Police Ride Along?

[Dave_L]

I did a search and nothing came up so I apologize if this has been discussed before.

Has anyone ever done one? If so, what was it like? Completely boring or actually kind of interesting?

For any LEO's, how do you feel about ride alongs? Is it annoying to have a civilian in the car with you?

Just kind of curious about it. I thought it might give a new perspective if you could see it from their point of view.

[Irving]

Mostly boring, but not necessarily. Helps if you know the officer before hand. I got to clear a house and write a ticket. At the end of the day a call came over the radio about a bank robbery in progress. I got all excited but the officer just blew it off and said most of the time it is just a false alarm.

I thought you were looking to become a cop, and I was going to tell you to go talk to Doogie so he could refresh you of how his career as a LEO went.

[kwando]

Good thing cop cars are not manual transmissions!

I spoke with someone that got their POST and said they were having a hard time getting on the force. Prob budget related.

[DingleBerns]

It's only annoying when I get a 16 year old who is doing it because he/she wants/has to. Doesn't ask any questions, doesn't respond to my questions, and doesn't seem interested. Yes it can be boring but you can't make a robbery happen. If your looking to get in or want to know more about what goes on, then do it.

[Big Wall]

I did a ride along with my brother in Idaho Springs. We aided the county with a felony arrest, had a shots fired call and wrote a lot of tickets. Considering it was a Monday night in a small town, it wasn't too boring. It was very interesting to see that side of things.

[brokenscout]

I know some guys that get a ride along to detox a lot of weekends JK curious also. does State Patrol do ride alongs

[Dave_L]

Mostly boring, but not necessarily. Helps if you know the officer before hand. I got to clear a house and write a ticket. At the end of the day a call came over the radio about a bank robbery in progress. I got all excited but the officer just blew it off and said most of the time it is just a false alarm.

I thought you were looking to become a cop, and I was going to tell you to go talk to Doogie so he could refresh you of how his career as a LEO went.

Eh, It's crossed my mind but I'm pretty happy with my gig now. Law enforcement is just an interest at this point.

[OneGuy67]

Speaking as a LEO, it depended on the person in the car with me. Most come with expectations and some with unrealistic ones. Some are there for the wrong reasons. I always recommend ride alongs, especially if they are coupled with a citizen's academy. I personally enjoyed the education part of the ride along; to educate someone about what I did and why. Some cops feel they need to entertain the ride along person and thus, go do things they normally do not, like constant traffic stops, or go call to call to provide an impression of being continually busy. The truth is, a lot of time we end up taking calls for service and handle cold calls, simple criminal reports that are boring to the onlooker. The officer shouldn't be putting the rider in a position in which they may be endangered, so having them "clear a house" isn't wise or prudent. Having a rider write a ticket is asinine.

[Irving]

The officer shouldn't be putting the rider in a position in which they may be endangered, so having them "clear a house" isn't wise or prudent. Having a rider write a ticket is asinine.

That's what I thought about clearing the house. The ticket wasn't a traffic stop, it was just some car that had been sitting in front of some house for 3 days and needed to be moved. I just wrote the ticket out of the book, no contact with anyone at all.

As far as the house, a lady came home to find her door open and unlocked, she strongly suspected it was just her kids being irresponsible, but wanted to be safe. The officer I was with called for another officer and we waited out front till he arrived. I thought for sure I'd be standing in the driveway with the lady, but they had me come in with them. I was pretty surprised by that. They basically had me stay a few steps behind them as they went through the house and made sure no one was in there. On a side note, that house had been built onto several times over the years and was like a fun house maze. I'd hate to be on a dynamic entry team having to clear that house for real.

[Sawin]

I've gone on several ridealongs with an officer friend of mine. The paper work after an arrest is the only boring part IMO. There is one thing that bothers me first and foremost though, and that was their department's policy that ride along passengers cannot carry any weapons... I've had to lock my ccw in my car safe each time, which I really find ridiculous.

When I've gone, it has always been for the night shift... I've been a witness to numerous traffic stops, several domestics, one suicide watch, a couple altercations at local watering holes (drunk belligerent retards), one vandalism call, one vehicle-broken-into call, but only a single arrest. During the shifts I was present, many other calls occurred but other officers responded. The last time I went, I had to be dropped off at the station for a report of shots fired. First on scene found 9mm and .40 cases, confirming it was a back-and-forth, but no contact with perps, so I got picked right back up...

All in all, it's a great way to experience the gig, to bond with an LEO friend, and as far as I'm concerned it can be a very cheap and entertaining Friday night! If any LEO's on here would like a friendly passenger one Friday or Saturday night, and doesn't have a dept policy against me carrying concealed, I'd love to tag along sometime. I'll ride the whole shift or half, whichever you'd rather. Just shoot me a pm.