“You don’t have to act tough if you are tough.”
This was the philosophy I aspired to during my 33 years as a police officer. It was inspired by my hero, Audie Murphy, who did not aspire to it, he lived it! I would like to share this approach for consideration by all of you who are still fighting the good fight.
America’s most decorated WWII combat soldier
People who did not know Audie Murphy judged him to be small, weak and unimpressive. However, one soldier who fought with Murphy said, “Don’t let that baby face fool you. That’s the toughest soldier in the 3rd Division.”
This was proved often to be absolutely true.
During World War II, Murphy earned just about every medal an American soldier could, and a few more from the French government. His heroics were beyond legendary.
He received the Medal of Honor for single-handedly facing hundreds of advancing German infantry, supported by six German tanks, eventually driving them back. He did this by calling in accurate artillery strikes. As infantry approached his position, he piled them up by firing a machine gun mounted on a burning tank destroyer destined to blow up at any moment.
The acting tough bluff
Every police officer knows a cop who talks as if they are “all that” but in reality, they are all talk. The problem that arises from acting tough is people can see through the act. Few people respond well to the surly rudeness and sometimes even disrespect that often goes hand-in-hand with what I like to call the tough-bluff.
Murphy only displayed his toughness when it was necessary. Otherwise, he was the quiet professional who treated everyone he met in his capacity of soldier and leader with dignity and respect.
Becoming ‘Murphy tough’
If you aspire to be like Murphy, you can develop your own toughness by:
- Making regular visits to a weight room and running 10 or more miles a week.
- Taking your defensive tactics training seriously.
- Doing some tough-sounding exercises like knuckle push-ups, hitting a heavy bag, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, grappling, running wind-sprints, running steps, sparring, or all of the above.
- Becoming a master in the use of your tactics, tools and techniques.
- Becoming confident in your skills and experience.
- Becoming a Black Belt in dialog by learning to be a master communicator.
- Being nice until it’s time to be tough and then possess the skills to win legally. When that is accomplished, be nice again.
How being a master communicator makes a cop tough
You are probably wondering, “Why do I have to learn to be a master communicator to be tough?” Or you might be asking, “What does being nice have to do with being tough? I don’t believe in those hug-a-thug programs.”
Becoming a great communicator recognizes that being legitimately tough affords you the opportunity to talk to even more people in crisis on the street. Confidence exudes from experienced officers who are legitimately tough, which other people sense. Such confidence does not come from an absence of fear of what might happen; it comes from the knowledge that you have an “Audie Murphy fear.” Even though you can feel fear, you channel it, because you have the confidence to get the job done and know how you can do it.
This unspoken confidence is recognizable to bad guys, victims and complainants. When conditions are bad, people are drawn to you above all others when you arrive on scene, because they sense that help has arrived. When this begins to happen to you, it behooves you to be able to communicate effectively.
Being at once a good communicator and a nice/tough officer means you will have to fight less. However, when confrontations do occur (and they will) they will not be started by your words, but they will be ended by your deeds.
Murphy thought treating people with dignity and respect was what made American police officers special. He once explained to an interviewer what America meant to him by saying that America was freedom and that freedom could be found in a Texas rodeo and in a police officer’s badge. Wow! That always gets me.
After witnessing the evil perpetrated by the Nazis, Murphy believed those who swore to protect and serve had to be tough, but for the sake of a better world, the tough had to be balanced by goodness.
Being tough is an everlasting position of advantage
Some police officers believe that failing to “act tough” is interpreted as weakness and will be challenged. From personal experience, I would say that in some cases I found this to be true. However, when that does happen to a police officer who is genuinely tough, this underestimation gives the tactical edge to the police officer who has prepared to survive such challenges and realizes they might happen during any contact.
For sure, it is much easier to act tough than it is to be tough. But sooner or later those acting tough will run into that suspect who will call their tough-bluff and when that happens, the person whose toughness is just an act will have put themselves at a tactical disadvantage.
Murphy set a powerful example for all police officers. He proved that real toughness is in the actions of those who are sworn to serve and protect during those desperate moments when acting tough is not enough.
