A Thankless Job

I personally know 7 active duty police officers (5 of them are with the Topeka Police Department).  On a personal note, I wanted to be an Law Enforcement Officer for many years, but dreams changed through the years.  Following some of the recent negative press that the Topeka Police Department has received, I thought it would be a great opportunity to ride-a-long with an officer and talk about the positive.  I contacted my friend’s husband (an officer with TPD) and was told that anyone can do this, and to contact the shift commander to schedule one.

On Friday April 17, 2009, I had the opportunity to ride-a-long with an officer in the Topeka Police Department during the 2nd shift.  Our day began in the Shawnee County Courthouse.  Occasionally, officers are subpoenaed to testify in cases that they responded to.  The officers were there to testify in a domestic disturbance case, but were relieved of their duty when the victim didn’t show up.  We, then went to the station (3rd and Monroe) to get me signed in and start the shift.  During the 8 hour shift, we pulled over two speeders (and issued citations), responded to two domestic disputes, responded to a shoplifting call, filed a dog bite report, and set up a speed trap.  But there were three related calls that were most intriguing.

The most interesting calls we received during our 8 hours really monopolized our time.  The first call was a 3 car hit and run non-injury accident.  The suspect fled on foot after clipping two vehicles and hitting a light pole.  The kicker was that the car he was in wasn’t his.  The car was later reported as a breach of trust.  A little later in the evening, we were called (along with multiple cars) to a fight at an apartment complex.  This fight involved our suspect in the hit and run accident.  He, again, fled on foot before the officers were able to talk with him.  The third and final related call came in that a man was brought into the hospital ER with wounds similar to those our suspect should have sustained in the fight.  It turned out to be another man in the fight with our suspect.

There are a few things I learned in my 8 hour adventure that I want to share with everyone.

Have you ever seen a squad car parked in a parking lot and wondered what the officer was doing (and just assumed nothing)?  I have to admit, I have wondered this myself.  They are completing the loads of paperwork.  Every time they receive a call, they have to fill out a log of the call and their response.  If it requires an incident report, they have to fill it out.  If it requires a ticket, they have to fill out notes in case they are called into court.  If it is a motor vehicle accident, they have to fill out accident reports.  If there are witnesses, they have witness statements.  I am sure by now, you can see where I am going.  It is very time consuming to fill out all of the required paperwork.  Utilizing technology would create some efficiencies for the officers, but they have not yet perfected a software application to automate this paperwork.

The technology used by the police is awesome.  Each car is equipped with a computer that enables them to perform their job efficiently as possible and providing them with vital information to keep them safe.  There are map programs, call information, and databases at their fingertips (using Sprint Mobile Broadband).  During a traffic stop, information can be gained from the license plate (concerning the car) and from the drivers license (concerning the driver).  This information can help officers determine if the traffic stop could be a hostile situation (warrants, licenses suspended, etc).  The call data received by dispatchers is updated real time and provided on the computer (which can equally help ensure the safety of the officers).  Being a nerd, I was very impressed with the set-up available to officers.

I would like to take a moment and say thank you to the officer that I rode with on Friday for taking the time to show me the ropes.  I also want to thank the other men and women on duty that night for being so kind as I went on each call.  All of the men and women of TPD risk their lives daily to protect the residents of our community and do not often receive the thanks that they deserve.  They have a thankless job, and do it well.

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