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.

Did Someone Move Your Cheese?

It is true that most of us resist change, we simply don’t like it! On the other hand, we … More

“The Wire’s” David Simon Talks About Improving Policing

“Police need to walk away from the drug war…” “Long before Freddie Gray’s death in police custody made Baltimore an … More

Guns are Killing Us!

One of the things I tried to learn following Dr. W. Edwards Deming was to diagram “cause and effect” (see … More

Most Visited Posts Last Week

TOP FIVE LAST WEEK Why Police Matter What Happens When a Cop Bucks the System? When We Fail Our Constitution … More

Where is the Chief? — An Important Response

A commentary worth posting in response to my recent post “Where is Your Police Chief.” “I would add the word … More

“Blackish” Tackles Race, Police, and Hope

This week the sitcom “Blackish” took on the issue of race, police and hope. I am not much of a … More

What Happens When a Cop Bucks the System?

I was a troublemaker when I was a police officer in Minneapolis. I know a little about what happens when … More

A Plea for Police-Academic Relationships

Originally posted on Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation:
Practitioner, teacher, researcher? Early in my career, I envisioned a police department in which the officers…