Act 7: Do a Police Ride Along

Ready for action!

I feel like I need to be honest and say that I did this act Rhonda-style.  That is, I did it with purpose and with the intention to learn, but also in the safest way possible.  Don't judge!  Just because I decided I wanted to go on a Wednesday morning instead of a full moon Saturday night doesn't make this any less interesting.  Well, ok.  It doesn't make it any less interesting to me.  

First let me begin by saying that the fine folks at the Durham Police Department were extremely helpful, gracious, and accommodating when it came to setting up my ride-along.  It took a little while for my application to wend its way through the bureaucracy, but once it did, it was very easy to set an appointment.

I showed up at 8:45 on a Wednesday morning and was quickly introduced to my guide for the day, Officer Graham.  I was pleased to hear that he had actually volunteered to have me along. Turns out, he was a great partner for the day and a natural teacher.  

We began our day by wrapping some details from yesterday's patrol - an attempted suicide.  EMS and the police were able to assist the victim, saving her life.  I was surprised to hear that in addition to helping to intervene in the crisis, the PD also worked with the victim and her family to get help and support after the event.  While he was inside the sub-station speaking the the victim's family, I surreptitiously took a few police car selfies.  

I think I was pretty intimidating here...

Life in the front seat is MUCH nicer than in the back, I imagine...

From there, we headed out on patrol.  This involved cruising through the neighborhoods in North Durham and being visible.  Officer Graham did this very well.  Every neighborhood we drove through - from the upscale Treyburn to the more down trodden housing projects - he would wave and speak to pretty much everyone we saw.  He explained that this was essential to his work.  Establishing relationships with folks in the community made investigation and enforcement much easier down the road.  I got the feeling that he was invested in the people he served.  That focus on the improvement of the community was something I would hear over and over throughout my time in the car.

As we drove around, Officer Graham explained the training involved in becoming an officer.  It was no joke!  Rigorous classroom work with frequent assessments, a ride along period and later supervised duty with two different seasoned officers.  There was one final hurdle an officer had to clear before being released on his own: a community improvement project.  During the apprenticeship person, each officer was expected to observe and come up with something - a suggestion or project - that would improve the communities they serve.  (Officer Graham's idea was to better label the buildings in apartment complexes, making residences easier to find.)  More evidence of building community.

Before too long, we got a call to go help out at an accident site.  EMS was on the scene already, but our blue lights were needed to help manage traffic around the accident.  I learned that accident scenes are some the most dangerous for officers and EMS workers because motorists are either A. really nosy and too busy rubbernecking to pay attention to driving or B. not paying attention at all and on auto-pilot or absorbed in their phones.  I witnessed first-hand close calls because of both these things.  (Be careful out there, people!!!)

Every car feels like a mobile office!

After the accident was cleared, we headed back out on patrol.  While out, we found a shady spot and Officer Graham worked on his reports.  He showed me the computer system that DPD uses to manage all the reports, databases and information.  It was quite something!  We could see where all the cars on patrol were, and any time we got a call, the details for that call would automatically populate.  As we drove around, the GPS told us where we were (in case we had to report it quickly to dispatch) and what, if anything, was going on around us.

Being an officer involved driving around - a lot.  After we had been in the car for about 2 hours, a call came up at an address familiar to Officer Graham.  "Let's go stretch our legs."  The situation was an elderly gentleman who called the police to complain about a problem in his neighborhood.  When we arrived, we found another officer already on the scene.   We went inside and it was not what I expected at all!  It felt like a social call.  Officer Graham asked a few questions to ascertain what the trouble was.  (In a nutshell, kids are hoodlums.)  It became clear pretty quickly that what this citizen really needed was company.  We and the other officer stayed and chatted with him for a few minutes.  He brought out photos of his children and his grandchildren.  He told us how sad he was since his wife passed.  This was not what I imagined police work to be, but as we headed back to the car, Officer Graham explained that there was a fair bit of social work involved.  

The morning was pretty quiet, overall.  We helped direct traffic around a stranded motorist.  We drove through a few run down apartment complexes, and Officer Graham told me stories about some of the crazy things he has seen.  We talked about the biggest problem in Durham ("Gangs.  Black on black crime.") and the rising homicide rate (20 in the 7 months of this year.  Last year, we had 24 total.).  He told me about how drugs - particularly heroin - are crippling some of the neighborhoods in town.  

Almost on cue, a call came through.  There was a 24-year old man found non-responsive, a heroin overdose, at the Red Roof Inn.  As we watched the case unfold, Officer Graham explained that the drug Narcan meant that more people came back from overdoses.  While it saves the lives of the people who are in danger, apparently they are usually pretty belligerent and angry to find out their high was "ruined."  "They come to swinging," he told me.  I cringed while we headed toward the call.

However, I was saved by a fender bender!  Instead of joining the melee at the Red Roof Inn, we went to handle a minor traffic accident.  (Hooray!!!)  

That was the last call of the morning, and so we headed back to Headquarters.  "If you want some real excitement, come back at night," Officer Graham advised.  "You know, the freaks come out at night." 

Thanks.  I will keep that in mind.

As we drove back to the police station, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the folks who are out on patrol every day and night, keeping us safe.  They see the best and, more often, the worst of human behavior.  They have to react on a moment's notice to a wide range of situations - alternately being calming and nurturing or authoritative and menacing - or something in between.  They put themselves in danger every day, and they do it with a sense of pride and concern for the community they serve.  The teacher in me understands where that calling comes from, and the scaredy-cat in me greatly appreciates that they do it, so I don't have to.  

Still, I have to admit, it was kinda badass to get to pretend for a day.