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. Read the rest of this entry »