I worked really really hard for many years to achieve my dream of becoming a cop. I busted my ass in college to get a bachelors degree in CJ. I lost a bunch of weight and got in really good shape. I gained experience and training in a related field. Got to a point where I was the #1 applicant for a PD. Got the conditional offer. Then I took the polygraph. The examiner and everyone else told me to be completely honest. During the examination they asked the question about sexual acts. It made me think back to when i was 11 years old. I don’t know why I did it, but on a whim, I licked my dogs thingy. Just one time and I never did it again. I started stressing out during the polygraph and decided to come clean. I thought I would be ok since they stressed honesty and told me several stories of people who came back from checkered past such as prostitution. Instead, they immediately discontinued me as an applicant and refuse to discuss the matter with me. I’ve put in for 2 agencies since then and they both discontinued me shortly after beginning my background.

I’m crushed. This was 2 years ago now, and I’ve been i living in hell since. I learned that if you did something, but nobody knows about it, to never admit to it because the polygraph examiner has no way to know. I’ve heard so many stories later of active police officers who blatantly lied about drug use and prior criminal history, got hired, and continue to work as police officers. I was stupid and gullible and let the stress of the test get to me. Now I feel like I’m blacklisted from achieving my dream. I feel like I’m being punished for being honest. Many of my friends have become cops and they don’t understand how I haven’t been able to.

I’ve tried looking at other careers to pursue but I feel like all them would be affected by mail polygraph debacle. I thought about law school but I’m afraid i can’t pass the character and fitness check. I thought about firefighting but from what I’ve seen, they have you list police and fire agencies you’ve applied to. I’ve occasionally contemplated suicide over all of this. I can’t tell anybody either.

Thank you for the reply. As far as the damage to my reputation, can you please elaborate? I’m I just crappity smacked for any future government job, or just law enforcement? Can I get into something like being an EMT or Firefighter? What about the military?

Similar thing happened to one of my friends is a military veteran he failed the background for telling the truth and then kept on getting disqualified for other agency's because they ask to put down previous agency's you have applied for. my advice to you is apply for federal law enforcement officer he works a federal law enforcement agency and they don't care where you have applied before they only care where have you worked before. one good federal agency that does not require poly and is law enforcement with 20 year retirement is the federal prison/bop.

Similar situation occurred with me