Pittbug Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 As part of an education course I'm going to be doing a ride-along in a couple of weeks. I know we have a bunch of LEO people on the forum, so I was hoping to get some tips. Is there a particular shift that's more fun/less desirable for the volunteer and for the cop? Any tips on what to/what not to do? Feel free to share some stories. This is one my father-in-law told me about. He took a volunteer out one time in his patrol car. During the course of the night they ended up doing a traffic stop on a car loaded with shady looking youths in a bad part of town. As he's walking over to approach the driver he hears thud thud behind him. He turns around and saw that the volunteer was cowering inside and had locked the doors, locking him out of his own car! After that incident he dropped him off at the outpost and told him never to get in his car again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitman Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Dont get in the way. You are not a cop. Make sure you know how to operate the radio to call in an officer down should this arise. And on the off chance something like that happens, know where the remote keyless release is (if there is one) for the shotgun, or trunk release it its kept there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airic Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Whenever I have a ride-along, they usually have to sign some paperwork and meet with me before the night they go out. If you have to do that, it would be a good time to ask a lot of questions. As for which shift is the most fun to ride along on....that's really dependent on a lot of things like day of the week and what part of the city you are in. I always thought the evening shift had the best "buffet" of calls on any given day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbarr Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I always thought the evening shift had the best "buffet" of calls on any given day. I'm sure I'd call it something else. A.T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmap Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Just do what you are asked to do and nothing more. It is a good idea to know how to use the radio also. Most evening or night shifts will have more action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Nesbitt Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 10 PM to 3 AM most any Friday or Saturday night. It's better if there is a full moon. Check and see if you can carry your Surefire light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcarter Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Evening is the best time. Make sure you have a flashlight and you are wearing something nice. No t-shirt and jeans. I get riders all the time and I love to play jokes on them. I won't go into details but let me just say that I have a lot of fun with riders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Evening is the best time. Make sure you have a flashlight and you are wearing something nice. No t-shirt and jeans. I get riders all the time and I love to play jokes on them. I won't go into details but let me just say that I have a lot of fun with riders. You wouldn't mess with a local squad mate now would you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pittbug Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 Evening is the best time. Make sure you have a flashlight and you are wearing something nice. No t-shirt and jeans. I get riders all the time and I love to play jokes on them. I won't go into details but let me just say that I have a lot of fun with riders. Dan We have a class t-shirt that we have to wear. You can pm me the details if you like I'll definitely bring a flashlight, thanks for the tips. Before we go out we'll be hanging out with the 911 call center, probably so we can learn some basic radio lingo and protocol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halogrinder Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 if your a CDL holder, can you carry? i always wanted to do a ride along with an officer. i would love to do it, but i cant justify 1/2 of a yearly pay drop from what im making now. maybe when the wife's mary kay business is hoppin i can do what i want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Nesbitt Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Stories huh? OK. Not exactly a ride along story. I was working as a Reserve Officer for a small local PD. Reserves are volunteers that have been through academy and have arrest powers. I had only been working there for a short while but one of the full time officers decided to "trust" me to take his brand new cruiser to pick up some pizza. His last words were "be careful with his cruiser". I stopped at the first red light exactly 1/2 block from the PD. A gentleman oozed to a stop directly under the light when it changed. He looked over, spotted the cruiser and floored it and took off. The officer back at the PD about had a heart attack when I radioed "in pursuit". He just knew I was going to wreck his new cruiser. As it happened the chase was only 3 blocks long when the genius went down a dead end street and ran into a bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 All I can tell you is that 3 minutes into my first ride along with the Texas Highway Patrol in 1991, I was absolutely hooked for life I fell in love with law enforcement that night and have never looked back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaShooter Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) Back when I was the real police my Sgt told me during roll call that I had a ride along that night. Not very happy with that announcement as I didn't like other people in the car with me. Anyway it was a slow night (middle of the week on the 1pm-1am shift) and nothing was going on. We went to grab something to eat with some other co-workers and sure enough all hell broke lose. Right in the middle of dinner the tone goes off for a armed robbery a few miles away. We go running out of the restaurant and start hauling ass to the call. We end up getting in a vehicle pursuit down I-95 for about 20 miles and then a foot pursuit. The ride along stayed in the car during the foot pursuit. I had my ass chewed out by Sgt for being involved in the pursuit with a ride along. Apparently I should have told the guy to stay at the restaurant. Oops!!! That ride along has now been with that department for 4 years and is loving it. I went to the Feds and always miss the good old days!!!!!!! As far as advice- The ride along wore a vest, knew our car number and how to use the radio and also how to unlock the shotgun. Do what your told, observe and keeps your lips zipped when you are on a call with the officer. Oh yeh have fun!!! Edited September 5, 2009 by NovaShooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobert1 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Went on a ride along that I won on a local PBS auction years ago. I was only allowed out of the unit twice. Once to eat and the other so both of us could take a pee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 if your a CDL holder, can you carry? I'm sure that will vary depending upon the agency/department, but I'd be surprised if many/any allow it (officially)....just from a pure liability standpoint. Now, if I was still a uniformed type and had a good buddy with a carry permit doing a ride along I'd probably opt for "don't ask, don't tell", but that's a little outside of what you're asking. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Had a ride-a-long make allegations against a fellow officer; allegations were based on the ignorance/stupidity of the ride-a-long and were unfounded. If you see something you don't understand................ask! At an appropriate time, of course. What most people think they "know" about cop work is totally wrong. Have an open mind. Sounds like the purpose of the ride is to learn....so take advantage of the opportunity. FY42385 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pittbug Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) Bill: that's hilarious! Nova: I already asked about a vest, I was told to go buy one if I wanted one Bobert: I'm sure that'll also be my experience. I'm fully expecting to just sit in the car for 4 hrs. konkapot: Yup, exactly, it'll be interesting just to watch what goes on. Edited September 5, 2009 by Pittbug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downlow411 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Evening is the best time. Make sure you have a flashlight and you are wearing something nice. No t-shirt and jeans. I get riders all the time and I love to play jokes on them. I won't go into details but let me just say that I have a lot of fun with riders. What size flashlight,as in big or surefire hand size. Who do we contact to set this up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pittbug Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 Well I did the ride along tonight. I borrowed a vest from my father-in-law and brought a flashlight. Not much really happened. We cleared some cones from a street, took a complaint about some phone scam, pulled over a couple of cars, one for speeding, the other for no lights, backed up another unit on a traffic stop, ate at Subway and patrolled around various streets. Last call of the night was a domestic which the dispatcher described as 15-20 people fighting. We were the furthest away from the scene and by the time we got there it was all over. The cop seemed very eager for me to see the cut in the guy's head where he got hit with a beer bottle, but having played rugby for a number of years and seeing my wife go through two c-sections, it wasn't that interesting, not that I really want to ogle at someone else's injury anyway. It was still an interesting night and I'm glad I did it. The officer offered to take me out again, so I take that as a good sign. Even though it was a slow night, it did give me a small glimpse into what our police departments have to deal with. Thanks to all you guys that do this on a daily basis, you're very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I have wanted to do this as well. Never any time, seems like. Maybe no full bladder and wear your seatbelt, would be my first thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCSBarney Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Glad to hear you had a good experience. Always a good indicator that he said he would take you again. We don't have ride alongs but have interns that are hopefuls. Biggest hurdle they face is being able to fully understand thier role. Your not an LEO and we have to worry about your sefety and getting the job done. Now that you have a better insight into the real world, spread the word so less of the world thinks the media has it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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