As a young child, when asked what you wanted to do when you grew up to make a living, it’s likely that you either went down the armed forces route, dreaming of fighting for your country, the emergency services as a firefighter, police officer, or paramedic, or the classic veterinarian route. 

As they grow older and a combination of their environmental experiences, academic abilities, and indeed, their new passions in life, many people move in a completely different direction, whereas others stick to their guns and their childhood aspirations.

After a long, varied, and often eventful career in the police force, retired officers have a wide range of stories, some tragic, some heartbreaking, some hilarious, some inspirational, and here are three of the latter. 

• Undercover Elves 

The forward-thinking and generous-with-their-time police officers in Fort Worth, Dallas put their intensive detective training to the test by stationing themselves in the car park of a local Walmart and pretending to be interested in random shoppers’ thoughts on what they thought worked best aesthetically.

The real reason was to find out the kinds of things that shoppers were hoping to get for Christmas and as the shoppers exited the store, the thoughtful and community-spirited police officers and Walmart employees handed out the unwittingly requested gifts of the shoppers’ choice. 

• The Incredible Hulk 

Back in early 1995, in Oklahoma City, a man set off a fertilizer bomb and also went wild with a gun, going on a shooting spree in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Over 160 people, including children, were killed.

A police officer who was based just a couple of blocks away sprang into action immediately, and against the advice of his colleagues and superiors, was able to subdue the criminal without shooting his firearm and then rescued a wounded baby, handing him quickly to the emergency responders standing by. 

The vast majority of police officers are obviously kind and responsible, but if you’ve been involved in an incident centered around a police shooting death and are at a loss to how you could possibly make a formal complaint and even a case, then speak to an experienced lawyer who will be able to answer any questions and queries you may have. 

• Going Against the Grain

Another impressive police officer story comes from Minnesota, just a year and a half ago, when a corruption case was uncovered not just involving one police officer, but a whole group of them. 

From stealing tires and other vehicle parts from automobiles confiscated from criminals to logging in hours they didn’t work and had spent on the golf course, to claiming to “work from home” (impossible as an on-the-beat officer), five officers were getting away with a whole manner of misdemeanors.

One officer, however, not only steadfastly refused to play any part of the corruption, even though his partner and boss were both “in on it”, but he also spent several months gathering as much information on the wrongdoings as he could. He initially reported an isolated incident but was told that he must have been mistaken, yet his fellow officers simply couldn’t ignore three months’ worth of evidence.