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.

Answering a Call to Improve Continuously

I first published “Arrested Development” in 2012. Then made the final addition to the text in 2017 after the death … More

How to Effectively Police a Democratic, Free, and Diverse Society

I am pleased and excited about having the opportunity in February to work with Stockbridge, a new police department recently … More

Beyond the Badge: A Biography

[Note: Time marches on. As a mid-way octogenarian, I wanted to share my life with others so that what I … More

Infidelity: The Moral Relapse of American Policing

Infidelity. Unfaithfulness to a moral obligation, trust, or duty; disloyalty. I write this in my mid-80s. I have practiced the … More

A Reader Responds to “The Fall of Minneapolis”

[Note: I greatly enjoy getting comments from readers. Somehow, they are few and far between. Yet my November 18th blog, … More

Experimentation: What’s Lacking in Policing

[The excerpted article below comes from a November 28, 2923 story in the New York Times by Natasha Frost, reporting from … More

Don’t Forget Your Calling!

“To Protect and Serve…” Never forget that police have the opportunity to do good — to make bad things to … More

Why Honest Cops Matter

[Note: Integrity matters — and matters greatly in policing. We all know that the policing function is effective and much … More

The Fall of Minneapolis

Recently, one of my readers asked about the facts surrounding the death of George Floyd in the spring of 2020. … More

Reimagine!

[Note: As I have strongly written in the past, we the people need to REIMAGINE policing. The murder of George … More