Another tough job

Once upon a time, Rico was going to be a auxiliary policeman in Palo Alto, California but at least they let theirs be armed, unlike those Francis X. Clines writes about in this article in The New York Times:

John Hyland is the epitome of an urban cop, his Bronx accent biting as he names the precincts he’s worked: “the five-oh, the four-eight, all of them.” His street savvy is undeniable after 28 years in uniform: “When you been there and done it, you kind of know the situation.” Except he was never a cop, only a New York City auxiliary policeman, one of the corps of more than 4,500 civilian volunteers who can be seen patrolling the streets any night of the year. They show a reassuring presence in NYPD blue, fully equipped with precinct radios, incident notebooks, a baton on their belt, and a seven-point-star badge.But no gun. Absolutely no gun.“That Florida shooting— very bad news,” said Hyland, ruing the behavior of George Zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watchman who drew his pistol and claimed “stand your ground” self-defense in killing Trayvon Martin, an unarmed seventeen-year-old. The case, which has consumed the nation, made Hyland count the blessings of not packing a gun in his rounds. “The people chat us up, thank us. We let them know we’re around, watch after them, roll by the synagogue during Passover,” said Hyland, whose record before he retired from the auxiliary force included saving lives, like the driver of a flaming car, a venture that won him the force’s Award of Valor.Out-of-towners may imagine New York City as a Sam Peckinpah variation on Dodge City, but the men and women auxiliary officers— some people affectionately call them wannabe cops— seem a far better, certainly less lethal way to have a neighborhood watch. They are extensively trained and work firmly in the control of precinct officers, with no pay except an allowance for the uniforms they smartly wear.
And absolutely no gun.
Auxiliary Sergeant Hyland, whose day job was 33 years with the phone company, figured prominently in that policy after two auxiliary officers were fatally shot five years ago. A blue ribbon committee considered changes, and he was a member as the president of the Auxiliary Police Benevolent Association. “I recommended no guns— make it across the board, absolutely no guns for us,” Hyland said. “I mean, some guys might be good with them, some not good,” he explained, terse but proud enough about the city’s neighborhood watch.

Rico says that Hyland may be comfortable wearing a badge and being unarmed, but Rico wouldn't... (And those dead auxiliaries might not now, either...)