People often like to think that there is something incredibly different about police officers, and they are an elite group of individuals who don’t have lives like the rest of us.
While part of this is true, they don’t live a life like ours, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have feelings, or they don’t worry about bills and the welfare of the people they love. Even though they are a lot like us, many officers prefer to hang out with other officers.
Here is just a small look at some of the reasons why:
1. No one else is willing to hang out and have a few drinks at 8 in the morning. Night shift is over early in the morning, although most places it is 7 am. For a lot of people who have had a long night at work, they want to unwind and relax with a couple of buddies. However, since most regular people are just waking up at 7 am and have their own lives to attend to, it makes it very difficult (just about impossible) to find someone that you could have a few drinks with.
Who else could you possibly have a couple of drinks with, then? Your co-workers who just got out of work when you did, naturally. Sometimes you’ll find police friendly bars that are open that early, but if not, it wouldn’t be uncommon that they all meet up at someone’s house to relax for a little while before heading home.
2. Not many people have the ability to go fishing at 1 am during the middle of the week. When you spend most of your days sleeping and your nights wide awake, it can be difficult on your days off. It’s impossible to reset your sleep schedule, so you’re stuck with this strange sleep schedule. A lot of police officers will stay up when everyone else is asleep and sleep during the day. Because of this, you’re going to do activities at off hours. Fortunately, you have friends on the force who have similar hours and sleep patterns. As a result, they are more likely call up their police friends to keep them occupied. This includes going fishing, exercising, playing cards, and an assortment of other hobbies.
3. You never get questioned about what it is like being a cop. If you’re trying to meet new people and they find out you’re a police officer, sometimes they’ll bombard you with a slew of questions about the job. They tend to ask some crazy questions like what’s the craziest arrest you’ve ever had to make, have you ever shot someone, can I ride in the cop car and other nonsense of the like.
Now this isn’t suggesting that cops don’t talk about the job when they get together, but they understand what they can talk about and what they can’t. Because of that, they are able to steer clear from those touchy subject.
4. You are less likely to arrest your friend for one reason or another. There usually is on point in a cops career where they are going to have to pull over someone they know. If that happens, they are faced with a decision, give them a ticket or give them a warning. Sometimes, you might even be involved in a criminal investigation with someone they know a suspect or, sadly, a victim.
There was an instance where an officer received a domestic dispute call. When he arrived at the scene, it was his roommate and his girlfriend fighting on the front lawn. Fortunately, other officers arrived and made the arrest, but it was still an uncomfortable situation, and he wound up moving out not too long afterward.
5. There is a tight connection among public safety personnel thanks to dating and marriage. A lot of police officers spend their time in and out of jails, courthouses, hospitals and other places, it isn’t uncommon to find people from these places dating officers. It isn’t because officers have a penchant for dating public servants, but it is more because they have similar schedules and experiences as cops. It’s just much easier that way.