It was brought to our attention that ASU Police Command is now branding itself in the same light of those who make sacrifices in the line of duty. Of all the words that could be used to describe policing at the Arizona State University Police Department, especially the activities of the ASU Police Command, the word “SACRIFICE” is the last word that comes to mind. Consider this a mandatory online refresher course on the meaning of SACRIFICE.
While officers all over the nation make SACRIFICES, face real danger, are injured and killed in the line of duty, ASU Police command attempts to steal some of that honor in it’s ongoing push to reinvent itself. While troops have been overseas for 15 years making sacrifices, facing death, catastrophic injury, mental breakdown, deprivation, isolation, ASU Police command attempts to piggy-back on the legacy of SACRIFICE through service.
When you understand what constitutes service at the Arizona State University and the systemic legacy of no integrity standards for connected people within the agency this moniker they have bestowed upon themselves is quite disgusting, inappropriate, and based on nothing but a desire to appear to have a legitimacy that was never there, a legitimacy continually undermined by the very same people claiming to have it.
Pushing paperwork, fabricating retention IA’s on employees, playing favorites in every promotion process, running a never-ending staffing shortage, and doing 10-39’s may qualify for a service, but it most assuredly does not rise to the level of SACRIFICE. If anyone in the Arizona State Police Department is undergoing a SACRIFICE, it’s the people who have to work for these assholes.
Merry Christmas to all of those men and women in uniform, police and military,
who truly are making SACRIFICES!
Sacrifices are being made. Every employee starting a law enforcement career with ASUPD has to escape the internal affairs retention process and the practice of commanders and sergeants making phone calls to sabotage their efforts to leave. Those are the sacrifices, ASUPD command should be ashamed of what they do to hurt others.
I’m sure a lot of people are scratching their heads on what “sacrifice” is or has ever been made at ASUPD in the history of the department? Get real.
What’s next, putting “hero”, “champion”, “super-star” jazzy stickers on rigged, non- standardized evaluations?
Sacrifice. Anyone who has been with ASU Police longer than a year sees how mismanaged the department is and nothing has changed. Years and years without adequate staffing, sending officers off one campus to cover another. That’s a sacrifice the public makes.
The employee sacrifice is getting stuck working at ASU Police instead of an agency with a shred of integrity left. The only way to stay and make more money is to promote. Everyone knows those positions are already spoken for.
If you want your wife that works at ASUPD to promote to Sgt above numerous superior experienced candidates, just start having barbecues and poker parties for the command selection committee at your house. I think everyone knows the story, it’s a shame it’s true. Sounds like command needs to attend an ethics class or two or three.
Even the processes for so-called specialty positions have so much meddling, rule changes, exceptions that it’s predictable every time.
Why would anyone stick as around for another Pickens era of corrupt public safety management? That’s a sacrifice.
I wonder who the brain child was behind this self appreciation act? Maybe there’s a ASU Police Medal of Honor award in the making? Heroes of law enforcement posters? Give me a break.
Professionally it’s an absurd stretch, if you’re honest. My friends with other agencies got a laugh out of it and said pretty much what you’ve already said. Knowledge of how they operate is out there.
This is just a part of the rebranding of the department, just like the cars to look more like Tempe and Mesa, the press releases, because they haven’t shut down this blog or silenced the media.
They tried using their friends at AZDPS to do it. I’m glad to see the flag still waving in the face of people who have no business in law enforcement. I arrested criminals for felonies who were more honest.
Be sure to let Lou S know about the ASU Police medal of honor idea. He will be all over it.
This is absolutely hilarious!!! The funniest things are true and this is hilarious. This branding of sacrifice is an absolute joke.
One of the commanders actually said they would run away from an active shooter, real sacrifice there.
Leave behind the people depending on you to do something so you can save your own ass. Useless.
I’m proud of the job I’ve done for this department, handling calls, providing a deterrent, and occasionally making arrests, but it’s not a place where you find what most people consider real police work and I’m fine with that.
We have some people who think this is the real deal, but it’s only because this is all they know and insecurity feeds the little man syndrome.
Let’s face it, there are no ASU Police war stories. Using “sacrifice” as a word to describe what anyone here does is a little far fetched.
…there are no ASU Police war stories… that sums it up.
While there are quite a bit of things that separate ASUPD or any college police department from municipal, county, and state police there is always the potential for something serious to happen.
The fact that ASUPD has gone without adequate staffing year after year for years and that we are always being shuffled from one campus to another to fill in for missing staff, and that this lack f staffing has never resulted in one of us being injured, clearly identifies the high safety level of policing and lack of serious police work at a college surrounded by strong municipal police departments.
We can afford to go without adequate staff, training, equipment, and leadership because nothing really happens that can’t be fixed later.
This Mayberry model of policing is further entrenched by a non-sworn university leadership who think less policing is more because it cuts on statistics reported in Clery and makes the university look safer than colleges who report statistics with competency and integrity.
When I first read this post I thought it was a little off topic and just taking a shot at the blowhards in the department who run around pretending they are special forces tactical operators who just happen to have been working on a peaceful quiet college campus their entire career. Don’t get me wrong, this is funny. You haven’t posted in awhile, so I was hoping to see more exposure of department issues.
We have very few people who actually were tactical operators in the army and other police departments, but they don’t advertise, don’t brag, and won’t get their due respect from the pretenders you are making fun of.
After some thought I can see how this post ties into the long term problem of longstanding internal issues within the PD.
Our staffing has always been in the negative. We hire newcomers to train at the pace of people we leaving ASUPD.
Nobody sees this as a management problem in the same way they imagine themselves making sacrifices so beyond what the average working person makes.
When you have annual award banquets and reward your friends year after year, how can the use of the word “sacrifice” be surprising?
Using “sacrifice” is part of the bigger and expanding image problem affecting the Arizona State University Police department. The public relations are working overtime to change it, but this doesn’t work within the law enforcement community where word of mouth is king.
The command under Thompson continues to undermine the department mission by damaging employees who want to leave, further embittering them against the department, and encouraging them and their families to get the word out.
Why does Thompson have “sacrifice” on a department badge for his email? Did they forget to put “integrity” after it? His greatest on the job hazard is heart disease and hypertension.
Do they equate the title of police officer with sacrifice? It’s what you do and what happens to you that determines sacrifice.
I strongly disagree with your assertion that sacrifices aren’t being made at the Arizona State University Police Department.
Every time one of us puts on the badge and goes to work on patrol we have to
1. Endure endless armchair quarterbacking of yesterday’s play followed by the usual retention discipline /internal affairs paperwork.
2. Endure cronyism / unequal treatment among coworkers who are in the clique and guaranteed the highest evaluation scores regardless of work to earn them.
3. Work under people who have no loyalty or commitment to the troops and care only for their career and their friends in the clique.
4. Work under far left university administrators who view law enforcement as expendable far right racist neanderthals.
5. Work under some unqualified supervisors who earned their positions by any means outside of being experienced, effective leaders, communicators, and competent police officers.
6. Work nearly every shift short of minimum staffing levels for years.
If that’s not sacrifice I don’t know what is.
P.S. If something dangerous happens stage and wait for the city police backup who will take the initiative on our scene because they have the resources. We can hold our AR-15’s or ding dongs on the perimeter.
Dont forget #7. Employees are sacrificed, offered up on the alter of Michael Crow, as burnt offerings!
It’s not very remarkable that people who spend most of their work time being idle, pushing paper, socializing, running occassional traffic on working class people, and handling security guard priority calls would seek the notoriety of the officers going call to call everyday and handling dangerous situations on a regular basis in law enforcement.
Everyone wants the hero accolades, even if it’s not earned. It’s not surprising that everyone wants the appearance of Batman without the expectations that go along with it.
Glad to have left the command staff cesspool a while ago. Chief Thompson and the rest of his self-serving command epitomize the worst in today’s law enforcement community. Sacrifice? What a joke!
Thanks for the insightful post and comments regarding ASUPD command’s use of the word “sacrifice.”
Sacrifice, there’s no limit to what Mike Thompson and his bloated , incompetent, and unethical command will do to employees in order to secure their own careers.
Most Arizona state university police employees make sacrifices not traditionally associated with law enforcement sacrifices.
The one’s not making sacrifices are receiving the perks, promotions, highest evaluations, positions, lack of scrutiny for being related to or friends with the right people.
Sacrifice comes from the corruption within this law enforcement department, corruption from it’s leadership. This is not the place for a moral person to start a law enforcement career.
There is a good reason they are always hiring because people are always leaving.