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Journal #2, in response to OTJ pages 1-28
Answer the following questions:
Why do you think the author opens On the Job with "Roll Call"? What information provided in this introduction do you find most useful? Why?
What information provided in "The Chicago Way: Police Work in the Urban Landscape" better helps you understand and/or appreciate the stories of Officers Brian Spreng and Dave Kumiega?
Why do you suppose the author starts off with the Officer Spreng's story?
12 comments:
I think that the most obvious reason for opening it with ‘Roll Call’ is the fact that this is probably one of the first things that recruits hear in Academy. So it does seem like the perfect way to open his book. Another reason, and why I think that it is more meaningful to the author, is that it demonstrates just how involved he and his family are and have been in the Chicago Police department. What I found most useful in this section of the book is the description of the cops’ daily lives transitioning into their ‘cop’ lives. And how and it can work to desensitize them. My boyfriends’ dad is a retired cop and relates stories to me all the time about things that he has seen and it doesn’t seem to phase him at all. I have also heard the stories of how they have ‘benefitted’ from certain situations, much like some of the men in this book.
Again, I think some of the info in this section that helps me understand, a little bit better, the lives of these policemen, are the descriptions of scenes that they have happened upon and how they have not really had much of a reaction. This is mainly due to the fact that they have seen it so many times before. It kind of seems to me that they don’t look at what is in front of them, but immediately try to get at the how it got to be there.
I supposed that the author starts off with Officer Spreng’s story because he seems like such a rookie at the beginning. It is a perfect seg-way into this book. From intro and history, to how they start off on their beat, I think he puts it perfectly when he says, “those early days and weeks of a rookie Chicago officer contain the necessary clash of reality and imagination, of reconciliation of what the job is and what the young cop envisioned it would be.” It shows that they had the same expectations of what a cop would be as everybody else. Though I think that the ones that strive to be a cop kind of romanticize it.
In the first chapter of the book (Roll Call), the author provides his credentials and his mission statement, so to speak. He shares his family’s extensive background with the Chicago Police Department to show us that he has a lot of personal experience with this police department. It also shows that he can easily obtain first-hand information on being a Chicago Police Officer, which gives the readers a sense of trust in his words.
The author also bluntly told the readers what he would like us to get out of his book. “My purpose in writing this book is to share with you, the reader, stories of how Chicago’s police officers balance all that the job demands – emotionally, physically, spiritually, and psychologically.” (pg 4) He just wants to share personal stories and feelings of these officers, which we are then left to not analyze, but appreciate for what they are.
The fact that he was able to shadow his brother, a Chicago Police Officer, for a night was impressive. Not only did he spend his whole life witnessing the work done by the Chicago Police from an outsider’s view, he also was able to step into the role as an officer and witness and explore a crime scene the way an officer would. With this he is able to vividly paint a mental picture for his audience with first-hand details and facts.
“Roll Call,” makes the reader trust the author. The personal anecdotes make us like and understand the author. Without these necessary pieces, I believe the rest of the book would not have the same affect.
Questions 2 and 3
The information provided in "The Chicago Way: Police Work in the Urban Landscape" gives us insight into Chicago’s violent history, as well as more recent violence as well. This chapter shows us how corrupt and how scary parts (not referring to locations but if we looked at Chicago in an outline sense) of Chicago can be. It makes us appreciate the officers who knowingly risk their lives every day and bear witness to horrible crimes, just so the general public can rest a little bit easier.
The author started out with Officer Spreng's story because his mindset is a little like that of what he believes his general audience’s to be. Growing up in a society that uses movies and television to glorify the role of a cop, most believe that the job is all exciting action. Officer Spreng had this mindset at the beginning too, until his first all-out shooting. After this event he began to view his job in a different light. He realized that there was too much risk in this line of work’s action for glory and began performing his job with the thought that every day may be his last.
The introduction is a great way for the reader to connect with the author. He provides his experience with the CPD as well as photos of his family, which helps the reader to understand his intentions of writing the book. The description of his experience in the field with officers is a great example of how strong these officers must be everyday. The thing that helped me connect with the author the most is his view that one can not put a "blanket statement" on officers praising them or criticizing them. I agree with whole-heartedly and this personal connection drew me farther into the book.
Knowing how the CPD handled past incidents, such as the Democratic National Convention of 1968, helped me to appreciate the jobs of the officers. It helped me to understand Officer Spreng's hasty actions during a time of crisis.
I believe Smith starts off with Officer Spreng's story because it's has more action than Kumiega's. That's not to say it's more important, but it gives the readers what they expect of police stories; gun fights. Then he goes on and makes the point that police work is more than the street action with Kumiega's story.
The first chapter of the book serves the function of setting a context for why the author decided to write the book and what he intends to accomplish with it. The tone of the book is set with the passage describing how the author shadowed his brother for a night. We're shown that the book will tell the real stories of Chicago police officers and try to steer away from looking at the department subjectively. What I found most useful was the author's observations about how his personal experiences have influenced his decision to write the book and how he approaches it.
The violent Chicago history recounted in the second chapter is once again about setting context. We are given the deep impression of what it means to be a police officer in Chicago, the violence and criticism that one would have to confront. With this knowledge in mind, we can approach the officer's stories with a sense of respect for what they have to do.
Officer Spreng's story is a great point to begin at. We're given the point of view of a rookie, an entry point into the dense world of the CPD. Much like the reader, Officer Spreng was waiting for something dangerous and exciting to happen, but when it finally did, he found that danger was nothing to yearn for. This could be a warning to the reader to not take the reality of the situations presented for granted, that the stories and the people behind them are very real.
I think that the author started off with “Roll Call” because this book is based on experiences told Chicago police officers and each one is introduced at the beginning of their personal story. Their name is the first source of identity we learn about them, just like when they first enter the Chicago Police Academy. During roll call the higher officers also first identify them solely by their name.
The information that I found most useful in the introduction was how he elaborated what Chicago stands for. He included some history and specific areas that really personalized the city. This was useful because he is writing about the Chicago police officers, not police officers in general. So describing the city is a great way to start off and when we get to the stories we are more familiar with the scenery and surroundings.
Reading about the harsh conditions of the urban communities definitely made me appreciate the stories of Officers Brian Spreng and Dave Kumiega. The criminal activity that was happening all around them made me feel sympathy for the reality that they had to witness, but also admiration of their courage. They both sound so passionate about what they do and the fact that they care so much about the safety of complete strangers is comforting. They are part of the reason that there is sanity in the streets of the world.
I think that he started off with officers Spreng’s story because his experience was instantly life changing. He was placed in a life and death situation right after complaining that he was slightly bored. His story made him realize that he is playing on a risky unexpected playground every time he goes into work. The intensity of his dramatic change in the point of view he had on his job makes the reader, or at least me, wonder what would I do if I was put in such an intense situation where your life is on the line.
The fact that Smith opens the book on such a personal note acclimates the reader to both his family history and the tone of the book as a whole. Smith chooses to begin with an admission that he is from a family of Chicago police officers in order to levy any doubts the reader may hold about his background. Smith, to his credit, intersperses this warm family history with concessions to the darker facets of the family trade, such as corruption, prejudice, and brutality. Most useful is the acknowledgment that the Chicago Police department is a human system, prone to the influence of human behavior from politician to patrolman. Smith makes the same point he makes throughout the rest of the book, that police officers are human beings with flaws and virtues all their own.
The most important information in the first two chapters of the book is the vulnerability the two officers display so casually. As citizens, it is rare that we are offered a humanizing portrait of a police officer. In these first sections, Smith establishes both the level of empathy required for the job, as well as the high risk involved in the work. Officer Sprengs admission of fear and confusion in the aftermath of his first shootout serves to endear him tot he reader, as his emotions clearly mirror what the average person would feel during and after such a stressful and life altering event. The fact that Spreng was a rookie cop further underscores the ease of which the average reader could identify with him. Officer Kumiega's feelings of duty make him a noble, and professional portrait of the best of the Chicago Police Department, until the reader learns of his strained relationship with his wife and children, and his even more troubling sense of paranoia surrounding his daily life, even when off duty. Kumiega's sacrifice is emblematic of the difference between those that do this job and the rest of the public.
As stated above, Officer Spreng was a rookie at the time of his shooting, with only 16 days on the job. As Spreng tells his story, he does so in one of his favorite childhood ice cream parlors drinking an Oreo milkshake. The fact that Smith seems fixated on the details of Sprengs milkshake drinking gives the impression that Smith is describing a sort of regression associated with Spreng's psychological state in the aftermath of the shooting. The regressive and harmless description of Spreng makes him almost harmless in the eyes of the reader, and thus, more like the average citizen than somebody above us, so to speak. Int his way Smith has both humanized Spreng, and paved the way for the reader to empathize with every officer in the book.
I think that the author, Daniel P. Smith, opens the book with the introduction called “Roll Call” for a couple a reasons. The first a foremost reason being that I think he wants to show that he has a plethora of background information in life of a Chicago police officer. This is so because as he states, “I was born into an Irish-Catholic family in Chicago [where] the family business was the Chicago Police Department.” Another reason I think Smith wrote this introduction is to prove that he knows that there are two sides to every story and understand that Chicago police officers can be both straight and/or corrupt. The information that I found most important in the introduction was his stance on the police in Chicago, being that he is proud not ashamed of them. This may be that he is bias but I think its because the officers he knows are probably just people to him and this is quite refreshing since most authors like to tie in politics with their beliefs.
In the opening for the first part of the book called “The Chicago Way: Police Work in the Urban Landscape” the author offers a brief history of what struggles the Chicago police officers have faced over the years. The author states that this is the reason why the Chicago police are so tough, because they live here and so they understand what it takes to get the job done. The information provided helps to better understand the stories of Officers Spreng and Kumiega because these are the people who want to make change in their neighborhoods. These are the people that come from similar backgrounds as the people who live in this city, and because of it they are tough and love their job no matter what. This part of the book shows the officers change with the times but some things even time cannot change, be it crime or courage.
The author starts the novel with the story of an officer named Brian Spreng, his story is about a gunfight he was in only after his sixteenth day on the job. I believe that the author choose to start the book off with this story because Spreng is an all-American fellow, meaning he has a family, he works hard, was in the military, and holds his job on a pedestal. Also I think the author started with this story because Spreng admits to the reality of police work that it is sometimes boring and sometimes it can be chaotic. Furthermore I think the author used this story because it shows Spreng as being human with human fears and human emotions.
1. “Roll Call” provides background and perspective to the narration. The value gained by the reader is an understanding of the position and voice of the author.
2. A lot of information is presented in, “The Chicago Way: Police Work in the Urban Landscape.” The chapter seeks to illuminate to the reader the scope and history of the CPD. Much like “Roll Call” it provides a general feel or stage on which these officer’s stories may be told.
3. Officer Spreng’s story is presented first because it is interesting, and because it provides an image of humility, of men at work, men doing their jobs.
The opening section of the book entitled "Roll Call" seems to serve a couple purposes, perhaps most importantly is painting a picture of the nature of the work that comes with being part of the Chicago Police department. By including the story of the murdered man, the reader gets closer to comprehending the mental toll some of these images could have on a person. Therefore, the book begins with a certain understanding of the human quality the Chicago Police have, as everyone does, in case a reminder was necessary. That was most likely an important message for the author to communicate. It also describes the department's personal importance to the author due to strong family involvement and presents his reason for writing the book.
The city of Chicago is in many important ways very different from cities elsewhere in the country. While cities everywhere experience crime to some degree, the magnitude in which Chicago experiences it is on a different level, and has been that way throughout history. The job of a Chicago Police officer is not an easy one, mentally, physically, or emotionally. A person much possess a certain element of toughness to make it in the department as well as the city, which makes Brian Spreng and Dave Kumiega's stories seem very distant from situations ordinary people could handle. It gives both men, as well as the department, a "larger than life" or heroic element that separates them.
Officer Spreng's story is titled correctly, in that "Imagination Meets Reality" is an important concept to remember in his story as well as the Chicago Police Department as a whole. The author tried to clear up the misconception that being a policeman is nonstop action, and that a day's work involves shootings, murders, car chases, and drug busts. On the contrary, many days don't consist of much of anything. No matter the strain of the job as a whole, the author also mentioned in Spreng's story the fact that not every day is an adrenaline rush, and no two days are the same.
Roll Call gives an insight to an ordinary day of work for police officers told from a non-officer's perspective. The narrator in this chapter also described how his entire family was police officers, except for himself. This list of family members illustrates the loyalty of this particular line to the CPD. This introduction aims to dispell some of the stereotypes of police officers, replacing them with what the narrator finds to be more accurate descriptions, both saying that the CPD is "not immune to... indignity" and that at the same time "the vast majority of Chicago officers... are well-intentioned... individuals". This introductions establishes the goal of the book, while also remaining realistic about the discoveries made therein.
The plethora of historical references to crime in Chicago shows a pattern within this city. When it is said that "the best any mayor can do with the city... i just to keep it in repair" denotes that Chicago is a hopelessly crime-laden area. The fact that this is the general idea of what good management can do for the city makes a police officer's job seem both challenging and necessary, and fruitless. From this chapter in the book, it seems as though despite the best work by the CPD, Chicago will always be known for its crime.
Spreng was a new officer when he had his first traumatic experience as a cop. Although he repeats that he did the right thing, which is agreeable, the impression that remains with him shows how even though he was unharmed and unwavering in his service as an officer, shows that this event is still embedded into his mind. This is a good story to begin with because it covers the transformation of pre-event to post-event officer. The necessity of doing whatever it takes to fulfill the demands of the job, even if it is not the reason the officer took the job, is one that forces a realistic outlook in all cops. Spreng did not want to fire a gun, but the job required him to do so when it found him in a shooting. He was required to put aside his personal endeavors [of not shooting] in order to safely return from his job. That is a condition that most professions are never affected by, and to illustrate how important this sacrifice is, the author had to tell a story of someone who made it.
Roll Call is above all an introduction to book as a whole. It's not a traditional introduction introducing characters or relating directly to a story told within the book, but instead tells about the author and why he wrote the book. Quite frankly a normal introduction might not be appropriate for this book since it is really more based around short stories told be different people. This way however the author actually gets to talk and tell his story, while it may not be tales about a police officer, it has it's own meaning and place as it sets the tone for the book as he later begins to interview the other officers.
This particular chapter is mainly about introducing the reader to the setting for the book. Not every reader may have had the chance to be in Chicago, let alone live in or understand it. This chapter really lets the reader start to get a feel for just where this book takes place; a busy city that's famous for criminal activity. Then immediately following this information they begin to tell the stories of the police that have to deal with it, such as Brian and Dave. The reader really gets a stronger sense of what they have to deal with every day, or at least what they are prepared to deal with every day with "The Chicago Way" than they could have without.
Brian Spreng's story is of what he believes to be his truly defining moment as a police officer. Sort of how he "became a cop" inside as well as out. This chapter introduces the reader to most of what a new officer has to deal with, such as the painfully slow days, or the all-too-fast days.
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