Editor’s note: In anticipation of police chiefs worldwide making the trip to Chicago for IACP, PoliceOne asked you to sit in the chief’s chair and tell us what you would do if you were chief of police. We read every submission and selected some standouts from among those we received.
By Dan Montgomery, Chief of Police (Retired)
A good chief of police periodically engages in the same training that his or her troops do. As a 47-year police officer with 26 years as a chief of police (now semi-retired and functioning as a police practices expert), I know how critical it is for the chief to know what the heck is going on at the line level and how important it is to know your people. As a chief, I was actually trained along with my troops in firearms qualifications, PPCT, Taser, PIT, Calibre Press Officer Survival, pursuit driving, in-custody deaths, and excited delirium.
And I enjoyed every minute of it.
The worst thing a chief can do is sit in his or her office and pretend they know what their troops are being trained in and how they are being trained. A chief needs to be a “hands on” type of chief without being a “micro-manager.” It’s called being involved.
