I am going to attempt to write my first series.  This series will be about my retirement from the police department. Hang in there with me, but definitely give me some feedback as we go and when it is completed.  To let you know up front, I will be shooting to make this a 4 day series.
Areas I know that I will address are:
- What brought on idea of this post in the first place.
- Things that brought on the whole “should I retire” process.
- The experimental retirement.
- The actual process of retiring.
- Those first days and weeks after leaving the department.
- Life after leaving the department.
- This Sunday will be one year of the sweet life.
To get started, I’ll begin with what brought on the idea of this post in the first place.  I was talking to a friend on the phone just the other day.  This friend (I will not tell you his name, but if you guessed Craig you would be right) and I were just talking, catching up on things as we hadn’t spoken in a couple of weeks.  He made the comment that whenever he thinks about me leaving the department, he gets so frustrated.  He went on to say that I could have just cut out all my overtime, worked my 40 hours a week and let my DROP account grow.  The DROP account is a deferred retirement option plan where a retirement check would go into an account that I could not touch until actually retired.  I will admit that was a possibility, but believe it or not, I did not think of it at the time and I do not recall anyone bringing that up as an option.  I may get a comment from someone telling me they told me this, we will see.
Now for a little background as to what brought on the whole, “should I retire” process.  I should probably call this “all the whining my wife had to put up with for a couple of years” process.  I worked for the police department for 24 years. I always told everyone, and thought to myself, I would surely do 30 years.  During my years as a patrol officer, I had the pleasure of working very tough areas of town with some fantastic officers that taught me well how to be “the real police”.  I promoted to sergeant after 9 years and on my 34th birthday.  Pretty cool, isn’t it?  As a sergeant, I had to take my first assignment in either dispatch or the jail.  After this, I became a sergeant on night shift near downtown.  I worked the next 10 years on night shift.  Three of those years in patrol, seven as the DWI Task Force sergeant.  In those 10 years on night shift, and with the arresting of a good number of DWI suspects, I received a lot of court time.  I was then finally able to get a day shift spot with weekends off.  (Oh, I had made it to the promised land.)  During these last 13 years on the department, I probably never worked less than 60 hours a week.  It would probably be more accurate to say if I worked under 70 hours a week, that was a short week.
My youngest 2 children were born at the beginning of and during these long days and weeks of basically nothing but work.  Also, child #4 was just a toddler at this time.  It probably took me at least 10 years before I realized that I was working too much, to the detriment of my younger children and our relationship with each other.
This is good to know
[...] on to say that I could have just cut out all my overtime, worked my 40 hours a week and let my DROP account grow. Â The DROP account is a deferred retirement option plan where a retirement check would go [...]
After 24 years you’ve got to have some good stories. What is the most dangerous encounter? What was the most rewarding? What was the most humorous ? I mean,….Like when you have to chase one of those ‘gangstas’ do those loose pants ever fall to their knees and trip’em up ? How has Houston changed since the ’80′s? Can you talk about the former mayors and chiefs ?
Houston has changed a great deal during my time at the dept. I will be working on those stories. Let me know how they are going as I write them. Thanks.
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Okay…let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Who is this, “Bryan Robinson”!?
Also, the thing I mostly want to know is, how can police officers restrain themselves from firing at someone who is being chased into the woods, and who has a weapon?? Cuz I would be like, shoot first, and ask questions later…and then I’m sure I would get fired!
Second, how gratifying is it to slam a suspect onto the scalding hot hood of a squad car, after chasing the guy at 100 mph until he finally comes to a stop? That hood has to be at a melting point I would imagine, thus giving the bad guys some “just desserts”!
I would make sure those punks never needed to shave again!
Lastly, how gratifying is it to let the K-9 get a few extra bites out of a bad guy!?
Now, I know YOU would NEVER have allowed these things to happen, but you know, maybe you could tell us stories you have heard about “other departments” around the state/country or something!
haha
Now you can’t take away all my posts with all these great questions.
I will work on these questions in some work to come. There will be some surprises to come, one that I know will make you say “What” is when I write about one of the times that I was the most scared…but I am not sure that is the correct word, might just be when the hair stood up on my neck the most….:)
aw man, left us hanging!!!!!!!!
So I did good in other words, Yes??
Thanks
This is awesome, I have always wondered about your job and your retirement etc. Can’t wait:)
Thanks, I will try to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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