the first day on the street and think to yourself, "I don't know chit."

We all do

[Z7_Matt]

I went through 11 months of the application process a few years ago. When the back ground investigation was in process I was cut. I was 5th and 7th in the running for the two cities I applied for. When I spoke with HR and the recruiting officer I was livid to find out my current employer lied to the PD. After explaining the situation for the second time to the recruiting officer and providing certain facts and a witness they apologized for cutting me out of the running and asked that I reapply next year.

At that point my wife was going back for a second degree and I couldn't afford the pay cut. I plan on re applying next year after my wife starts her career.

[Txbownut]

I for one appreciate all that our LEOs do for us. Yes, there are some jack wagons, just like in any career, but for the most part, they are a bunch of good guys putting their tails on the line for way too little pay. If you can put your heart into it, like UltraMax obviously has, you will be a good LEO. If not, maybe their is a better career for you somewhere else. Good luck with it. God bless our first responders everywhere!

[Tye]

I applied to the ft.worth pd several years ago. Spent a whole week filling out the personal history report( better know everything that has ever happened in your life- addresses where you lived, where you ever got a ticket, names and addresses of anyone you have ever lived with etc). The entry exam and pt times will make or break you. You will need to be in the top 200 or so. Then you will have to do a polygraph test and ride along as well. I made it all the way to the polygraph and was cut. It said I was deceptive. I told the truth and was cut. I think it had to do with my age. I was 35 at the time. Good luck!

[bulltx50]

I am not a police officer, almost was one 34 years ago. The day I was accepted to the academy I got offered a college scholarship, so I took the college route. Most likely I missed out because I have friends who are members of law enforcement here in Texas and like the military I praise them. I have sit with them and just listened when no one else would. The stories they tell, what they have been through and not knowing what lies behind the next door lends me to say thank you for all that you do and for all that you sacrifice. Thanks so very much for protecting us, but please be safe.

[laredoarcher]

I used to be LPD. Best job man. Once your are in my best advice, carry yourself as If you don't have a weapon. Be safe.

[Daniel75]

im thinking of applying for the Ft Worth police dept..i am 34 and an army combat vet that is sick of my current job and i miss the excitement..if there are any officers on here that could help or give any advice i would be grateful

thanks

I work right next door to Fort Worth and one of the guys in my academy in 2005 left our academy and 2 weeks later had to do it all over again when he got hired by FWPD. Let me tell you, their academy is no joke. I'm not trying to discourage you but they PT hard and do lots of DT drills, plenty of people have gotten hurt and not made it through on an injury. They are very serious and will not put up with any BS. If you don't get through their hiring process, don't let it discourage you, there are plenty of other PD's in this area that need qualified officers. They have taken some hits to their retirement program that used to be one of the best in the state. They do have excellent starting pay but so do a bunch of other places.

These other guys nailed it on the job description. Get ready to drown in paperwork. Get ready to spend a bunch of time on night shift. FWPD works 10 hour shifts IIRC. No one, except other cops, truly realize what other cops go through. You're gonna need:
-thick skin
-family support
-ability to think outside the box
-ability to make a decision and stand by your decision
-typing skills.....MAD typing skills
-good driving skills
-to know how to fight
-know how to shoot
-know when to talk your way out of both of the 2 situations listed above^^^
-ability to talk to people (even though most cops are introverts lol)


PM me if you have any questions, I can walk you through the process and help you out on the oral boards, I've sat on a few and know the ropes.

[skelsey]

Just don't be the jack ***** cop that calls you in the middle of the night and tells you your son is at a party we need to come get him out of the house. We get there and get my son to come out when all of the other kids wouldn't The cop tells us if we get him to come out they will scold him but nothing else will be done we get him to come out and as soon as he clears the door a punk cop tackles him and proceeds to tell us that our son will never amount to anything he will more than likely be in prison let's just say I almost went to jail that night