Back during Hurricane Ike, we worked mandatory twelve hour shifts for almost two weeks and I'll say it, that was tiring. I don't want to think about seventeen hour shifts, that would be exhausting in the course of ten days.
Cops Living In RV’s Outside San Jose Police Department
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) — At least a dozen officers are living in RV’s in the parking lot right near the San Jose Police Department’s headquarters.
Mandatory overtime forces them to work up to 17-hour days. Combine those long hours with horrendous traffic, and commutes from as far away as Manteca, Stockton, Tracy and even Reno, these officers are staying in an RV during the week and then driving home on their days off.
It turns out the recreational vehicles are legally parked on city property.
“It’s embarrassing for any city,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said.
It was Measure B pension reform that voters approved back in 2012 that cut officer pay and benefits, and triggered a mass exodus of officers leaving the department.
Mayor Liccardo said the long term solution is for voters to pass Measure F, which would boost officer pay to hire and retain more cops.
“We need to get some support for Measure F so we can restore this police department so we don’t have officers working multiple overtime shifts in the same day in the same week,” Liccardo said...
Forgive me if I take the mayor’s statement of ignorance with a grain of salt. Mr. Mayor, if you didn’t know, you should have.
Now think, you’re running those officers to the breaking point. At some point they will say “Screw it, I’m just going to hold up and run as little as possible, I’m too tired and I don’t trust I can handle myself.” Not to mention being completely exhausted is not the condition you want in a man with a badge and gun. Who may have to make use of deadly force decisions.
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