This is my third ride along. I have been afforded the opportunity to do a ride along on all 3 shifts with the Sheriff's Office. Thank you to Rita for scheduling me to complete all 3 ride alongs! Thank you to Deputy Karen Becker for putting up with me during the first 2 and Master Deputy Jim Little for putting up with me on the 3rd ride along.
Deputy Becker and Deputy Little were complete opposites. Deputy Becker is still fairly early in her career (less than 10 years experience) whereas Deputy Little has over 20 years experience. Their personalities are opposite and their approach while procedurally similar, quite different. It was good to be able to ride with different deputies to see their different approaches to doing the job.
I was a few minutes late getting to the Operations Building for the ride along because of construction on I35 that I wasn't aware of. Luckily the deputies had just walked out to their vehicles and I was able to tag along with Deputy Little. Deputy Little said there would probably be more speeders because of the construction (ie., people would be trying to make up for the lost time). No kidding??? I probably shouldn't admit I had to put the pedal to the medal a little bit to get there so that I didn't miss the ride along! :)
I wanted to do a ride along on all 3 shifts to see what different activities occur on the different shifts. While the services provided are the same across all 3 shifts (Traffic Enforcement, Traffic Accident Investigation, Medical and/or Mental Emergency Response, Criminal Investigations, Serving Civil Process, Roadside Motorist Assistance, Serving Arrest Warrants, 911 Emergency Response, Animal Control, Community Event Security, Community Education Events, etc.) each shift has different goals because of the various activities that occur during the different times of day. For example, some activities such as serving Civil Papers, Community Event Security, Community Education Events, School Zone Traffic Enforcement, etc are day time activities so they would fall mainly to the day/evening shifts. The midnight shift will focus more on Traffic Enforcement regarding finding Drivers Under the Influence, Emergency Response for Medical/Mental issues, 911 Emergency Response, etc.
The midnight shift runs from 10pm-8am. Deputy Little made lots of traffic stops! My first 2 ride alongs didn't include many traffic stops so I was glad to be able to ride the midnight shift with Deputy Little and get a better feel for what happens on traffic stops. Although I get pulled over a lot I can't say I really paid much attention to why I was getting pulled over so much. Okay, it's not a surprise to me when I get pulled over for speeding but it is a surprise when I get pulled over for things like having a headlight out or a brake light out. Often times drivers don't know when they have an equipment violation such as a light out. I never really understood why a leo would do a U-turn just to pull me over for a headlight out. I would like to think it's because they are concerned about my safety but now realize it's ALSO an opportunity for the officer to verify I have a valid drivers license, current insurance and registration as well as run my information to determine if I have a warrant(s). I'm not saying leo's don't care about safety. I actually got a lecture from one last year about my headlight being out and how that could put me at risk for getting t-boned or other accident and that I really needed to get it fixed as soon as possible. Got pulled over the very next evening and got the same lecture from a different officer. I probably would have let it go for a little while if I hadn't been pulled over 2 nights in a row for it and the officer each time stressed how it was a safety issue. However, safety is not the only reason why a leo will pull someone over for a headlight out or similar infraction. Many times drivers who have a suspended license or warrants wouldn't be found if it weren't for an equipment or traffic violation drawing the attention of an officer.
Some of the traffic violations Deputy Little pulled drivers over for during the ride along included: headlight out (must have been 7 or more stops just for headlight out!), tag light out, tail light out, speeding, following too closely, and failing to move over a lane for emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the highway. Out of all the traffic stops only one individual received a citation and that was the individual who was following too closely. Deputy Little explained that kind of driving can lead to road rage and so he will always ticket someone for driving too close. The individual who didn't move over a lane for an emergency vehicle also wasn't ticketed but Deputy Little was not the primary officer on that stop and therefore it wasn't his decision. He said he would have written the citation on that because of how dangerous it is for officers, Fire, EMS, tow trucks, etc when pulled over on the side of the road and people don't move over. I have a background in EMS so that actually hits home with me and I totally agree with ticketing people who won't move over or at least slow down if they are unable to move over.
The traffic stop for failing to move over for emergency vehicle was actually interesting for several reasons. The car had Maryland tags. The trailer had an Oklahoma tag. The drivers story was that he was borrowing the car for a year from a friend (really? I don't have any friends that would loan me their car for a year, do you? That's a nice friend!). He and the passenger were moving to California. They were only passing through and were heading to a relatives in Lawrence to stay the night. It sounded a little fishy. Remember that I35 is a main corridor for drugs and even though we were on K10 it's possible they could be detouring to a motel or hotel for the night. Deputies had other clues that gave them reasonable suspicion that drugs might be involved so a drug canine was requested from Lenexa (JCSO didn't have a dog on duty that night). It was interesting to see the dog in action circling the car and then the trailer but in the end the dog didn't get a hit. Turns out the drivers license, registration, insurance, etc all was good. The driver and passenger seemed a little confused as to why they were asked to exit the vehicle for the search but cooperated fully. In all it took about 30 minutes (there was a question about the car's registration which needed to be confirmed through Maryland that led to the lengthy stop) and they were on their way.
Deputy Little has an approach that he affectionately refers to as "Shit Sandwich". As part of my job at a local hospital we have to go through "Language of Caring" training. When Deputy Little explained his "shit sandwich" I couldn't help but laugh because it sounds a lot like what we refer to as a "heart sandwich" in health care (it was the main component of the "Language of Caring" training). Essentially you start with a positive, then explain the issue and then finish with a positive. Deputy Little has that same approach when he does traffic stops. He approaches the car, introduces himself and generally says something positive/friendly like "how are you tonight?" then explains why he has stopped the individual and then finishes with something positive like "I appreciate you are wearing your seat belt." He seemed to connect with each person he stopped. I really liked that he ended with a positive before saying have a good evening. Being told to have a good evening after you have just received a ticket is not ending on a positive HOWEVER complementing someone on doing something right then saying have a good night is ending on a positive note. Nice job Deputy Little! I'll have to pay more attention next time I get pulled over and see how the leo ends the conversation...
I have been pulled over many times and can really only recall a few times a leo asked me how I was doing? Or showed an interest in my safety. I don't get many tickets so I guess I can't complain but I can tell you that I remember the interaction much longer than I remember the ticket!!! If the leo is an a%$ that will stand out in my mind a lot longer than the memory of the ticket, and I am less likely to correct the issue right away. I once let my vehicle registration go expired for well... um... too long... because I was so irritated by how the leo treated me I didn't want to comply and fix the issue. Yep it was a stupid thing to do to let my emotions dictate my actions. I was lucky I didn't get stopped again during that time frame or it could have been a costly decision. (I probably should get my tag renewed on time this year huh?) Vice versa, if the leo is professional and friendly or shows an interest in my safety, I not only remember it but I am more inclined to fix the problem as soon as I can if it's an equipment violation, registration violation, etc.. I've already illustrated an example earlier in this blog about how a positive interaction can have a positive impact. I know that in every profession there are good and there are bad. (Hey, we're all human!) It's nice to see there are good leo's out there. A traffic stop doesn't need to be such a stressful event. Deputy Little sure seemed to have a way to ease the stress for those unlucky enough to be on his radar. For example, one of the stops was for speeding. It was an older gentleman who had been out fishing and really just wasn't paying attention probably because he was tired (it was late or early depending on how you look at it). Had Deputy Little not been friendly with his approach he may not have gotten the response about fishing and he probably would have written the citation. Deputy Little actually thought the gentleman might be DUI but because his approach was in a positive manner he learned the gentleman had been out fishing and was just a block from home. The gentleman didn't have any other issues and was on his way with just a warning to slow down. I appreciate that I got to see first hand how a positive approach can make a difference in a traffic stop. (You don't tend to notice things when they happen to you as much as when you get to observe things happening.)
I didn't ask Deputy Little for any tips on how to get out of speeding tickets, I did learn a few things though! Generally when I get pulled over for speeding I really am speeding... I need to slow down! Most of the time I'm not really in a hurry, just not paying enough attention. With all the technology we have today it can be quite a distraction while driving. For me, putting the phone down will help decrease my speeding and probably some of the other reasons why I get stopped. I don't mind saying "Hi" to leo's but I would prefer it to be through work or a community relations event rather than on the side of the road (or in my case at QT)! :)
Other activities during this ride along included area checks for District 2. When not doing traffic stops, Deputy Little swept through the district on multiple occasions looking for any unusual activity. He received a couple calls for service, one of which included assisting another deputy with a house check. An individual was house sitting and reported that someone was ringing the doorbell and then running away. It was well after 2am and as scary as that can be when it's your house, it's even more scary when it's not your house and you aren't entirely familiar with the area. A search of the home and property turned up nothing in regards to who the ring & ditch individual(s) was.
Deputy Little is a School Resource Officer for Horizons. SRO was only briefly mentioned during the citizens academy so I am glad I got to ride with Deputy Little and hear some of his stories from working at Horizons. With his personality I can see that he probably relates well with those kids! When school is out for the summer he is working patrol which is why I was able to do my ride along with him.
One of the things Deputy Little mentioned was that JCSO used to have a Community Policing Division. It was a casualty of a budget cut and so those activities (public education, community events, etc.) are now split up among deputies in patrol rather than a division of its own. I always thought the Community Policing badge referred to the Citizen's Academy. I didn't realize there was a division specific to community policing and that was the significance behind the badge below. Since a citizens academy is a community relations activity it (the badge) does in a way represent the citizen's academy.
Participating in ride alongs was quite an experience and I encourage anyone interested in a career in law enforcement or just a general curiosity to participate in a ride along with your local police department or sheriff's office if they have a ride along program. You must attend the Citizen's Academy in order to do a ride along withe JCSO. Click here if you want to sign up for the Citizen's Academy through the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.
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