For more than five years Lt. Steve Rose has chronicled his life as a police officer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

His column, “A View from the Cop,” covers nitty-gritty and typically amusing job-related tales. These stories can be about night shifts, road rage, speeding tickets and public drunkenness—you know, the usual stuff every LEO faces.

And from time to time, he also lets us glimpse into his off-duty life in Atlanta. We take it a step further and investigate what makes this cop-turned-writer tick.

You’ve been blogging for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2005. What made you want to start blogging?

Around 2001 I started developing an extensive e-mail list of residents and businesses in north Fulton County to send out crime activity and crime-prevention information. I would list, for example, a burglary and then perhaps discuss what the victim did right or wrong. After a while, I would throw in a few insults to the crooks just to make fun of them. I do this because they don’t have a union. As far as humor goes, police work and all the crazies produce a target-rich environment.

As you know, even good information can go unnoticed if the delivery is dry and boring so I made it a point to write a short ‘war story’ or insert some sort of humor into the mix at the end.

It caught on and pretty soon I had hundreds of e-mail addresses and adding dozens more each week. The AJC reporter wrote an article on me and my e-mail reports. Shortly afterwards, they asked if they could publish some of them online and in the now defunct Northside print Edition. They did and along with crime reports, I began writing about other crime-related and non crime-related topics. I enjoyed doing it as I do today.

What have you learned from blogging for five years?

First and foremost, I’ve learned to have thick skin which is acquired over time. I wasn’t really all that familiar with blogs but soon found they are fertile grounds for cheap shots. I am still amazed what sets people off. I wrote about Tasers, something that I thought would really stir the pot, but it got less attention than I anticipated. Later, I wrote about a jaywalker who was arrested in Atlanta for disobeying the instructions of the officer. I got tons of comments on the blogs and e-mails at work. Some of the e-mails fiercely defended the man arrested and others defended the cops.

I’ve learned that you need to do your homework and always use fact checking before writing about someone. I wrote a piece on a person, and I Googled the information, took it as the gospel and published it. The information was old and incorrect, and I got a call from the person who wasn’t too happy. I felt bad about that so I spend more on checking facts I’m writing about someone.

I also have a new respect for editing and proofreading. I’m lucky. I have an editor at the AJC, and he kicks me back in line grammatically and content wise. I’d suggest anyone writing an independent blog to use a friend or two to proofread before publishing something.

Blogs are becoming more legit in the media world. I read them more now, and it is a good way to get perspective on certain topics—sometimes idiotic perspective but it gives you something to base your thoughts against.

When you pull people over, do they ever recognize you from your blog?

My street days have long since passed, but I do get recognized a good bit around Atlanta. That’s good and bad. I get a lot of “Dear Abby” e-mails from people because they read the blog. I also do the public information for the department so I get a fair amount of TV time, and people know me from both that and the blog. I get asked about the blog more and more so I assume people really spend more time on online news sources. My face is better suited for the blog than the television.

I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff. What’s the craziest?

There are a lot of “pullover” stories, but one night I pulled a car over, and the guy asked me if I knew me! “Do you know Officer Rose?” I was the only Rose in the department so I said “yes.” He went on to tell me how good friends we were until he looked at my name plate. There was a long silence, and he finally said “Where do I sign?”

I was very fond of some of the locals who were sadly not institutionalized but obviously in need of mental health. Over the years though, I got to know them. Although some didn’t like me, we had an odd but interesting relationship. Mrs. “L” believed that aliens were listening to her through her car seat so she always sat on a phone book when she drove. Although her family had money, she refused to live in her condo because she believed that Ronald Regan had the walls and appliances bugged with the help of the University of Georgia.

Mrs. “N” pushed a lawn mower—minus the engine, up and down the road every evening. “Wedgehead,” named after a car accident rearranged his head, would fake falls and choking at restaurants to get a free meal or a few bucks. He was a less than efficient burglar so he would be sent off for months. There are tons of stories about the oddities of this job.

Have you ever sported tactical pants before? What’s your uniform pant like?

We use a lot of 5.11 gear. I’ll wear BDUs a couple of times a week and have them stashed in the trunk of the car in case of call out. Our regular uniform pants are traditional polyester blend pants that most officers don’t like. All of our crime suppression and tactical officers wear the tactical pants. I love them. They’re comfortable, and you can’t have too many pockets.

What would be an ideal on-the-job pant? Do the pants you wear affect any aspect of your job performance?

I like comfort, and I think that’s more important that traditional looks. Fortunately, our chief is very innovative and believes in comfortable officers. I often wear the golf type shirt with the department logo and tac pants or khaki pants with them. Regardless of our regular job, all of us are expected to function as a first line officer in any given incident. So from time to time, we’re in the woods doing our thing whether chasing bad guys or being on a crime scene in humid, 98-degree Georgia weather. I always keep a pair in the trunk in case.

Actually, we just read one of your posts about shoplifting—do you ever see people use cargo-type pants to steal things? We assume they’ll steal things no matter what type of pants they are wearing, right?

You’re right. Talking about not having the right clothes for the job, we get shoplifters who like the “sagging” style of pants. They wear them low so they put a lot of items such as CDs or small electronics in that open space and walk out with one hand holding their pants up. We love these guys because they can’t run. Even I can catch them. Most of the time the shoplifters prefer baggy clothes, but their favorite stash area is down the front or the “forbidden zone.” They soon find out we’re not shy about pat downs.

Do you have a favorite tactical gear item or brand? What do you like about it?

The 5.11 gear that I have, I love. Jackets, rain gear and pants. I don’t have one, but I want one of those khaki vests with all of the pockets—sort of an expanded and better kind of fishing vest. It’s easier than wearing a jacket in the summer. I can hide my gun and like I said, you can’t have too many pockets.