Citizens Police Academy- Scott on patrol

So the last couple of classes I am blending into one entry. We went to the CTECC which is the main communications center for all police, fire, ems, dot, fema, etc. for the greater austin/hill country area. They have one giant room which looks like the inside of the Denver airport, with all the 911 and dispatch call takers. HUGE screens with all the traffic cameras for the highways. Really interesting with a lot of action going on. We listened in on a few calls and toured the building.

But the greatest class so far was my ride along Friday from 4pm-2am. I met the officer at the South East Sub Station as he loaded up his car. Traffic cones, check. Bean Bag shooting shotgun, check. AR-15 assault rifle, check. Laptop, check. TASER, check. Loaded up, we hit the street. First call right out of the gate was two guys playing loud music and drinking in a park. Now this is East Austin, where parts are a little shady (nothing compared to Atlanta or other big cities). So we roll into this park and find two black males standing next to a G'd out Cady. As the officer directs the car in  a manner that the dash camera will record the entire deal, he says, "you might want to stay in the car until the back up officer gets here." OK?. Without the play by play, the stop went well, they poured out their beer and everyone went on their way. One thing I found funny throughout the night, is that no one carries i.d. on them. Every time he asked someone, " you got your i.d." the answer was no. come on people! who doesn't carry i.d. on them? So we spent a great deal of time driving around a loop of his sector, waiting for calls to come through. We were back up on about 5 other calls, but all in all it was a pretty quite night. He did show me all the hot spots in Austin for buying crack! I wasn't ever sure that was still a big deal, but apparently it is. Its a huge problem in this particular sector. The officer was a really nice guy, who had been on his own (no field training officer) for about a year and a half. Not your typical cop or perception of what a typical cop is. No mustache, didn't boast about roughing up people. Wasn't there to prove he was in charge, however if you push him- trust me he is in charge. He gave me a great glimpse into his personal background and why he became a cop and what it takes to do the job day in, day out. All in all, a great experience and I thank him for that.

Almost every police department will allow civilian riders and I highly recommend it. You will come away with a much different perception of what the police do and how its done. A++++++