DUI Patrol Shift

I had my first patrol shift the other night. It was an 8 hour shift and our mandate for the night was to arrest DUI drivers.

My partner asked me what I was comfortable with doing and I told her I wanted to do as much as she was comfortable with me doing. I really wanted to jump in and learn as much as possible. So I ended up running the radio and doing 90% of the paperwork.

I did not really have a problem with the radio and the area we were patrolling I grew up in, so I pretty much knew where I was the whole night. The paperwork was about what I expected, there was quite a bit to remember and there are so many unwritten rules that I am going to have to create cheat sheets to keep it all straight in the future.

So here is what I took from my experience the other night. I don't know shit. People have told me that your academy training is necessary, but your training does not really begin until you are out on the street. This became very clear to me as I was struggling to keep up with my partner during the night. She kept a fast and furious pace that kept my head spinning.

Now, I have been on many ride-a-longs as a civilian where some pretty crazy shit happened, but with the uniform on I have responsibilities and I was at high alert for over eight hours. To say that I was exhausted after eight hours of patrol would be an understatement.

In the academy they teach you how to properly exit a vehicle and do everything you need to do to keep you and your partner safe. It goes something like this for the passenger seat. Take off your seatbelt, turn on the spotlight and point it at one of the mirrors of the vehicle in front of you...etc. Now twice I went to get out of the vehicle and was jerked back because I still had my seatbelt on. I don't think my partner noticed, but I felt like a moron both times. I quickly realized that when you are sitting in a seat with a vest on you can't feel the seatbelt. So you don't realize you still have your seatbelt on. It is the little things.

We nabbed two drunk drivers, wrote 4 citations, did 6 traffic stops and one pedestrian stop. It was a full night when you consider that each DUI arrest lasted 3+ hours to write all the paper, tow the cars and conduct the investigation.

The good news is that I learned quite a bit and did not make any big mistakes. I pretty much just followed my partners lead and stayed hyper aware.

This weekend I have my first patrol shift where I will be working an area and responding to calls of service, domestic violence, loud music, fights...etc. So any comfort level I procured doing traffic stops will not apply. To say that I am looking forward to it would be the understatement of the year. It will be a long week.

Don't reach for an officer's weapon.

Ok, so I am at a concert last week and some drunken moron walks up to me and starts talking to me about how his cousin's brother's former roommate is a cop and at some point of the conversation he decides it is a good idea to touch my expandable baton. I am not sure why he did this, but let me enlighten you on my thought process and very discreet actions. He never noticed being alcohol soaked.

Step 1:
Man reaches forward towards my baton...my hand goes on my 40 caliber sidearm and I think, "Is he really reaching towards my baton?"

Step 2:
Man touches baton...my thumb on my weapon hand opens up my holster and unlatches it as my left hand holds on to my baton and I think, "Ok, don't panic, he is just drunk and a jackass."

At this point I am also thinking about step 3 where he closes his hand on my baton and starts to pull. My weapon would have come out of my holster and he would have been pistol pointed.

I don't know this guy from Adam. So I don't know what his intentions are and I still don't. I was too shocked that he even did that to ask him what the hell he was thinking. I am just telling you what was going on in my head when he did that.

What have we learned from this folks? Don't touch an officer's weapons...ever! I am not sure if it would be more or less dangerous if the officer in question wasn't a rookie and a bit jumpy from all the horror stories he had just heard in the academy. If you do, chances are I am thinking of ways I may have to kill you if you somehow are able to get out my baton and start swinging.

In general, while I am on duty and in uniform I do not like to be touched by people I don't know. If I am working and you walk up behind me and grab me by the shoulder to get my attention, don't be suprised if I do not look happy to see you. You probably just sent a little adrenalin shot through me and took a year off my life.

Rookies are jumpy. =)

Newbie

So I have been working now as a sworn peace officer for a few weeks now and I am just starting to feel like a police officer. The first couple of shifts I had I kind of felt like an imposter or just someone along for the ride. It has nothing to do with the people I work with or my training officer, it is just how I felt being in uniform.

Most of my shifts so far have been special events and airport duty with a patrol shift thrown in there. I think the airport has been my best learning experience so far as the training only lasted 2 days and then I was let loose to wreak havoc. There is really to that much to do at the airport and it is not very complicated.

So my first shift where I really dealt with the public was a concert. Myself and a more experienced officer walked around the concert for 8 hours responding to calls of service (if we could hear the radio) and monitored the alcoholics.

Being that this was my first experience walking around a public area with my uniform and bat belt, it turned out to be a very surreal day. I don't think my hands ever left the vicinity on my weapon for fear of some drunken a-hole grabbing my weapon. In the academy the TAC staff or drill instructors are constantly trying to take your weapons off of your duty belt and if they succeed you pay dearly. So the thought kept popping into my head all day even though logically I knew that it would not happen.

The other thing I am just getting used to is people coming up to me and asking me questions like I have all the answers. Now, at the airport after only working 3 shifts there I pretty much know where everything is, but at the concert I had no friggin' clue where anything was. The good news was that my partner had no more of a clue than I did.

I haven't really done anything super exciting yet, but that is probably a good thing while I am just getting used to being in uniform. I have yelled at a few people and threatened citations, which I cannot write until I get the training, but they don't know that.

I do have to say that everyone I have met at the department has been really cool and patient with my stupid questions. I learn quick, so I am sure that helps.

I will post more as more exciting things happen. I am sure it is just a matter of time as I have some patrol shifts coming up.