Needs to be addressed for all levels

[Aging_Arbiter]

1 hour ago, Mussgrass said:

What about all of us who carry concealed? You could have lots of guns close to you that you are unaware of. Just sayin'.

If you can't see them, odds are, the fans can't either.  Then there would be now perceived intimidation or favoritism........right?

[Replacematt]

3 hours ago, Maineac said:

Oh, okay. So no need for discussion or a different point of view then.

Then phrase it as such instead of asking questions that were already discussed. 

[The Man in Blue]

5 hours ago, yawetag said:

Police officers work different shifts than 9-5. Her "lunch break" might have been 6-7pm.

 

Yes, I wrote that poorly.  I should have asked how many games are start-stop in less than an hour (more than likely less than 30 minutes).  Squeezing coaching into your lunch break seems disrespectful to the game, the kids, and the families to me.  It is more respectful to your team and their families to say “I’m sorry, I can’t be there.  Coaches B and C will be filling in.” than to breeze in wearing your police officer’s uniform with multiple weapons strapped to you for 30 minutes so you can give a few steal/bunt signs and then leave again during the game.

 

LE is an important job.  I’m not sure I want my public protectors focused on writing a line-up while they are in uniform.  I want them focused on the task at hand.  If that task is LE at the moment, it is LE.  If that task is coaching at the moment, it is coaching.

[Maineac]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Then phrase it as such instead of asking questions that were already discussed. 

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't been involved in the discussion to that point, which is why I posed the questions. But if they've already been discussed and you have nothing further to offer, then feel free to keep scrolling.

[Replacematt]

10 minutes ago, Maineac said:

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't been involved in the discussion to that point, which is why I posed the questions. But if they've already been discussed and you have nothing further to offer, then feel free to keep scrolling.

I think that your failure to exercise responsibility by not reading the discussion does not give you license to dictate what I do.

[Thatsnotyou]

7 hours ago, Mussgrass said:

What about all of us who carry concealed? You could have lots of guns close to you that you are unaware of. Just sayin'.

Well it’s hard for me to be made uncomfortable by things I’m not aware of, you know? This other one is glaringly obvious and on the field. 

[yawetag]

3 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

 

Yes, I wrote that poorly.  I should have asked how many games are start-stop in less than an hour (more than likely less than 30 minutes).  Squeezing coaching into your lunch break seems disrespectful to the game, the kids, and the families to me.  It is more respectful to your team and their families to say “I’m sorry, I can’t be there.  Coaches B and C will be filling in.” than to breeze in wearing your police officer’s uniform with multiple weapons strapped to you for 30 minutes so you can give a few steal/bunt signs and then leave again during the game.

If they only have 2 games a week and each game takes 2 hours, it's possible she uses her breaks for the whole week for those two games. Also, at least one might fall on her day off.

She may also work for an agency that doesn't mind her "working" a bit during this time. Some areas are slow enough that hanging out at a ball field for an hour or so in the week is possible, but still being available for anything big. In the town I lived before moving, one of the officers' full-time gig was "community policing", and all he did was go to different businesses, schools, and events, just to talk to the people and be "the face" for the department.

In short, unless her superiors aren't allowing it or she's avoiding some type of work to do it, I don't have a reason to be upset that she's taking the time to do it.

[Maineac]

5 hours ago, Matt said:

I think that your failure to exercise responsibility by not reading the discussion does not give you license to dictate what I do.

Whatever you say, Matt.  Moving on now.

[Replacematt]

2 hours ago, Maineac said:

Whatever you say, Matt.  Moving on now.

That's the third comment in a row of yours that's dripping with entitlement.

[The Man in Blue]

6 hours ago, yawetag said:

If they only have 2 games a week and each game takes 2 hours, it's possible she uses her breaks for the whole week for those two games. Also, at least one might fall on her day off.

She may also work for an agency that doesn't mind her "working" a bit during this time. Some areas are slow enough that hanging out at a ball field for an hour or so in the week is possible, but still being available for anything big. In the town I lived before moving, one of the officers' full-time gig was "community policing", and all he did was go to different businesses, schools, and events, just to talk to the people and be "the face" for the department.

In short, unless her superiors aren't allowing it or she's avoiding some type of work to do it, I don't have a reason to be upset that she's taking the time to do it.

 

We’re just getting lost in the ivy here ... Your final statement rings the truest on this part of the topic: if her superiors don’t care, I suppose I shouldn’t either.  

[HokieUmp]

On 5/31/2019 at 6:19 AM, Mussgrass said:

What about all of us who carry concealed? You could have lots of guns close to you that you are unaware of. Just sayin'.

I'm uncomfortable with concealed-carry as well.  I'll make no bones that I'm a hippy on this, and I realize living in Texas now, I'm swimming against the current.

I'm sure everyone here is lovely in real life.  But in my mind, inside the fence, or without, is no place for a gun.  (Or most places, really.)  And "but the 2nd amendment and/or state law lets me!" is not a good excuse/rationale.  As a VT grad, and after this Friday in Virginia Beach, and alllllll the other places, I'm sick and tired of the US gun-nuttery.  I'll spare everyone, and will post only this, so don't feel that you need to tell me why I'm wrong.  My mind will not change on this.

[scrounge]

3 hours ago, HokieUmp said:

I'm uncomfortable with concealed-carry as well.  I'll make no bones that I'm a hippy on this, and I realize living in Texas now, I'm swimming against the current.

I'm sure everyone here is lovely in real life.  But in my mind, inside the fence, or without, is no place for a gun.  (Or most places, really.)  And "but the 2nd amendment and/or state law lets me!" is not a good excuse/rationale.  As a VT grad, and after this Friday in Virginia Beach, and alllllll the other places, I'm sick and tired of the US gun-nuttery.  I'll spare everyone, and will post only this, so don't feel that you need to tell me why I'm wrong.  My mind will not change on this.

I think there's a good bit of common ground on the on-field part. We've all seen how people get on the ball field, and police officers are simply a subset of the larger culture, they're not some alien species or anything. Tons of good ones, many average ones, some mediocre ones, and a few bad ones. Hell, a few years ago, a colleague of mine got assaulted on the diamond by a parent. Turned out it was a Columbus police lieutenant. Think anything happened to the guy? Of course not. It happens. There's no need to even risk the small (and it may not be as small as some people think) chance that an armed coach wouldn't use that to intimidate, even if only subtly. 

If there in performance of their duties? Of course they should be armed. But if you're a coach - be a coach. There's no need to be armed on the field as a coach. And that shouldn't be conflated into some anti-cop or anti-gun tangent. Far from it - hell, I've got family as a cop, a 9MM Beretta was my personal weapon in the Army, and I've been an NRA member for over 30 years. Still don't think a cop coach should be armed when coaching. I'd ask, what you trying to accomplish with this public display?

[Thatsnotyou]

29 minutes ago, scrounge said:

I think there's a good bit of common ground on the on-field part. We've all seen how people get on the ball field, and police officers are simply a subset of the larger culture, they're not some alien species or anything. Tons of good ones, many average ones, some mediocre ones, and a few bad ones. Hell, a few years ago, a colleague of mine got assaulted on the diamond by a parent. Turned out it was a Columbus police lieutenant. Think anything happened to the guy? Of course not. It happens. There's no need to even risk the small (and it may not be as small as some people think) chance that an armed coach wouldn't use that to intimidate, even if only subtly. 

If there in performance of their duties? Of course they should be armed. But if you're a coach - be a coach. There's no need to be armed on the field as a coach. And that shouldn't be conflated into some anti-cop or anti-gun tangent. Far from it - hell, I've got family as a cop, a 9MM Beretta was my personal weapon in the Army, and I've been an NRA member for over 30 years. Still don't think a cop coach should be armed when coaching. I'd ask, what you trying to accomplish with this public display?

To see if anyone has the “audacity” to say you know what, probably don’t need the gun on the baseball field, get rid of it. 

[dumbdumb]

Big part of the OP  title is the fact we should all have a memo from our assignor, umpire association about what we are to do when this happens.

I do not believe anyone here dislikes a police officer per say.

But, this is a police officer in uniform as a coach, maybe or maybe not carrying.

Our assignors and umpires association need to tell us how this is to be handled so we do not have to deal with the issue and this needs to be communicated to all teams, and coaches.

Do not put the umpire into a decision making situation on this.

Also, by having assignor, umpire association decide, if an umpire disagrees, they can tell the assignor not to assign them to that teams games, and i guess that would only happen to umpires who do not feel comfortable with a police officer in the dugout in full uniform, even if not carrying. To some it might send a sign of intimidation to them (not everyone) and  just like the situation of an umpire going to right field and not coddling/verbally talking to players coaches, etc. to keep other coach from FOMO and getting the raw end of the stick from the perception is reality terminology.

Whatever the issue, do not make the umpires get involved.

It could even be that the game would be suspended to a later time if the officer has to be in uniform, whether carrying or not carrying.

Just take it out of my hands for having to make a decision. Make it at the assignor and umpire association level and communicate that to all coaches that are police officers.