Bloggin POPO logging off!

Wazzup…………. If you’ve been checking my blog lately it is obvious I haven’t posted in a while. Well there is a reason, and to make a long story short I am shutting down the Bloggin POPO. The reason is because there have been some people in the police community that have been offended by my blog, which is the last thing I wanted to have happen, and some think it is not a good representation of the department.
Last week I was called into the “I’m in Trouble Office” and had a meeting with my Lieutenant and the Asst. City Attorney. Right away I knew something was up because that just doesn’t happen. They explained that they wanted to talk about my blog and some of its content, and it was brought to my attention that some of the material in my blog could cause some problems for the department and the city. I don’t really want to go into detail but it mainly has to do with defense attorneys and lawsuits that could result from some of the stories in my blog. And since blog sites and myspace accounts are just starting to become part of the litigation world they just wanted to have a chat.
All in all it was a good conversation and it ended on a positive note. I highly respect both of these men and appreciate the time they took to talk to me about the matter. It would have been much worse if this issue would have been floating around the upper administration for awhile without me knowing about it. And they were in no way trying to infringe upon my first amendment right and explained that they actually liked the blog, its humor and how I write. They encouraged me to write a book and publish it long after any statute of limitations are up. I also want to point out that I was never in trouble nor did they actually ask me to shut down the blog, it was a decision I made on my own. And even though I fail at times, I want to try and live my life above reproach and not cause problems so I am shutting it down. I also want to stress that even though I never mentioned what department I was from, it was obvious that some people knew which one it was, and if anyone was offended and thinks poorly of my department I apologize. Please don’t let one officer’s blog site be the barometer of the entire department.
So how did this come about? Someone within the department wrote an “anonymous” letter to the mayor to complain. I’m pretty sure I know who it is because word travels and he obviously told the wrong person, who just happens to be a fan of the blog. But no big deal, it’s just a blog. And if you have been reading the blog for a while you can probably guess what kind of cop this guy is. Although he was successful in shutting down the blog (even though I wasn’t asked to do it), he was not able to succeed in his overall intent. It is clear that the lack of joy in his life, and the overall cowardice he attempts to hide, was only heightened by his not so anonymous letter. And regardless of what he tries to do within the department to make him look like the warrior he longs to be, deep down when he is alone at night he knows that it is only a façade. One that a true warrior sees right through.
But having that said…. I will do whatever I can to see that this officer exceeds in life and within the department. His issues bind him, not me. I hold no ill will and I truly mean that. Often in these cases I try to kill them with kindness, and I don’t hold grudges. And you never know, maybe this was a blessing. Maybe there might have been a lawsuit down the road I cannot see, but God can, and spared me from it.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the blog while it lasted. Please feel free to leave some last comments and I will shut the blog down in a week or so. Keep an eye out for my book coming to your local bookstore near you. =)