Unless you are a sworn officer, do not bring your firearm and equipment. However, if you have your own bullet-resistant vest, wear it under your shirt. Follow instructions. Stay in the car unless the officer asks you to move for your safety or other reasons. Ask questions to clarify your limitations and instructions beforehand.
If possible, schedule your ride along for the night shift as you will get to see and do more. Ask questions dealing with patrol. What are the normal shift assignments and rotations? Is it a busy department? Which shift is the best to work on in your opinion? How are the overtime and advancement opportunities? However, do not talk about specialized units, such as SWAT, CID, and K-9, unless the officer brings it up as it takes years to be selected for such assignments.
My call-in to Zone 2 was initiated at 1540 on 07 OCT 2011 and lasted only one minute. I was told by the radio-telephone operator that I would have to walk-in to the physical location at 3120 Maple Dr. NE Atlanta and that the paperwork was available to fill out 24 hours per day. I rode the 5 Sandy Springs-Dunwoody bus to East Paces Ferry Road, then walked to the location. On Saturday the bus runs every 30 minutes and the trip time is approximately 15 minutes. In my next post, I will continue with my impressions on Zone 2 and discuss my application to the City of Dunwoody Police Department's program.
Perhaps I'm just young or privledged but I haven't seen a single shotgun in a police car since elementary school.
ReplyDeleteAll patrol rifles...all stock issue too. The only guy who had a rifle that was actually useful was a real shooter, and we found out that we knew a lot of the same people.
Yes, there's a growing tendency amoung the police to replace shotguns with rifles. However, this has been criticised. For one thing, rifles are usually locked in a box in the trunk which isn't readily accesible. When used for breaching, the bullet from a rifle is more likely to rickechet. Finally, the prescense of rifles can make a tense situation, such as a riot, more intense for everybody.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteThe rifles ride between the seats, right up front in the cab.
If someone is breaching...they have a breaching shotgun, special teams and tools for the situation, usually utilizing a dense powder load.
I'm also not sure how any switch in weapon creates a less tense situation. A tense situation is a tense situation...
And ricocheting...not sure what you mean. Testing proves rifle rounds do less penetration and ricocheting with most common house drywalls and woods. It is in fact the more rounded profile of buckshot pellets and FMJ pistol rounds that bounces off of smooth surfaces and again this is just when they meet a perfect angle...or water.
The shotgun (riot) creates a less tense situation because it has been around long enough in policing that most people are aware that they can fire less lethal ammunition, such as rubber shots, bean bags, and rock salt. However, despite its popularity, there probably aren't enough people watching Burn Notice to know that rubber bullets come in 5.56mm as well.
ReplyDeleteDude...
ReplyDeleteStop talking about weapons. You're seriously misguided. I say this for your own safety, career success, and the influence of others you may speak to.
Go get some actual practical education on the subjects and their employment...especially if this is what you plan to do as a profession.
There is absolutely no excuse for you to speak such nonsense.
Dude...
ReplyDeleteIf you wish to help me with that mission, then I suggest you be more specific in your comments. Otherwise, you are of no help to me.
I do plan to pursue training on the Glock 20, 22, and Remington 870 weapons, but first, I need to learn how to drive so I can apply for the police in the first place.
Third, I'm quite sure there's more to being a police officer than being technically proficient at weapons. That's why they don't even require you to have a license to carry before entering the academy. Learning about the job is the purpose of this blog, my talking with law enforcement officers, my doing ride alongs, pursuing internships, investigating citizen training academies, and reading material on the subject.