The following essay was written in 2020 by Police1 columnist Chris Littrell, detailing the experiences he shared with his daughter, Danielle, who just like Chris, grew up as a cop’s kid. Tragically, on July 2, 2024, Danielle, 23, was killed in an automobile collision. She was riding her scooter to work, trying to reduce her carbon footprint, wearing her helmet, and traveling in the correct lane. The driver of a truck came to a stop at a stop sign. Unfortunately, he didn’t see her and drove into the intersection. We share this essay in honor of Danielle and as a tribute to all the children of police officers.
Some of my most vivid memories growing up took place in the front seat of a police car, witnessing high-speed driving, domestic disputes, homicide scenes and much more. Even simple roll call gatherings, complete with the joking and jesting between officers, made my eyes open a little wider and my heart rate increase ever so slightly. Cops had the best job in the world!
Growing up as a cop’s kid was both remarkable and terrifying at the same time. I had an all-access pass to the heroic, dangerous, adrenaline-filled life of a police officer. I also learned at an early age that my dad’s job was truly perilous.
Years later, I followed in my father’s footsteps by becoming a police officer at the same agency. When I believed she could handle the experience, I started taking my oldest daughter on ride-alongs.
I recently sat down with my daughter to discuss the lessons we learned from ride-alongs with Dad, only to discover that we learned some of the same lessons, 22 years apart. Here are the three lessons we learned as a cop’s kid.
1. We live in a dangerous world
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” — Albert Einstein
Chris: Surprisingly both of our first experiences in the passenger seat of a police car included investigating a crime of extreme violence. The year was 1991. I was 12 years old. We had a seemingly uneventful ride-along, but that didn’t matter to me. I was thrilled to be in the police car with my dad. We had just stopped for our dinner break when dispatch alerted us of shots fired at a local bar. We were only a minute away and arrived first on the scene. The victim was in a passenger car with his friends, who knew he only had moments to live and were driving him to a nearby hospital. I watched as the sea of spectators surrounded my dad. He was alone. Now I was alone. My eyes were big, my heart was racing. This was crazy dangerous!
Danielle: Fast forward to 2013, and another first ride-along is taking place. I am sitting in my dad’s rig only minutes after leaving the station, and we are responding to the scene of a stabbing at a local grocery store. The entire day was a whirlwind. Our conversation was light, and the time between calls was short. As the ride-along seemed to be winding down, my dad said we were going to make one more attempt at finding the suspect in the stabbing case. His gang name was Silence. Dad pulled up to Silence’s mother’s apartment and instructed me to stay in the car. Moments later, two officers were escorting a rugged, grimacing, and very scary Silence out in handcuffs. As he passed by my dad’s car, we made eye contact. I was frozen, frightened in my seat. Never had I met eyes with someone who had done such a malicious act.
2. Taking action in fear
“Like every creature, you can know when you are in the presence of danger. You have the gift of the brilliant internal guardian that stands ready to warn you of hazards and guide you through risky situations.” — From “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin DeBecker
Chris: We live in a dangerous world, and it is really scary sometimes, especially for 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds. However, when faced with fear, we both learned the importance of taking action. The event that drove this lesson home for me was at the homicide scene. As my dad got surrounded by a chaotic crowd, I quickly locked my door. This was my only way to protect myself in a crazy, scary situation. I didn’t know if the suspect was in the crowd. I didn’t know what was going to happen to my dad. I took action in a small way, but that experience has stuck with me for the rest of my life. Regardless of the danger I have seen, I have learned to take action based on my training and to trust my instincts.
Danielle: Taking action out of fear can also be seen on a large scale. After getting out of the sixth hour at my high school one spring day, I crossed the street to wait for my mom at the library. My favorite way to wait for a ride home was to sit outside with a new book spread open on my lap. Suddenly, there was a small commotion in front of me. I looked up, and to my horror, two high school-aged boys had pulled out knives and were circling each other. I slowly looked around at the other adults present. They all rushed past, not helping me and certainly not helping the situation. I slowly placed my book in my backpack, worried that if the boys spotted me hurrying away, they would turn their aggression toward me. Heart pounding, I walked slowly around the corner of the building. The moment I was out of eyesight, I called 9-1-1. After explaining the situation, I suddenly broke into tears. “I’m Officer Littrell’s daughter,” I managed to say right as two police cars pulled up and apprehended the boys. This situation was very frightening, so much so that the adults standing by simply dragged their kids along and didn’t attempt to de-escalate the fight. Taking action in this situation took all the courage I could muster, but it was ultimately what needed to be done.
3. Not every suspect is evil
Chris: Growing up, I played games like cops and robbers and watched cop movies that showed heroic officers chasing after sinister bad guys. I concluded that my dad arrested bad people. That first ride-along definitely affirmed this idea; shooting another person dead in the middle of the street earns the title of a really bad dude. However, I also saw my dad arrest people who did not seem all that bad. They did some bad things, but I came to find out that regular people make poor choices sometimes. Life is complicated. Those memorable nights in the front seat of a squad car taught me about accountability, justice and grace. I also concluded that my dad had a pretty cool job.
Danielle: “You can get out of the car for this one, Dani,” my dad said. My stomach leaped into my throat when Dad said this. It was a simple call. A woman, who had a warrant out for her arrest, had been spotted at her house. Those 50 steps from the car to the front door were agonizing. I had no idea what to expect. Dad knocked sharply three times. I stood there, expecting a dangerous-looking person to open the door. Instead, the door opened, and a young woman dressed in nice clothes and a smile stood there. Upon seeing my dad in his uniform, she knew exactly why we were there.
“Hello, sir, would you mind not handcuffing me in front of my nephews?” she asked.
This simple comment humanized her to me. I had always imagined the “bad guy” to be inherently evil. However, by recognizing that she had a home, a sister and nephews, I realized she was not too different from me. She just made a bad decision. This changed my view of criminals from that day on. Everyone messes up. Sometimes it may be a minor mistake. Sometimes it leads to a warrant. It is vital to remember that everyone is a person behind whatever law or rule they broke.
Lessons we caught
“More is caught than taught.” — Unknown author
Chris and Danielle: These experiences either taught us new truths about the law enforcement profession or provided a platform to practice important skills. Recognizing the danger in the world enabled us to learn how to operate amid fear. Taking action out of fear then opened our eyes to those we thought we should be afraid of. However, we both quickly discovered that not every person who gets apprehended has evil intent. These lessons were never directly told to us; they were learned through real-world experiences.
Being the child of a cop allows a unique sense of security, knowing that your parent can protect you if something goes wrong. Neither of us would change our parent’s occupation if given the opportunity. Despite the fear we felt whenever we saw a catastrophe on the news and knew that “Dad” was at the scene, we learned so much. This experience can be a scary one, but by learning from the fear and taking away lessons from the stories we have heard, we have grown stronger and smarter by being cop’s kids.
