A pressing question facing both police and the communities they serve is how did police move so quickly from this … More
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.
A “Deep Dive” into Traffic Enforcement: Mission, Policy & Training
Chuck Wexler, a longtime friend and Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum, recently sent this excellent “deep dive” … More
Customer Surveys: A Necessary Step to Regain Trust and Respect
San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego rolling out online survey to track opinions on public safety and policing “In a bid … More
Minneapolis: A Case Study
“Defund/Eliminate the Police!” This is what happens when we fail to make needed changes in how we police our towns … More
An Error in Police Training
“Looking into the future, the number of fatal shootings of citizens by police (which have remained steady since Ferguson) must … More
How Others See Us!
The following video illustrates many of the problems facing police improvement in America — topics I have written and spoken … More
History in the Making: The Experimental Police District
Take a look at this link. It is democratic police history in the making from the mid-1980s in Madison, Wisconsin … More
Shame! Shame!
This was mayhem and it is difficult not to believe it was agitated and coordinated before January 6, 2021 — … More
Learning About Policing Others: At Home and Abroad
How is policing a city in America like our military action in Afghanistan? You may not see the similarities, but … More
Leadership: What I’ve Learned
I first became a leader when I was twenty years of age. I was promoted to corporal, then sergeant, a … More
