Well, in specific, an officer who works part time at Papa John's (it's sad when cops don't get paid enough that they gotta deliver pizzas to make $$$ to pay for diapers) is letting me do a ride along with him.

I think we're mostly working speed-traps, but it'll be from 2-10, and it should be very fun. Except it's going to be a tad bit warm outside ...

And I've got to wear full length pants (no shorts!) and socks and sneakers (no sandles!). Aside for those restrictions, I'm as happy as ... well, I'm as happy as ... a clam.

Anyway, details to follow. I've got to get to the station at 2:20 to meet with my friend (unless he gets assigned to "special detail", in which case I don't get to ride-along). I've never been in a police car before -- this should be fun.

Well. Okay, I got to the station at a little after two. Just in time for roll-call, had to wait in the lobby for Alboorz (the officer I was riding with).

So, we jump in this nice Crown Vic (#730), and our first stop is Valley View Farms -- he's got some questions about some fruit trees on his yard, gets 'em answered, and we go cruise down York Road.

BAM! Pickup truck with an expired registration (7/01) gets pulled over. I get nervous for a bit -- Alboorz's hand is on his gun nearly the entire time he's talking with the dude. Another unit -- #729, Thomas -- pulls up for intimidation purposes. Pickup truck dude, according to Thomas, "had been dropped on his head a few times by his mommy." Gets a ticket, and we're off, back down York, make a right on Padonia West.

Alboorze flips on his lights to pull over a pickup truck with a trailer (trailer has no tag), and we nearly get hit by some kid in a souped up Mazda who's paying more attention to his cell phone then driving. Alboorze tries to pull them both over (and the pickup/trailer dude is very willing to pull over -- heck, he's already on the side of the road), but the stupid fuck in the Mazda doesn't even realize that a police car with flashing sirens behind him means PULL THE FUCK OVER, so Alboorze lets the pickup/trailer go, floors it next to the Mazda, and screams at the kid to pull over.

Kid gets two tickets. Apparently he tells Alboorze, "I'm not from around this area..."

Off to Jenifer Rd. (a semi-side street connecting Padonia, May's Chapel, and Timonium Rds), where we rendezvous with Stephanie (Unit #728) and park on this old dirt road. Alboorze is KING of tickets. In about three hours, he manages to pull over seven people -- and get this: all for not wearing seatbelts. Idiots. Stephanie gets one or two, but she's more worried about filling out some paperwork -- well, and going to rescue some old woman who slipped and fell "and can't get up" in her apartment ...

So, finally, round 5:30ish, we all decide to drive to MacDonald's for dinner. Stephanie follows, Alboorz turns onto Greenside --

-- and promptly flips on his sirens, does a 180, and gets another guy for no seatbelt.

Finally, we're heading towards McDonald's.

Now, I'm not quite sure what sqwaked over the speakers, but fuck McD's -- the cruiser leaps onto York Rd., rubber burning, and we're flooring it south, sirens flashing, dodging cars left and right, we're on the shoulder, the middle turn lane, the oncoming traffic lane ...

Seems some dude in a pickup truck committed a "hit and run" -- hit an old guy, kept on going. And the cops got the tag number.

Hard right onto Warren Road -- speedometer reving all the way. Dodging traffic, ripping through red lights (after making sure no cars are coming), onto 83 South -- it's really amazing how there'll be a speeding cop car, lights and sirens on, and no one will move over to let it pass -- and continue down to Timonium Road.

Lights and sirens off here. We know where the dude lives, don't want to spook him. 219 Deep Dale. We find the house, we both get out, there's no one home. We talk to some neighbors -- I swear, they all thought I was a cop. How cool is that? -- and stake the place out for an hour and a half.

Thomas -- #729 -- got the call, we're the backup. They can't find the dude, anywhere. Apparently what happened, the dude in the pickup -- a Chevy Silverado, big motherfucker -- was impatient at an elderly gentleman driving in front of him. He bumped the old guy's car, the old guy pulled over, got out -- and the guy in the Silverado hit him.

Luckily, he didn't hurt him too bad. The old man didn't even go to the hospital.

Finally, an unmarked unit shows up, and me and Alboorze finally go for dinner at McDonald's. We pick it up, and go to a parking garage where we can eat in relative peace. We swing back by the station, where the desk sarge wants us to go pick him up a milkshake.

First to do, tho, there's an alarm at a guy's house. We head down there -- close to where Alboorze was nabbing people for no seat-belts -- and the owner's brother lets us in. No idea what set the alarm off, and nobody's in the house. Leave that, heading for the milkshake shop.

And by dumb fucking luck, the lieutenant spots the red pickup truck heading south on 83 ... right for Padonia Road ... which is where we're at.

Alboorze guns us into the intersection, flicks on his lights, and waits.

Four police cars pull the guy over (I'd imagine at gunpoint) right before the exit. He's arrested! Woohoo!

So, we go on, milkshake place is closed, we've got to go to First Union bank, because some dumb employee left her safe open, and the managers' got to go in to close it and make sure all's A-OK. Once that's done, we go to where the Silverado is being loaded onto a pickup truck to be taken to Police HQ in Towson. It's all part of chain of custody: until the vehicle's delivered to forensics, a cop's gotta have his eyes on it at all times.

So, we get it down without incident. Have an excellent conversation with the two forensics peeps, and head out of there back for the station, where I'm dropped off, and I head back here.

730: Did u get him?
728: 4

Or,

730: Dirt Road

(Meaning the dirt road Alboorze used to nab non-seatbelted peeps, where Stephanie rendezvoused wit' us)

Or, from the Dsk Sergeant:

Did u get my food?

It was also used to post bulletins about various things: like the dude w/ the Silverado. Apparently, he was either on meds (10-96) or intoxicated (10-55).

Oh: the guy with the Silverado will be charged with First Degree Assault and Hit and Run. And Forensics at the Garage got samples of the old guy's paint from the Silverado's front bumper (proof of collision), but fingerprints might be difficult: there's a smudge on the front grill, and possibly a print on the hood ... but the car is so dusty, that might not be a possibility. Sadly. The dude's looking at 15 years in jail. If he'd stayed on the scene, it would've looked back, but he probably wouldn't be getting charged with quite this much stuff ...

[ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: MeGotBeer ]

So did they have a 12ga. between the front seats or was it locked down in the trunk?
Sounds like they've kicked the whole donut deal too, good for them. Or were there snacks present at the scene? :-)

Did you see people looking at you with sympathy whenever you stood still or waited at a red light?

Actually, a lot of people thought I was a cop too. I've got these aviator sunglasses I was wearing, and when we were staking out the dude's house on Deep Dale, people kept coming up to me, saying "excuse me, officer, what's wrong?"