throwawayforLEOstuff

I'm not OP. Just bored with an existing throwaway. The more answers, the better, right?

...I just like answering questions.

You don't pay the fine when you're given the citation, and unless you fight it, you're not going to see him/her again for that same issue.

Also, it's a free country, but I can't imagine any officer taking you up on it. It's a little...out there.

For the record: I've never shot anyone. It's not a prospect I take lightly, but I think it would be weird to volunteer for this job if you felt it were never justified to use deadly force on someone.

Depends upon the department. The Texas Highway Patrol, for example, requires an associate's degree or equivalent amounts of Law-Enforcement or Military experience. Some Sheriffs Offices have much lower standards. Generally, the bigger the pool of applicants a department can draw from, the more demanding of education they can be.

As for pay, that varies wildly, with base salaries from under $30k to departments that push $70k for rookies. Obviously, the more experience and brass you have the higher the salary. It's not uncommon to see veteran officers earning over $100k in large departments.