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 25 years leading two Episcopal Churches in Portage and North Lake, Wisconsin, I now serve as Associate Pastor in a growing, dynamic, and Spirit-filled Lutheran congregation in nearby Mazomanie.

Parting Words

Over the years, poetry was a large part of my inner life. Recent years have found me sharing my deepest … More

Police Amnesia

A most pertinent, timely and historical article in the Baltimore Sun by friend and colleague Karl Bikel had been published … More

Memphis!

View the incident HERE. Another iconic event in police malpractice. Black officers at fault? Why would Black police do this … More

A Very Good Question!

President Biden recently called for police officers in our nation to be retrained, asking them, “Why should you always shoot … More

Cops and Their Unions

[My Note: As a police chief, I tended to support police unionization of my officers in order to give them … More

How 11 Cops See America

How 11 Cops See America — Crime, Guns, Race, and Bad Cops New York Times “America in Focus” staff members, … More

A Poem

As we enter the year 2023, let us seek new opportunities and possibilities for policing a free society… Few poemsi’ve … More