Thinking about signing up for a "Ride Along"

[MrDrummy]

I did a ride-along with a Corpus Christi police officer a few months ago and had a blast. I got to ride on the beat that had the beach and a big part of the island in it.

I had a great time, though nothing huge went down while I was with the officer. I got there at 9pm and stuck with him all the way through 6:30 am. Whew! I imagine it is hard keeping your senses about you when it gets that late, as I was having a hard time staying awake!

[JamesTX10]

Ride alongs are great. Send a "not sure about you having your gun with you because we have the police to protect us" GF or SO and let them see that the police are there to clean up.

[T3hK1w1]

Does HPD (Houston) offer ride-alongs?

[NcongruNt]

This is an intriguing idea. I've been trying to figure out how to get to know the cops that run the beat around my workplace when I work (graveyard shift). They're always on the move around here, and I never really see them stopped when I can actually approach them and strike up a conversation. That, and I work in the middle of the night.

I think I'll maybe look into a ride-along.

[austin]

My brother rode along a lot on the late shift with the local sheriff deputies in his county. The Sheriff let my brother carry his weapon.

[Target1911]

I have done 2 ride alongs. First with Arlington, next with Ft Worth. And yes BOTH of them made sure I knew how get the shotgun if I needed it. It got a lil boring at times but over all it was fun.

I think the best route to go is to meet a couple of Officers and get to know them before you do it. You will have more fun I think. The times i went, the Officers seemed to really gaurd me from ' the fun stuff". Mostly did a few traffic stops, abandoned vehicle type calls. I wanted more than that. I have since become friends with many Ft Worth Officers. A firend of mine did a ride with one of them and was in on a chace, drug bust, and DV calls. I think us all being friends helped that because they "knew' him.

Have fun. I think everyone should do it to see ths bull that our friends in Blue have to put up with every minute of the day.

[kw5kw]

I had my "cross-training" ride along today.

Boy what a blast.

I hope that I'll be able to go again one of these days. (has to be approved by supervisor each time)

[jimlongley]

I went through Plano's Citizens' Police Academy and Fire Academy. From the CPA we were only allowed one ride along per quarter and no range time, my one ride along before I moved to a different job, was fun, but not real exciting and the officer I rode with was somewhat less than enthusiastic.

I was a NY State Park Patrolman a lot of years ago, and was a volunteer fireman for 17 years, so I have had a couple of exciting rides.

I would ride along again if given the chance.

[KBCraig]

I'm lucky to live in a small town where a "ride-along" during my available hours (after midnight) would have a 98% chance of being nothing more than sipping coffee at the closest EZ-Mart, with neighborhood drive-thrus to break up the boredom.

Don't get me wrong: our local guys respond superbly when called upon. They just really don't have to worry about prioritizing calls.

[stevie_d_64]

My Dad told me this story about one the first ride alongs he did with a nieghbor of ours (HPD) down our street who at that time was doing the street deal...This was back in the late 70's...

I don't think they had a real procedure back then, and I believe it was approved by the shift supervisor...

I guess the funny and pertinant part of this story was that when our nieghbor was done with the shift briefing, my Dad was out in th eparking lot waiting for him...They got into the unit and circled back around to his POV, he got out, popped the trunk grabbed an M1 .30 carbine, handed it to my Dad with a few magazines and told him that was "his" for the shift...

Noting that...Our nieghbor told him, "I ain't going to do this by myself! You're going to contribute!"

I guess it was just a different world back then...Good ole days!

[TexasVet]

HI,

Rockwall has a Citizen's Police Academy Class that includes a ride out. Contact Sgt. Ed Fowler or Officer David Andrews in the crime prevention office. At least they were in charge of the classes. Both are great guys and while the class was small it was educational and entertaining. Some of the bigger cities have a bit more involved CPA's. Garland was probably the most fun, but Plano is great too. In Rockwall we did not get to drive or shoot, it was something they were thinking about adding though. They did allow a ride out, although it was only for 1/2 of a shift, so only 4 hours. Still fun

[k6gixx]

I have been on 3 ride alongs; one with Tulsa PD, and 2 with Irving PD. About to do number 3 with Irving and I'm gonna try to get on with Arlington thru some of my contacts from high school. I was on an embezzlement call with Tulsa, plus busted a child molester. Irving I was in a high speed chase, a person who escaped from the psych ward at JPS in Dallas, robbery of a gas station and a nasty wreck on 183. It was good times but I may be biased as I'm a Criminal Justice major.

[DoubleJ]

I've been on a couple o' ride-alongs with a local municipality. one of my ol' HS buddies is one of the Fuzz out that-a-way, and allowed me to ride with him, both times. as an aside, I was informed not to carry, but I still had my weapon with me. you know, the one between the ol' ears. anyway...
first time out we had an "unresponsive persons" call, and arrived on scene before EMS. both got in the house, and I began assessing the pt (the ABC's) while the Fuzz began collecting background on the pt. was interesting, and definitely got mah blood a-movin'. EMS got on scene, took over and got the guy squared away and transported.

second time out we got a call about a structure fire, which we later learned, that had been caused by someone bbq'ing and they had dumped the (still smoldering) ashes into a plastic garbage can. D'oh!
funny side note about this particular incident. We were on the side of the road doing a traffic stop, when we see the 'Truck come rollin' by, flashers and siren. The Fuzz gets on the horn and asks dispatch, "Uh, is Fire enroute to a call???" "yup." so we go hightailin' it outta there and arrive on scene moments after Fire. after it's all said and done, The Fuzz asks Fire who was drivin' the 'Truck.
"Uh, me."
"You realize you drove the WHOLE way from the 'House without your headlights on???"
"no."
Turns out, with all the flashers illuminating the road, dude forgot to turn on the headlights!
"Here ya go." and he turns on the headlights for'em, "Now you can find yer way back to the Station."
oh, we had a good chuckle about that'en. still do, too.

had a good time cruising around, pulling people over and, most importantly, finding a good place for dinner. learned a lot, and gave me a lot of perspective on the other side of the coin. needless to say, my associate was the most professional person you've ever met, and walked away from each and every situation having helped that person in some capacity.

[Daltex1]

WOW! Sachse Police Department has a 6 month wait!

[anygunanywhere]

WOW! Sachse Police Department has a 6 month wait!

If you're really jonesin' for a ride in the ol' cruiser I can suggest a few ways to shorten the wait.

Thanks for the hanging slider you served up over the plate there Daltex1!

Anygunanywhere