Sheriff Ride Along

A while back I did a 10 hour sheriff ride-along, which I was supposed to do way back in November along with the ambulance and helicopter ride-alongs.  Better late than never I suppose.  And I really wish I had written about this immediately after the fact because it was SUCH A COOL DAY.  It was very intriguing.  My brother is in law enforcement and Stephen is going into it as well so I had a heck of a time time telloing them both about it.

So I show up to the station and get assigned to an officer for the day.  Turns out he's the husband of one of the PA's I work with!  Day's off to a good start already!  So the first thing we do is prepare for a search warrant.  There's only 1 or 2 of those that come through every couple weeks, so luck is on my side!  The officers plan their route of attack so as not to be seen arriving.  And off we go in 3 cop cars and 2 under-cover cars.  Our target: marijuana plants in a 2nd story apartment building.  Everyone gets out of their cars and draws their guns.  I'm told to hang back until it's all clear.  Now the adrenaline is going and I'm thrilled yet frightened at the same time.  Up the stairs they go with another officer on the ground to watch the back window making sure no flee attempt is made.  And there I stand.... all alone.

After 10 minutes or so, I'm given the clear and invited up into the apartment, where there are 2 people handcuffed on the couch.  One of the officers takes me into the back bedroom and a potent smell hits me.  There's a 3 level wire shelving unit with 15 or so marijuana plants, lined with aluminum on all sides to reflect the light from the bulbs hanging up top.  Never have I seen such a thing.  BUSTED.  Well..... not so much.  Turns out someone in the house has a medical marijuana card.  WHICH, I had no idea meant that you could grow your own.  Turns out you can.  BUT, we did make a detention center stop to drop off the handcuffed victims for other crimes.

After that, it was all sorts of fun.  There was a limping dog in the middle of the road that we stopped for, called animal control, and waited until they came to pick him up -- the dog was an accident risk.

Then we got a call saying someone suspicious was seen close to the McDonald's so we pulled an "area check," but nothing was to be seen.  Except for a quick pit stop at McDonald's.

Next, we caught someone driving with a suspended license.

Then, without a license plate.

Then we got a call for domestic violence.  The victim was in the ER with a busted lip.  So we went to hear the story, make some notes, then went back to the apartment to take pictures for evidence.  So again, I hung back while the officer drew his gun and searched the apartment before giving me the clear.  And back to the bedroom he went to snap photos while I waited in the living room, all the while SUPER nervous the perpetrator was going to walk through the front door and say, "Hey, who are you?!"  Of course, the wind blowing the blinds was unsettling my nerves.  Off we went and the officer put out a warrant for the arrest.

Let me tell you, it was an EXCITING day.  Much more so that I can do justice here.  I learned a ton too.  Apparently it's illegal to hang anything from your rearview mirror.  It's also a misdemeanor to sit on the side of the road with a sign saying "homeless" asking for money.  It's also a misdemeanor if anyone comes up to you in the parking lot asking for money.  From most serious to least: murder, manslaughter, mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence.  Mayhem is defined as any physical disfigurement.

The officer was running license plates left and right on suspicious cars while he was driving.  It will pull up where the car is registered, if registration is current, and who the owner is.  Sometimes, he says he recognizes names that way of people that have warrants out for their arrest.

The other part that kinda scared me during the day was that the officer told me any time we pulled a car over, I was to take my seatbelt off and crack my door open.  That way if any shooting started taking place, I could book it.  "I'm 99.9% sure that's not going to happen, but just in case."  What did I get myself into?? Good thing his 99.9% guesstimate proved correct!

Just wish I could do another day....