Author: David Couper

I served over 20 years as the chief of police in Madison (WI), four years as chief of the Burnsville (MN) Police Department, and before that as a police officer in Edina (MN) and the City of Minneapolis. I hold graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and Edgewood College in Madison. I have written many articles over my years as a police leader. After retiring from the police department, I answered a call to ministry, attended seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. After almost 30 years serving in and leading two Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of Milwaukee, I am "sort-of" in the process of retirement. Life is good.

Your Bounden Duty: Seven Precepts for a Police Officer in a Free Society

Introduction When I was a young boy growing up in the Episcopal Church, I was given a small pamphlet called My … More

Community-Oriented Policing: A Conversation Still Worth Having

There are moments in reflecting back to the work I did in policing to remind me why it matters. My … More

Silence is Surrender

If Democracy Is To Hold, Local Police Must Resist I have watched American policing change—sometimes painfully slowly, sometimes faster than … More

Remember What We Built

As a growing presence of federal law enforcement comes to our towns and cities and looms in our future, let’s … More

The Thin Blue Line

A Crisis of Allegiance A dangerous collision is imminent between federal overreach and the front-line reality of local policing. Across America, … More

Interview with Commissioner Bill Bratton

This post contains a link the podcast Chat with the Chief, hosted by Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche. It features … More

Tension on the Street

Several cities and states are adopting measures that restrict how federal law enforcement conducts civil immigration operations, placing local police … More