By Hal Collier, LAPD
Part 3, Oct 9th
The new sergeant, who was pretty proud of himself, submitted the days off to the Watch Commander (W/C) for approval. 10 minutes later the sergeant got them back to do all over again. The W/C probably saved the sergeants life.
The new sergeant probably completely ignored red days. A red day is a day off request that you really must have. Spouse’s birthday, anniversaries, that party that you missed last year. In other words, something really important. A red day was circled in red pencil. You had better use red days sparingly. Once in a while, an officer would circle all 9 days off in red. He didn’t get all 9 and he also might find himself assigned to work the desk or station security for that month. Worst jobs in patrol.
New sergeants might have to redo the days off 2 or 3 times before the W/C approves them. They are then sent to the captain for his approval. Finally, the days off are sent to Bureau for approval. The days off had to be approved and posted the Wednesday before the following Sunday—that’s when the new work period starts. Some sergeant could complete the days off in half a day, others took two 8 hour days and many revisions.
Here’s a guarantee within an hour of the days off being posted—someone will invite you to a special event on a day you scheduled to work. You will also get served subpoenas for court on 2 of your days off. Hal
