On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, “Coptales” podcast host and “Live PD” Analyst Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to discuss his book “Breaking Blue: Real Life Stories of Cops Falsely Accused” and how the 2020 summer of rage stigmatized policing.
“We are humans. Cops have bad days, make mistakes. Some guys shouldn’t wear the badge but the number is tiny,” Larkin explained. “I can speak for my own police department and other officers I’ve spoken with across the country. We actually do a damn good job of police in our own profession whether people believe it or not.”
Between the negative perception of law enforcement stoked by last summer’s riots and “Live PD’s” cancelation, Larkin said police departments are struggling to find qualified recruits.
“We’re having a very, very hard time getting qualified applicants to apply to police departments,” Larkin explained. “What worries me there is one, the manpower is going to be down, but also some of these departments because they’re going to be hurting so bad for officers instead of taking the top 10 percent of applicants, we might be getting down to that 40 and 50 percent of applicants. You’re not even getting the best-qualified guys.”
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