I happened to be perusing a local newspaper when I came across this interesting article. While there were a total of 3 articles concerning this incident, it was clear that the police officer was not at fault for this night time auto/bicyclist traffic accident. That's not what really drew my attention....
What surprised me was the fact that the Deputy who was driving is 76 years old.
It was no typo. My natural assumption was that this man was a volunteer reserve or auxiliary officer who might be just 'staying active.' I decided to take a chance and make an on line comment.
(Mistake #1)
In my statement, I went so far as to suggest that may be it was past time for him to still be working on the street.
(Mistake #2)
It then became extraordinarily obvious to me that this officer had a fan club and they took me to task for even suggesting such a thing. Apparently, some of his fans said that he was a full time, paid deputy who could get the job done just as well, if not better, than some of his younger counterparts.
While I am no spring chicken myself, I would never, even in my wildest fantasies, ever consider working as a street cop past the age of 60. Interestingly enough, I have seen some new recruits in their 50's who make it through the academy standards, often pushing past the younger rookies when it comes to both knowledge and physical capability.
Being in the 'no spring chicken' category and quite conscious of age discrimination when it comes to employment standards, I did some research and I found this. I had mistakenly assumed that there was a mandatory retirement age for all police officers and that it just varied from state to state.
(Mistake #3)
Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 -
All employers who hire persons 40 years or older are required by law to adhere to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Mandatory retirement, in almost all cases, is illegal, and an employer does not have the right to force an older employee to retire. Employees that are exempt from the ADEA mandatory retirement laws are police officers and firefighters. Legislation, passed in 1996, allows for public employers to have maximum hiring ages and mandatory retirement ages for law enforcement officers and firefighters. This, however, isn't mandatory. The ADEA laws apply to employees that are 40 years or older, and work for a business that employs 20 or more employees.
The state of South Carolina has no retirement age requirement and it is generally up to the individual department to make the decision on when a police officer or fire fighter can or should retire.
So, I think I've learned my lesson about making comments in public forums when I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.
What surprised me was the fact that the Deputy who was driving is 76 years old.
It was no typo. My natural assumption was that this man was a volunteer reserve or auxiliary officer who might be just 'staying active.' I decided to take a chance and make an on line comment.
(Mistake #1)
In my statement, I went so far as to suggest that may be it was past time for him to still be working on the street.
(Mistake #2)
It then became extraordinarily obvious to me that this officer had a fan club and they took me to task for even suggesting such a thing. Apparently, some of his fans said that he was a full time, paid deputy who could get the job done just as well, if not better, than some of his younger counterparts.
While I am no spring chicken myself, I would never, even in my wildest fantasies, ever consider working as a street cop past the age of 60. Interestingly enough, I have seen some new recruits in their 50's who make it through the academy standards, often pushing past the younger rookies when it comes to both knowledge and physical capability.
Being in the 'no spring chicken' category and quite conscious of age discrimination when it comes to employment standards, I did some research and I found this. I had mistakenly assumed that there was a mandatory retirement age for all police officers and that it just varied from state to state.
(Mistake #3)
Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 -
All employers who hire persons 40 years or older are required by law to adhere to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Mandatory retirement, in almost all cases, is illegal, and an employer does not have the right to force an older employee to retire. Employees that are exempt from the ADEA mandatory retirement laws are police officers and firefighters. Legislation, passed in 1996, allows for public employers to have maximum hiring ages and mandatory retirement ages for law enforcement officers and firefighters. This, however, isn't mandatory. The ADEA laws apply to employees that are 40 years or older, and work for a business that employs 20 or more employees.
The state of South Carolina has no retirement age requirement and it is generally up to the individual department to make the decision on when a police officer or fire fighter can or should retire.
So, I think I've learned my lesson about making comments in public forums when I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.
Despite all that.... at 76 years of age, don't you think it's time?
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