The ride began with signing a waiver, then scheduling the ride with Officer Watson.  When I arrived at the police station I was given a tour of all the departments, holding cells, evidence lockers, etc. and introduced to everyone that was on duty then, and allowed to take pictures.  The dispatch area was the most interesting to me, and with the new computer system installed, dispatch can see at a glance where the  on-duty officers are, along with every call that comes in.  Nancy Fahrenbacher was on duty at that time, and when asked if it took a long time to learn the system, she said "I'm still learning". 

After the tour we left the station in Officer Watson's police car.  The car has the new dispatch system installed in the front seat area that allows the officer visual access to everything he needs to know and keeps him in touch with dispatch at all times.  The car carries a shotgun, cell phone, SWAT equipment  and other items they might need in the rear area.

Officer Watson was given a complaint to follow up on before he left the station which involved bags of trash dumped illegally.  It wasn't hard to find where it came from, there were papers in the trash with a name and address.  He drove to the address and talked to the gentleman, who denied dumping and said he hired someone to clean his yard and they were the ones that dumped the trash.  He was told to have the guy call him, and that was the end of that call.

Next was a traffic stop on South Beeline.  A truck with expired tags was stopped and as it turned out he had no insurance either, suspended license, etc.

After asking "Do you have any weapons or drugs" the driver was told to remove the license plate and turn it over to him.  When the driver reached behind the back seat to get tools I thought how easily he could have had a weapon there, and now I understand how the officer might feel when someone reaches for something that isn't visible.   However, he brought out a tool, removed the plate and turned it over to Officer Watson.   He then called a friend to come get him  and the other passengers . The plate was taken back to the police station and put in evidence locker, and would be returned to driver when he complied with everything he was told to do.  I was impressed that Reed spotted that expired plate while explaining things to me and monitoring his computer, with heavy traffic going both ways.

There were several calls into dispatch about a white vehicle on North Beeline by Home Depot driving the wrong way and driver appeared to be unconscious.  That kind of call requires lights and siren blaring, and trying to get drivers to pull over so we could get by.  I was amazed at how many cars would hardly move to let us by, and how frustrating that must be when time is so important.  I also learned the traffic lights could be turned from red to green so the police car can get through without having to run a red light.  The same system allows them to open gated communities if there is a call from there.  A sensor on top of the car activates the stop light and the closed gates.

 After speeds up to 75 MPH (on the Beeline, with heavy Friday afternoon traffic in both lanes)  trying to get  to the vehicle in time to avoid an accident, the vehicle was never spotted, and no accidents happened thankfully.   Going up the Beeline on a busy Friday afternoon at 75 miles an hour was quiet an experience for me and I admit it was nerve wracking, to say the least.

Several calls took up lots of time but turned out to be "petty complaints", one in particular was turned over to Officer Watson because he can speak Spanish and the fellow that called couldn't speak English.

Another call that struck me as "petty" was from a person living in Star Valley saying she and others had been threatened by text messages  from someone at work.  This involved driving to Star Valley to get statement but no one was at the address she had given.  Turned out she was actually at a place in Payson, so we had to turn around and find her.  From there Officer Watson drove to the place of employment, and got a totally different story from the manager.

These petty calls that can take up to an hour to track down have to be investigated, because there is always the chance the threat might be carried through, and someone could lose their life.

I was  with Reed Watson for only 4 hours and by the time I got home I had knots in my stomach and a horrible headache.  I was told the four hours was pretty calm in comparison to other times. The uncertainty of how an incident will turn out must surely weigh on their mind, and I can't imagine why anyone would want to put their selves  in these kinds of situations, but I sure am glad they do.  You can be sure they do everything possible to keep the rest of us safe. 

Thanks for a great ride Reed! 

May4, 2007