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.

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

Cops and Unions

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

What Happened in Boise?

What Can We Learn From the Dismissal of a Police Chief? One of my close colleagues, Mike Masterson, retired from … More