Veterans Hospital Police: what kind of experiences have you had dealing with them? Good or bad?

SGT Kevin Gardner — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 11:38:50 -0500

The VA Police an armed, federal law enforcement and protective service entity that operates in various Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, the motto on their cars and uniforms state “protecting those who have served.”

About two years ago I had to go to the VA emergency room, my truck at the time I normally drove as my daily driver was down. So I had my friend drive me in my hunting rig, a 1979 International Scout II, the Right front blinker was out, out here where I live that’s not really a big deal, and the light was not burned out it was just touchy, a bump here or a bump there would make it work or not work. I knew this was an issue and had repaired it many times but that’s what it means to own an old piece of equipment.

So my friend and I are making a right turn in to the Spokane VA, my friend is in the process of parking the Scout when all of a sudden we see red and blue lights behind us and we here the siren of a police car. We both look behind us and we see this VA cop getting out of his car hand on his holster as if he was going to draw down on us, I look back toward the VA and see six officers coming out looking like they were tact up to go out in to sector. At 2200 hours there were maybe 4 vehicles in the parking lot and we were the only ones in the vicinity of what was happening. It did not take me long to figure out we were the reason for the greeting we were getting.

I asked what the problem was and was promptly informed that my right front blinker was out. I limped my way over to the offending light that brought down a world of crap un me and my friend and tapped it once with my finger and it started blinking.

The officer smiled and said nice rig, my anger over rode whatever shut off switch I had for my mouth and I told the Officer what I thought of him his lack of professionalism, that if he truly felt he needed to say something he could wait until we had parked, that he did not need to call out the VA SWAT team to confront a driver with a non working blinker.

Ever since this time I have noticed these guys walking around making life difficult for veterans at the VA. Am I the only one that has seen this or have taken issue with these people.

I get it, some of us are unstable for obvious reasons but I feel that if these guys need to be there than they need to be more professional than what I have been seeing from them. Not to mention many of us are combat veterans and this to me seems like a good way to push a VET over the line, especially confronting them in such a manner that could have been easily mentioned with kind words and respect.

Response by LTC Paul Heinlein made Nov 15 at 2014 11:43 AM

LTC Paul Heinlein — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 11:43:11 -0500

Sorry for the negative interaction with the VA Police. If you did not after this occurrence already, I would make a complaint to the leadership. If they get enough complaints, they may in fact take some action to rectify it in the future.

Thanks for you service.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2014 11:48 AM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 11:48:33 -0500

Thanks for sharing your story, SGT Kevin Gardner. I'm not a frequent visitor to VA facilities, but I have gone several times, usually in Baltimore. I haven't noticed what you described.

I think you probably hit the nail on the head regarding "issues" that some vets have. The VA police may be overly sensitive to that. And, while I mean no disrespect at all to the VA police, there could be a bit of the Barney Fife syndrome in them ... I don't know. To have four or six officers "coming at you" because of a bad blinker, well I'm thinking of Barney Fife trying to get that bullet out of his shirt pocket.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Nov 15 at 2014 2:59 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 14:59:36 -0500

I led DA Civilian Police for two years as a Garrison Commander at a really small R and D installation. Probably very similar to the type of police you encountered. LTC Heinlein had some good points. I tell you we had 1000s of encounters with people and turned up 100s of warrants. My detention cells had people in them almost everyday...mostly bench warrants. We also had our share of violent felons, level three sex offenders and others with rap sheets that read like a demon's resume. Why do I say all that? These guys can go crossword puzzle to fire fight in 2 seconds. The majority of my officers and guards were prior service (police with a single red service stripe on their sleeve are prior military). The ones you encountered could have been kitted up because of ramp measures or in response to a specific threat that had nothing to do with you. When threat con changed, I put M4s in all my patrols. Most don't want to interact in conflict with people they don't know anymore than you do. If you do have a question, get a badge number or patrol unit number with the date and time and go to the chief. The chief keeps track, trust me on that. Infractions over time build up.

Response by SPC Jack Hunt, JR made Nov 15 at 2014 3:05 PM

SPC Jack Hunt, JR — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 15:05:55 -0500

I can relate to your story. About 5 years ago when I lived in Oklahoma City, I had contacted the VA Regional office in Muskogee OK to see if I could get a letter that the I.R.S. had requested stating I had paid the VA the money back. And after receiving that letter they would refund the tax money.

I had received a severance when I was medically retired, the VA said It was double dipping so I paid it back. Well that money I paid back was also the taxes that had been deducted from that money. About $5.000. Well I asked the rep if he could send me a letter stating it was paid in full. He said he couldn't. That no such letter existed. He told me he could see that my account was paid in full.

So hot headed as I am I drove to Muskogee and went to the Regional office and asked to speak with the rep. I was told I could not. Once I identified myself I was hand cuffed by the VA Police and escorted from the building and told never to return.

Funny enough last year I asked for that letter again and the rep said sure thing no problem. Excited I called the I.R.S. And informed them I had the letter and needed to know what address I should send it to. The lady said no air it's too late for you to get that money back.

I wonder how many of us they got like that?

Response by SSgt B Mac made Dec 10 at 2014 1:02 AM

SSgt B Mac — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 01:02:24 -0500

Someone very dear to me works at our local VA hospital and has told me of harassment from VA cops. It wouldn't be fair to judge them all in the same light but I can only imagine these guys get trained to deal with all types of situations and must be itching to practice what they have learned. A Veteran can possibly be more aggressive than the average patient. I don't want to be but I'm cynical. Some people will abuse the power. I agree the cops over reacted to your situation.
Now, putting myself in their shoes. I do not know the timing of your incident but recent events could have made the cops' alarms more sensitive. Veterans, not satisfied with treatment, have threatened to return with a firearm. Even disgruntled employees make threats. I heard a story of a Veteran beating a VA Cop with a golf club. These cops are probably on edge themselves. They are seeing things that make them the way they are. Wether it's anger, fear or whatever, these cops still need to maintain order.

Response by SrA Andrea West made Dec 12 at 2014 5:45 PM

SrA Andrea West — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 17:45:54 -0500

I used to work at the VA in my hometown. The police there are really good at defusing situations. I agree that you should politely get a badge number and mention the incident to the police chief there. It sounds as if something might have been going on that you got caught up in, entirely without knowing what was happening.

Response by SGT Michael Glenn made Dec 15 at 2014 11:34 AM

SGT Michael Glenn — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 11:34:02 -0500

The Va system needs a revamp all the way around. We the vets are plagued with law enforcement that probably couldnt find jobs on a real force and therefore have something to prove.Plus the fact that most all doctors (not all) are interns from the local universities who know nothing and are given amnesty cards in that not a single VA employee has to answer for their actions and cannot be sued for their poor behavior. Now not all are bad and not all are stupid or arrogant but its the ones that are that stick out.