Quoted: We then did some street patrol through a newer neighborhood.  A lot of people leave their garage doors open and end up getting burglarized because of it.  There was a big UT/Ohio game tonight and we rolled up on one house that had their LCD projector outside and was showing the game off their garage door.  Looked pretty sweet.  We stayed and watched a few minutes and then rolled along.

You mean you didn't arrest him for publicly displaying the game without the expressed written consent of the NFL and Fox Sports?

Quoted: Quoted: We then did some street patrol through a newer neighborhood.  A lot of people leave their garage doors open and end up getting burglarized because of it.  There was a big UT/Ohio game tonight and we rolled up on one house that had their LCD projector outside and was showing the game off their garage door.  Looked pretty sweet.  We stayed and watched a few minutes and then rolled along. You mean you didn't arrest him for publicly displaying the game without the expressed written consent of the NFL and Fox Sports?

Welcome to our world. Glad that you rode out and got to experience some of what we deal with on a daily basis.

Some of it can be very rewarding...some not.

Great story, thanks!

So, who bought the donuts??  

Ride-a-longs are fun and very important to see what actually happens in your town/city. Its an eye opener.

Glad you had fun.
Be careful man, ride alongs are how I got into doing the cop thing.

Sounds like an exciting night! I'm still waiting to hear back from the watch commander for my ride along (any day now..) though I doubt that we'll have as eventful an evening in Walnut Creek

You didn't get to shoot any dogs?

Did they let you CHL?

Rhetorical, at best...

Quoted: You didn't get to shoot any dogs?

My PD used to have an Explorer post and the ride-along gang was pretty diverse and interesting. they usually had some pretty good questions and had some fresh insight into some things as well. The guy who headed that effort. Det. Sgt. Jeff Fender succombed to his cancer nad passed away a couple of weeks ago. He is very much missed and filling the position he held will be hard.

I had a little bit of a new perspective as well for the last couple of nights. As senior patrolman on my shift I've been OIC for the last few days while the Lt and Sgt are on vacation. As such I occasionally assist in dispatch. Tonight was kinda busy. Not from volume just with the effort put into the calls received. I used to dispatch (11 years ago, GOD I'm old) and lots has changed.

Anyway, we get a phone call about a boat that may be taking on water out in one of the Bays of Lake Sakakawea. no real directions just what I typed. It's from a frantic mother whose daughter and kids are on the boat. They were notified by a message left on a machine two hours before the call. the cell connections suck out there but after several calls I gte ahold of the woman on the boat. They are fine but they hit a tree and can't move. Long story short. After spending the next hour coordinating State Radio with Game and Fish and a few of the local fisherman LEO who know the spot, they get picked up.

Then, I get a 911 from a poor girl whose father-in-law is unresponsive. They brought him home with simple orders to "keep him as comfortable as possible" from doc. Now he's unconcious and breathing shallow. While trying to route the ambulance to this poor girl we get this total assface who keeps callin on 911 about a frickin' porcupine. We finally tell him that game and Fish are busy and that we'd give a message to animal control.

Well, it went on like that for about 4 hours. Sucko. to make matters worse we have a new patrolman who believes he's god's gift to traffic enforcement. HE'S CALLING IN A TRAFFIC STOP WHILE WE ARE ON 911. Not an accident, just a minor equipment thing. He runs traffic all damn day and never gives dispatch a moments peace. Now, I know why they want him beaten.

Oh well, looking forward to get back on the street for a little sanity.

Quoted: Quoted: You mean you didn't arrest him for publicly displaying the game without the expressed written consent of the NFL and Fox Sports? hr No, but he did mark the spot on his map so he can go back and watch next week.  heevery day is different.  With my job (software development), every day is the same.  Understaffed and underbudgeted, I don't know how you guys do it, but you have my respect.

Not really.  It's all the same in different packaginghey  According to the experts that troll around here tickets are only a revenue generating excercise..

Glad you enjoyed it.   I left Telecommunications for this job.  Miss the money.   However the job is Fun with a capital F.

Quoted: Sounds like an exciting night! I'm still waiting to hear back from the watch commander for my ride along (any day now..) though I doubt that we'll have as eventful an evening in Walnut Creek

Ask your RAL officer about their last fatal BG shooting.  A guy that went through my academy shot and killed a guy a week off of FTO during an alarm call in Walnut Creek.

Later got fired for an unrelated incident.

With my job (software development), every day is the same. Understaffed and underbudgeted,

Every ride along I have been on with several different departments was way undermanned and underbudgeted.  There have been many nights where we got called out of shift briefing and came back a couple of hours after the shift ended.  Thank god the jails have bathrooms to use

Quoted: I'm posting this here both to share and also so I can remember everything while it's still fresh in my mind. Picked up at 9pm at the Travis Co. Sheriff dept.  The officer drove for a bit then found a place behind a newly built strip mall to finish a report about a stolen vehicle, but it turns out the vehicle wasn't stolen and it was a false report, so someone is getting charged. We then did some street patrol through a newer neighborhood.  A lot of people leave their garage doors open and end up getting burglarized because of it.  There was a big UT/Ohio game tonight and we rolled up on one house that had their LCD projector outside and was showing the game off their garage door.  Looked pretty sweet.  We stayed and watched a few minutes and then rolled along. After a bit more patroling, we finally get a call about a landlord harrasing a tenant.  Once we get there and investigate, it turns out to be more of a lover's quarrel than anything.  Pretty minor call, so we head to 7-11 to grab some snacks. While hanging out at 7-11, we get a call that there's a swimmer missing at Lake Travis, so we HAUL ASS over there.  This guy could drive 95 while typing with one hand and also calmly make and responding to radio calls.  I'm impressed. We arrive at the lake and it turns out that the incident happened waaaay out on the lake, so one of the LCRA LEOs comes out, we hop in his boat and head out.  It's about 2am by now and we're flying across the lake and it's pitch black.  Once we arrive on scene, we get the rest of the story.  Group of peope on a boat, the guys decide they need to take a leak, so they jump in and one of them disappears.  Intoxicated, at night, in 112ft of water without a lifejacket on.    We spent some time looking for a body but nothing turned up and we headed back in. That pretty much covers it!  Awesome experience and I've love to do it again.

He'll pop up one of these days---AND STINK!!!

GR

I'd have to say the best part sounds like the dude's game.

I would have rolled up and been like

"There have been reports of loud noises and bright flashes coming from your garage sir.  We also got a call in from NCAA and ABC.  It seems that since you don't have rights to broadcast the game, AND we are getting complaints, I'm going to have to confiscate your audio/video equipment for evidence and issue you a warning....

It appears I'm out of warning slips...and since I don't want to ticket you, I'll just take the audio/video equipment and we'll call it even....gnight....

Pete...can you carry the projector or do you need help?"

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Pete..trying to decide if I should tell him about "prison food". Ahh nevermind. Hehe, maybe I don't want to know.   Nope..you don't.

Fried bologna on thursdays....