lemaymiami
Member
Guess I now qualify as an old-timer since I'm 26 years retired from law enforcement and was a young rookie around fifty years ago now... Yes, we were making it up as we went along on my small 100 many department all those years ago. The academy I attended in Dade county (Miami) was a six month affair - but those of us going to city departments only got ten weeks (to meet minimum state standards) then were sent to our respective agencies for "further training" which consisted of being assigned to the most senior officer on whatever shift was convenient, whether they were skilled or competent or not... Since we were on a four day week and rotated shifts monthly - it should have worked (well kinda....). I may have been the worst rookie my outfit ever retained -my first FTO (field training officer) gave up on me after a month or so - then I actually did start learning with a series of experienced officers that were actually doing the job... Thank heavens my shift sergeant had the sense to look further into whether I was worth retaining, but that's another story..
That said, you must remember that the level of force needed to make an arrest may range from "please come with me" to an all out life or death affair - and you are justified in using the "necessary force" all the way up to killing an offender if you must - all depending on the circumstances at the time. Those old "motor bandits" by the time of Bonnie and Clyde were well known as killers - and the news was popularized in every newspaper with each incident. They were not just hold-up actors - they were often involved in outright armed assaults against relatively under-armed, un-trained officers and bank guards, as well as any un-armed citizens that just happened to be in the way... If I remember correctly the first time the early FBI tried to arrest Dillinger for instance - was an absolutely disaster... The good guys had pistols and shotguns along with one or two Thompsons -while the bad guys had at least one BAR (and that weapon will shoot right through the tree trunk you're hiding behind...) as well as a willingness to open fire at the slightest contact with police forces... Given that background, not only was Hamer justified in using an outright ambush to effect the arrest - it was good tactics given the folks they were after and their very heavy weaponry (Clyde had more than one BAR with him at the time...).
We often make the mistake of trying to judge past history from the basis of our current rules, laws, and attitudes... In this time we'd act differently (and probably lose a few good people in the process) but given the conditions in that era - they were doing the right thing -even if it did further the myth of the criminal as folk hero...
By the way that small department I joined in the last week of 1973 was well known as a place that would take on officers that had been fired for one reason or other by larger departments with good reputations... When I retired out we'd come so far from that point that we were the very first nationally accredited agency (out of maybe 30 agencies in Dade county at the time) in the county. We came a long long way from what it was when I joined up...
That said, you must remember that the level of force needed to make an arrest may range from "please come with me" to an all out life or death affair - and you are justified in using the "necessary force" all the way up to killing an offender if you must - all depending on the circumstances at the time. Those old "motor bandits" by the time of Bonnie and Clyde were well known as killers - and the news was popularized in every newspaper with each incident. They were not just hold-up actors - they were often involved in outright armed assaults against relatively under-armed, un-trained officers and bank guards, as well as any un-armed citizens that just happened to be in the way... If I remember correctly the first time the early FBI tried to arrest Dillinger for instance - was an absolutely disaster... The good guys had pistols and shotguns along with one or two Thompsons -while the bad guys had at least one BAR (and that weapon will shoot right through the tree trunk you're hiding behind...) as well as a willingness to open fire at the slightest contact with police forces... Given that background, not only was Hamer justified in using an outright ambush to effect the arrest - it was good tactics given the folks they were after and their very heavy weaponry (Clyde had more than one BAR with him at the time...).
We often make the mistake of trying to judge past history from the basis of our current rules, laws, and attitudes... In this time we'd act differently (and probably lose a few good people in the process) but given the conditions in that era - they were doing the right thing -even if it did further the myth of the criminal as folk hero...
By the way that small department I joined in the last week of 1973 was well known as a place that would take on officers that had been fired for one reason or other by larger departments with good reputations... When I retired out we'd come so far from that point that we were the very first nationally accredited agency (out of maybe 30 agencies in Dade county at the time) in the county. We came a long long way from what it was when I joined up...
