Cop's Job Tougher

To the Editor:

I have had the pleasure of being both a New York City Correction Officer for seven years and a NYC Police Officer for two years. While both jobs are very demanding and stressful and deserve a fair wage, I have to agree with Pat Lynch that the Police Officers deserve a higher wage.

As a Correction Officer, you receive a level of training that qualifies you to work in a jail and respond to occurrences as they arise in a prison setting. There is also firearms training, but very few instances when you are required to handle a firearm.

Also, an important part of working in a jail is that it is a controlled environment. Prisoners are searched and contraband and weapons are removed prior to them arriving on Rikers Island (most times). The threat of a Correction Officer dealing with an armed person is very rare, and there is less of a chance that person will have a firearm. On the other hand, there are more people with HIV and TB on Rikers Island than anywhere else in New York City.

As a Police Officer, the training barely qualifies a person to deal with the everyday duties as a NYC cop. A police officer has to deal with enforcement of vehicle traffic, and law all the way to the penal law; just knowing the law is one small aspect of police work. An NYC cop could be called on to respond to a terrorist attack and don a hazmat suit and evacuate the sick and injured. Gun violence is an everyday reality, and every cop knows the danger. The level of responsibility and danger of Police Officers outweighs those of Correction Officers.

The one story that makes a good point in my mind is the person who had a 250-pound tiger in his apartment in Harlem. No Correction Officer is going to be facing a tiger. I have plenty of respect for Correction Officers and the job they do, I turned a key and worked with the best COs, and the same goes for the NYPD, but in the end, I found a well-paying job in Westchester County.

AMBROSE CHAPILL Jr.

Editor's note: Mr. Chapill is a Yonkers Police Officer.