I have learned that day shift as a police officer starts out slow, which is nice, but also quite infuriating as a new officer. You arrive to the station, check the building to make sure all is secure, and then sit in the briefing room and catch up on everyone’s life.
Then, around 11:00am, the calls start rolling in.
My first call ever taken was, humorous, to say the least. We were sitting quietly in our car when the droning of central dispatch pierced the air. “10B50 we’ve got a call of two subjects in a car at the number one gas pump of the 7-11. Reporting Party states they are having sex.” I quickly looked over to my Field Training Officer, bewildered on what I had just heard. “Oh hell yeah, lets go.” he said with a smirk on his face. 15 years on the road and such a simple call still gives him a laugh. We arrived and quickly assessed that they were not currently engaged in extra-curricular activities, but something most likely was happening (we were all teenagers once). The boy claimed he was playing his Nintendo Switch. I think the girlfriend was playing it and was using his joystick. The parents were called and showed up on scene, a nice little yelling match ensued, and the call was cleared. Back on the road.
Our next call was one that saddened me, as it involved an elderly male with Alzheimer’s that had wandered off and the wife was attempting to locate him. We began to search the area, and were very alarmed at the fact there were many bodies of water, and deep, thick woods surrounding where he was last seen; Alzheimer’s patients are often drawn to bodies of water and subsequently drown. The bloodhound unit was immediately called and was en-route. Luckily, this was not the case on this call and the man was located about a mile away at a supermarket, and the wife arrived shortly after to pick him up. He seemed to have had his mental capacities there, but little things he said had me realize he wasn’t quite there. He stated to me that he was attempting to leave his wife, as she was trying to put him in a nursing home. I don’t think he really meant it, and wrote it off has a side effect of the Alzheimer’s. I feel bad for both the man and his wife. The mind is a fickle thing.
The rest of the calls were simple things, shoplifting here, stolen bike there. We wrapped up the day with a somewhat humorous call, involving a mother and son engaged in a verbal argument. The call came in as a physical fight, and as we cruised on over to the scene, I was mentally preparing myself for my first tussle as an officer. But, it was not to be, and we quickly found out it was just an argument. But that’s about all we figured out. What the argument was over, I am still trying to discern. Drugs are bad kids.
Overall, it was a great first two days on the road, and I cannot wait to get back out there, but I am enjoying my relaxation with these next two days off.
Here’s a short list of things I learned.
- The bulletproof vest traps heat like crazy. You will come home with a soaking wet undershirt.
- Pee every chance you get, you never know when you’ll get wrapped up in a call for a long period of time.
- Don’t leave a photo-line up packet in a public restroom, your Field Training Officer will not be happy when you tell him you forgot it and have to run like hell and tell someone not to go into the bathroom you just left.
- I am terrified of becoming a victim of Alzheimer’s
- Some people’s houses smell very, very bad.
- People appreciate the small stuff, like helping one of the subjects poke a hole in the juice boxes she’s struggling with for her kids.
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