The Path of Destruction

One of the first signs of this downward path of destruction is an arrogant attitude. This officer is driven by his own ego and selfish interests. He wants to know "what's in it for me?" He is the cocky, "bully with a badge" that is giving the police profession a bad name.

We may see misconduct in office, abuse of authority, and even abuse of force.

This officer will generate a lot of complaints because his mouth is always getting him in trouble. I tell officers all the time that the most important weapon you have for either good or evil is not on your hip. It is in your mouth!

Usually the complaint is not about what the officer said, but about how he said it. There was something in his tone of voice that reflected an attitude that the citizen reacted to. That attitude is a reflection of the officer's character.

The Power of Life and Death

Did you know that the power of life and death is in the tongue? By that I mean that you can choose to speak life into a relationship or you can choose to speak death into a relationship. And you can say something to someone that makes them so mad at you they're willing to take your life!

How many homicides have you responded to over the years that all began with a verbal altercation? Words! Somebody said something and now we have a dead body on our hands.

The power of life and death is in the tongue. If there is bitterness in your heart, or anger, or malice, or hatred, or jealousy, or prejudice... it's going to come out of your mouth. Because "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." And it will come out at the worst possible moment, because it will come out when you are under pressure.

It's just like squeezing a tube of toothpaste. The toothpaste won't come out until you put it under pressure. And once it's out, how easy is it to get it back in? You can't do it. Now all you can do is clean up the mess.

Our words are the same way. Once we say something, we can't take it back. All we can do is try to clean up the mess.

Further Down the Path

As a police officer continues further down the path of destruction, we may see lawsuits. And I'm talking about the legitimate ones. I know what it's like to get the frivolous ones.

We may see corruption and a moral decay that takes root in many areas of the officer's life.

It can lead to immorality. And I'm specifically talking about the sexual kind here. A lot of officers are leading promiscuous, adulterous lifestyles and they're using their positions of authority to further the relationships.

I tell Police Chiefs and Sheriffs that some of their officers are on patrol, alright. But they're not patrolling for criminals. They're patrolling for these illicit relationships.

And if you have a lot of immorality going on, it's going to be followed by a lot of divorce. Don't misunderstand me. I know that most divorce does not stem from immorality. But a lot of it does. And the law enforcement profession leads the nation in its divorce rate.

It may lead to addictive behaviors. And we lead the nation in our rate of alcoholism.

It may lead to violence. And we also have one of the highest rates of domestic violence of any profession.

In the end, the path of destruction leads to death. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Although it may not be a physical death. It could be an emotional or spiritual death. Or it could be the death of a relationship. Or it could be physical.

Know what else we lead the nation in as a profession? Suicide. Two to four times as many officers will take their own lives this year as will be killed at the hands of a felon. Two to four times!

So that's our claim to fame: the highest rates of divorce, alcoholism, domestic violence, and suicides!

This is the Path of Destruction that is ruining the Renegade Officer's life and the reputation of the law enforcement profession. It is this hypocritical lifestyle and attitude that is undermining the public trust that is so essential to our success.

For a more detailed look at the Path of Destruction, go to the
Dynamic of Restoration.

Return from Path of Destruction to Dynamic of Authority.