Those cops are done, what do you expect for $35k and a GED?
Most any cop in a major city is making six figures.
You really are an idiot.
The mean MPD salary is $60k-$64k, depending on which source you believe.
You don't hit 6 figures in Denver, CO until you are a detective or sergeant. Mean salary there, $70k.
Los Angeles: $63k
St Louis,.Mo: $56k
Seattle, Wa: $61k
I could go on and on. Generally speaking, and salary over about $80k falls outside of the 90th percentile.
Starting salary for a police officer here in a mid sized city is about $65k plus full benefits and goes up from there. Average is about $80k. Same with fire fighters. I know because I work with them every day. If you were to monetize the benefits, it would be like $100k without benefits.
Here in Seattle it takes all of 3 1/2 years to earn $100k, not including OT and side hustles.
Entry Level Salary Once you become a sworn police officer, the salary schedule is as follows:
Sworn Police Salary Scale
STEP HOURLY MONTHLY ANNUAL STEP 1 (Sworn Ofc.) $40.06 $6,970 $83,640 STEP 2 (6 Months) $42.96 $7,475 $89,700 STEP 3 (18 Months) $44.91 $7,814 $93,768 STEP 4 (30 Months) $46.64 $8,115 $97,380 STEP 5 (42 Months) $48.98 $8,522 $102,270 STEP 6 (54 Months) $52.45 $9,126 $109,512 Overtime and compensatory time is paid at time and 1/2, with a 3-hour minimum for court and off-duty call outs.
Truth of the matter is, the median take-home pay for the VAST MAJORITY of big city LEO is under $100k. In Seattle, the MEDIAN PAY is far under $100k.
It's not really something that can be disputed - the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics (and any city LEO website I looked at) lays it out pretty simply.
If you guys want to tack on "side gigs" and "120 hours of OT a week" and "lawn mowing jobs on Saturday" to get over that $100k number, knock yourselves out, I don't really care. I'm not going to argue that some cops work 120 hour weeks to get that pay up over 6 figures, because clearly there are overtime outliers and the random Bar Mitzvah security details.
I was simply pointing out that Deflave's comment that most cops in the city pull down 6 large is far from the truth.
The DIPCHIT ADD, after a morning of drinking:
You despair, repeatedly, constantly! daily basis? A despair ninny. Sack up, despire ninny.