Hello there Dear Readers! 

You are reading the very first article on CopCorner which I hope to make my labor of love for many years to come.  Welcome to the site and I hope it will only be your first visit also.  I’ve had the idea to put a site together to discuss topical police matters for a long time but I only recently decided to stop thinking and start doing.  So here we go, hopefully together!  Thanks, in advance, for your attention.

I am going to keep my introduction brief on purpose.  My name is Tim Woodward and I have worked as a street cop in Southern California for about twenty-three and a half years now.  I have worked for the same mid-level (size wise) agency for all of my career.  I guess that I’m becoming somewhat of a dinosaur in that I have not moved around during my career.  Also, I have not promoted although I have taken two sergeants tests many years ago (more on that in future articles).  So, I have learned to take pride in the job I do day to day serving my actual bosses, the public.  You will see this theme and understand it’s importance on a regular basis. 

Oh, and let me be perfectly clear about one thing at this point – I am very happy to have served in the way my career has unfolded.  I am in no way disappointed that certain goals have not been met and you will come to understand why in future articles.  At this point in my career, simplicity is welcome.  We’ll get into that later.

Very quickly, my assignments have included several stints in uniformed patrol, including two tours as a field training officer, traffic enforcement, almost five years in narcotics on a highly successful team, almost six years assigned to a major shopping center, several years as a Lead Officer (community problem solver), and several years working the phones in Communications.  Total field time is about sixteen years and I loved almost all of it.  I have been involved in countless vehicle pursuits, foot pursuits and a few officer involved shootings.  I have been the target of a few law suits resulting from those incidents.  I have testified in local, state and federal courts.  I would never say “I’ve done it all” but I will say “I’ve done a lot of it”, if you get my drift.  I’ve seen the humorous and  the incredibly cruel and sad.  Anyway, I hope that my experiences bring color and life to the topics that we cover here.      

Who is this site aimed at?  Well, I guess just about everybody.  Since the internet is a very public medium, that about says it all, right?  Specifically, I hope other law enforcement officers make it their own as time goes by.  Feel free to share your experiences, humorous stories and sad realities of the profession.  Second, I hope to attract newcomers to law enforcement who might be looking for a few helpful hints for hiring on with a department.  Ok, so it’s been decades since I went through the process.  I think I can still offer fresh tips for entering our profession.  Third, I welcome the general public (my bosses, remember?) who would just like to have a question answered or get a clarification.  Don’t worry, I’ll lay down the ground rules for this in the near future.

Regarding format, most topics will be discussed in general terms, at least initially, in order to avoid generating too much conflict, back biting or personal attacks on anybody.  I am very interested in what many of us would consider “training topics” where we can learn things to make us better cops and people.  That’s not to say that we won’t discuss specific incidents but I won’t feel qualified to pick a topic apart that I have no knowledge of, ok?  At that point, it will be necessary for one of the faithful readers to pick up the topic and lead the discussion, which I welcome.  Just like a good instructor, I don’t want to stand in front of the class and talk at anyone.  I want to facilitate the themes, push things along and make sure everyone gets something out of the information presented here.  Your participation, dear reader, is truly welcome and very important.  So don’t be shy, let’s hear from you. 

You will also see advertisements on this site which I urge you to consider patronizing.  Many of them will be services and products that I myself have used in the past and probably use today.  As time goes by, I intend to install videos and make things much more interesting than just the written word.  Hey, but be patient, I’m new here remember!?  Lastly keep in mind that I’m doing this from home so if the idea of running your own internet business (where you’re the boss!) sounds like something you would like to do, we can talk about that too. 

You can expect a fresh article from me fairly regularly.  Believe me, my head is full of ideas!  And as I said before, I welcome yours too.  So let’s have fun with this, learn something and gain knowledge together.  Hey, check it out – we’ve gotten started!  I’ll talk to you next week!

All the best,  Tim