The Bully Behind the Badge: An Explorative Study of Bullying Behavior in American Federal Law Enforcement: An Examination of Former Officers' Perceptions Regarding the Problem

The purpose of this phenomenological research project was to study and review through naturalistic inquiry, the perceptions of former federal agents and officers as to whether they believe they were bullied at their workplace, and if so, what did those participants do to cope or adjust to the bullying behavior. Multiple sources for data collection were deployed to explore and examine whether former agents perceive they were bullied at work and what mechanisms those employees found were helpful as coping strategies. This research project used a non-random, purposeful sample selected from contacts established through the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. The participant samples included eight former federal agents and/or officers identified as Special Agents, no longer employed by their respective federal law enforcement agencies. Interviews, literature review and document analysis incorporating audio-recorded interviews of unstructured, and open-ended interview questions of each participant in a one-on-one setting, was utilized.