While it goes without saying that death can be a hell of a way to end the day, you have to find humor in it. This job ensure one thing; death, injuries, pain and lots of laughs! Step right up folks and you shall see! People hanging themselves, violent traffic collisions! Battery suspects who got pretty well-battered themselves :-)
The rumor is true! Coppers have a morbid sense of humor. As a gangster once told me, "You gotta balance your smiles and cries." True, true. Yes, we are the folks dressed in blue, standing by the roadside, apparently chuckling at some poor citizen's misfortune. Do we laugh at death? Yeah, you have to laugh at death. Sometimes its random and sometimes it seems soooo directed. How can you help but laugh at the gangmember that robbed so many people and got away with it, only to die being ejected from his vehicle driving too fast without a seatbelt? We see the dumbest stuff, and tragic stuff too. We make corny jokes (at scene on a traffic collision with a man's severed arm, officers saying "give that guy a hand" type of humor). We judge ( "Ma'am, do you really think driving with both earphones in is legal or are you just crazy?") But we do so many of these things as a defense and sanity mechanism to keep us from going nuts.
Because we do see some sad and crazy things. Would you ever think to dress up a beached sea lion with a wig and clothing then call the cops about a dead body? It happens. And strangely enough, sea lion can look like a badly decomposed body! Would you ever call 9-1-1 for directions to Staples Center? Or to find out if an officer (of the nearly 10,000 we have!) is single? It happens. And sometimes it is just plain funny. We have fun at work just like everyone else. We just have some strange duties to attend to.
As a young officer I worked in one are where I had all the senior homes and nursing homes memorized. Why? Because a death investigation at a nursing home is a guaranteed easy one. There is already a doctor there to sign off on the death certificate! Does that sound terrible? I guess it might, but everyone knows the easy tasks at their job. Ours is no different it just deals with a little blood and guts.
Oh and driving fast.
Oh and telling people things to help them prevent being a victim.
Oh and asking me for directions to Disneyland in the middle of me eating lunch.
Oh and telling me how many of their 2nd cousin's uncles are cops.
Oh and telling me how much they appreciate you.
Oh and they also say thanks!
It is a cool job.
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