• Home
  • Authors
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

It’s that time of year again

October 10, 2019
byRobert Weisskopf
in Exclusive, War Stories
time of year

(Flickr)

262
SHARES
1.1k
VIEWS
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

It’s that time of year again … summer’s over. We’ve already had a blizzard out west. We’re expecting a frost this week. It’s time to prepare your kit for winter.

Here in Chicago, when working in uniform on patrol, you may not get the same car every day. If you do it is usually used by two other watches. You really can’t leave anything behind at the end of your tour or it’ll be gone when you return. That means you need to carry all your supplies with you.

As a recruit, you may carry a large duffle or brief case with all your supplies. After a while with experience you’ll whittle away at that and move down to something more manageable. Then again you may not. I knew two officers who carried inflatable life rafts because their beat bordered either the lake or the river.

  • WHAT IS IN YOUR PATROL BAG? 

As a police officer I usually carried one of those Saunders aluminum clipboards that allowed me to put reports inside. I also had my ticket books in a leather book I held together with a Velcro strap. It worked for me and as I got promoted, I carried less and less. However, once the weather got cold, I had to carry more and more.

Besides the winter gear like a jacket and boots I found several items that made the cold more comfortable.

I am naturally well insulated, so I didn’t go with long underwear often. I did find knee length underwear that worked great. Today there are so many great new lightweight long underwear choices not just the cotton waffle weave stuff of my youth.

Before the woolly-pulley type sweater was authorized, I found they were great, and our inspectors liked the look and always gave me pass for wearing one. Now, they are commonly used without a jacket all year long.

  • THINGS POLICE FIND FUNNY

We were in and out of the car all night long. Half the night we were searching cars and people. You needed a good pair of thin leather gloves so you could feel something but still have some protection from the cold. I had a pair of very thin deerskin gloves that were skin-tight so I could wear them most of the night. However, on cold nights if you were outside for any length of time, they were worthless. Handle traffic at a fire or traffic accident you would end up with frostbite. I picked up a pair of military winter gloves at an Army – Navy surplus store in the district. They were heavy leather with OD green wool liners. I think I still have them in the garage. I kept them cinched up with my ticket books, so they were always handy.

four Chicago police officers

Many guys wore simple scarves. I like them but they always seemed to be in the way so instead I found a neck gaiter. It is a tube made of similar material to the scarf. Big enough to fit over my head and warm my neck. I first found them for skiing. If it got bitterly cold, I could pull it up to cover my mouth nose and ears. Pull it down and it rode around my neck and out of the way.

We were limited to wool pants or what were called cheaters. They were an 80/20 blend of wool and polyester. They were less expensive than the wool and you could toss them in the washer at home. Each fall about this time I would buy a couple pair. They were always the thickest during the winter and with the washings they thinned down to a more tropical weight for the summer months.

Here in Chicago we wore a leather jacket that was famous. Legend has it that on at least two occasions the heavy leather jacket stopped an attacker’s bullet saving the officer. They were heavy and bulky and expensive but damn once it was broken in it was the most badass look around. Coppers loved their leathers. Many were passed on to relatives when they retired and since they were already broken in it was instant badassery.

  • FEEL THE SHAME

Proper footwear was important. Today your choices are great with so many styles and materials available. We had little to go with other than combat boots. I wore the same boots for about eight years before I found black Timberlands.

I also found a great, insulated mug. They sold them at a local convenience store and most of our watch bought them. They lasted. No dents, chips or cracks. And you could run them through the dishwasher. I doubt anyone did that, but you could. I still have one.

So, tell us what you do to help cope with winter at work. Is there something you need like new gloves or socks? Now is a good time to think about it and leave this article somewhere that special someone will see it and maybe get it for you at Christmas.

Let us know what you do. As always, your responses are great.

Stay safe everyone, run low and zigzag.

– Robert Weisskopf (retired Lt. CPD)

Author’s note: You can find more articles from me as well as my books on my website www.bobweisskopf.com.

 

  • Bio

Robert Weisskopf

Robert Weisskopf grew up in Chicago. The son of a 33-year veteran Chicago Police Lieutenant. Bob was sworn in on February 14, 1983. Over the next thirty years he rose from Police Officer to Sergeant, to Lieutenant. He’s worked almost every job there is in Patrol and as a Sergeant, he was detailed to H.U.D. working undercover narcotics enforcement in public housing. As a Lieutenant he was the commanding officer of the CPD Alternate Response section commanding up to 300 officers. He became a member of the Lieutenants Union. He served as its president for six years, negotiating two contracts. He also served as Vice President of the Illinois Police Benevolent Protective Association. He’s a divorced father with three sons, Bob, Jim, and Patrick. He is the author of a series of sci-fi novels and a cookbook for single fathers. You can find links to his work and more at www.bobweisskopf.com.

Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: bundle upchicagoclothingcoatequipmentjacketscarfscarveswinter

Related Posts

Man arrested at Chicago Airport after allegedly living there for three months

January 18, 2021
3.9k
bumblebee

Chicago thugs have shot 365 times more people than cops

October 31, 2020
15.5k

Video: 14 Shot At Chicago Funeral

July 21, 2020
9.3k
Cook County

51 Shot, 9 Killed In Chicago This Weekend

July 13, 2020
13.2k

Chicago: The Killing Fields

July 5, 2020
3.9k
Louisville Police

Louisville Police Ordered Under Threat of Suspension To Remove Protective Equipment

June 30, 2020
95.4k
Load More

Latest Articles

bean bag

Bean Bag Boat

January 25, 2021
1.4k
transgender

Biden revokes Trump ban on transgenders serving in military

January 25, 2021
1.4k
Pennsylvania family

Pennsylvania family of four found dead in apparent murder-suicide

January 25, 2021
2.1k
Indianapolis police

Indianapolis police arrest juvenile suspect in mass murder that killed six

January 25, 2021
2.9k

Police chief resignation demanded after online posts from teen daughter emerge

January 25, 2021
8.1k
Supreme Court

Race & Violent Crime: Racist Department of Justice Data?

January 25, 2021
2.5k
Load More

Liberty University offers affordable tuition—and a 25% discount for law officers and first responders.

Most Popular

President Trump issues executive order protecting law enforcement and their families

January 19, 2021
47.2k

Tacoma police car plows over crowd as mob attacks

January 24, 2021
27.9k
National Guard

National Guard troops tossed from Capitol, told to rest in parking garage

January 22, 2021
19.4k
Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris has a message for America after he’s accused of being at DC riots

January 13, 2021
246k
West Virginia mother

Mother ‘not strong enough to fight these demons’ as six are found dead in murder-suicide

January 22, 2021
15.3k
Load More

Most Recent

bean bag

Bean Bag Boat

January 25, 2021
1.4k
transgender

Biden revokes Trump ban on transgenders serving in military

January 25, 2021
1.4k
Pennsylvania family

Pennsylvania family of four found dead in apparent murder-suicide

January 25, 2021
2.1k
Indianapolis police

Indianapolis police arrest juvenile suspect in mass murder that killed six

January 25, 2021
2.9k

Police chief resignation demanded after online posts from teen daughter emerge

January 25, 2021
8.1k
Supreme Court

Race & Violent Crime: Racist Department of Justice Data?

January 25, 2021
2.5k
Food Network

Winner of Food Network show charged with child’s homicide

January 25, 2021
2.1k
Seattle mayor

Seattle mysteriously starts aggressive prosecution of rioters after Biden’s inauguration

January 25, 2021
2.9k
Tacoma

Civil unrest breaks out in Tacoma after officer forced to drive through angry mob to escape danger

January 25, 2021
3k
mass casualty shooting

Mass casualty shooting leaves 6 dead in Indianapolis

January 24, 2021
4k
Load More

Castro Art: Fallen Heroes 2020

Law Officer

© 2021 Law Officer

  • Home
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Corrections
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contributors
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise

© 2021 Law Officer