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I read nothing into the slogan other then a very bad choice of words. Yes, the superiors should have stopped this.

I have no problems with policemen doing their job. In fact, most policemen in the major city where I live have served their country on active duty or serve in the Guard or Reserve.

While politically incorrect, I would rather have criminals with PTSD then either our law enforcement officers and/or our military.

If the slogan was “Let’s go out and give a crook PTSD.” Or something similar, I would have no problem. As a former Chief Deputy here in Idaho, I’m familiar with the situation there in Meridian. In fact, they're training these young mush-heads to be suspicious of everyone and sending them out with the belief they’er gonna get shot on every contact with a citizen. The trick in police work is to teach the mush-heads to THINK and to act with a great deal of discretion.

OK, you kind of described me. 5 yrs US Army including a tour in Vietnam, a bunch of years as a street cop with the “blue meanies” of the LAPD, more years as a law enforcement officer at the state, federal and county levels, took my lumps and believe in the police disciplinary system. A couple of classmates of mine were fired from the academy for relatively minor offenses (noncriminal, investigated 100’s of Internal Affairs complaints of misconduct against cops, sent two to jail for major offenses (battery under color of authority and assault with a deadly weapon), was hired to professionalize a Sheriff’s Office, wrote that office’s policy & procedures manual, researched, wrote and presented a police training program for the formerly warring parties in the Balkans, bla, bla, bla...

Objectively, most people say I’ve had a pretty colorful career. From my perspective, I’d say these guys need to have a real serious slap-down. I get humor, have a pretty good sense of humor. But the problem is that these kids and their leadership didn’t have what is referred to as “common sense” If a cop lacks common sense, who, besides that individual gets harmed? The public. We should pay them more, understand their problems, and demand as much professionalism as they can muster. The “humor” of this tee shirt was certainly intended for the class. Unfortunately, it wasn’t funny and should have been stopped at the stage when it was still just a suggestion. That’s where the administration comes in. There is no doubt in my mind that someone on the staff of the academy knew about this. That person should have stepped up and prevented it’s use. It was unprofessional. Further, he/she should have followed up with a serious discussion of the role of the police officer and the importance of professionalism.