Day 1 - "Gators" - 6/17/09

Today was probably one of the best days of my entire life.I had to be there at 8AM so I set my alarm for 6:15. The entire night I couldn’t stop dreaming about it. Of course, my dreams were interrupted by my father at 6AM. I really could have used those extra 15 minutes, but oh well. I got up and jumped right into the shower. Personally, if I am shaving, I need to have a shower beforehand otherwise I get really irritated. I dried myself off and picked up my electric razor and began shaving my face. Along comes Mr. Murphy to plant a speed bump in my morning routine. The electric razor I use has a flip-switch to open the head to dump out the hairs and stuff. Unfortunately, the flip-switch flipped itself open, and hair gets ALL over me. Great. Now I can look like I’m on crack when I go to the station, scratching all over the place and stuff. I promptly brushed myself off and proceeded to get dressed.

My uniform came with two chrome-finished bars, so I put them on my collar. I got all dressed up and finished it all off with the nifty clip-on tie. I was ready to roll. My parents followed me down there without a hitch. I walk into the police station in full uniform. I felt 12 feet tall. One of the guys quickly brought me down to Earth by saying, “Lose the pins, tie, and hat” (I was furnished with a Smokey-the-Bear hat). I promptly put all that stuff in my car, came back inside, and had a seat. Roughly 15 minutes later, out comes the Chief.

I felt like an astronaut 10 seconds before liftoff. He gave me a piece of paper to recite from, and told me to repeat after him. I said the oath and he shook my hand. Now, it was official. My Dad got to pin my badge on me, my mom took pictures, it was great. My Dad almost cried, so in turn I almost cried, which in turn had everyone thinking, “Hey look, they’re gonna cry!”. Neither of us did though.

My parents left and I went to go fill out paperwork and get fingerprinted. I got my badge #, court ID #, and radio #, all typed up on an official piece of paper. After that I received my duty weapon (G22) that came with a very unusual holster. In the academy the release button was activated by the thumb. This one was activated by the middle finger. It took a bit of getting used to, but for some reason still felt awkward. Figuring it may have been defective, I asked for a different holster. They issued me one with a snap-and-pull type design. I immediately liked that better.From there it was into the HR Dept for, you guessed it, more paperwork. Health insurance, dental insurance, etc. I was so giddy in my new uniform. All this pent up energy with nowhere to release it. I wanted to be on the road, to interact with citizens, to make a difference. I decided it was best to just pay attention, the road would come later that night. Finally, I was on my way home, ready to show up at 11 the same night.

I decided that going to the gym would be a good way to disperse some energy and get me in the mood to take a nap, so I did. Summer vacation for the idiots, excuse me, the middle/high school kids really slowed the gym progress down. They’re all like, “Hey check this out! Look how much I can lift even though it’s going to screw up my body! I’m so HAWT DAWG!” My friend and I tried to get around them and use the machines, but finally after a couple of sets I hit the treadmill and ran a while. I then came back home, grabbed a shower, and passed out for a couple of hours.

I figured I'd get to the station early so I could relax and prepare my mind. In fact, listening to music did the trick on the way down. I parked my car, put on my duty belt, and walked into the substation. I was greeted by 2 other officers, and they were very nice. They both gave me the same advice: "Listen." The Sergeant then came in and then informed me who I was riding with, and told me and my FTO I was in "Observer mode only". OK, that's cool. I can dig that. I get paid to use my senses and learn a couple of things along the way.

My FTO is a cool guy. He gave me all types of paperwork, procedural information, the works. We're riding down one of the local roads and he is talking to me, which requires him to take a look at me every once in awhile. He was explaining something to me, and all of a sudden he says, "OH ****!", immediately followed by a THUD. "What was that?" He, in the most non-chalant voice, says, "Gator." This was my FTO's 2nd experience with an alligator in as many days. 48 hours earlier, an alligator bit a piece off the front bumper of his patrol car. I didn't believe him until I saw it, and O...M...F...G I saw the missing chunk. I even took a picture with my cameraphone.

After a bit of agency policy and radio lingo, we had our first assignment... transport a prisoner from our holding cell to the jail. As an observer, I watched his tactics as he cuffed the subject and escorted him to the patrol car and put him inside. We drove to the jail without incident and pulled into the Sallyport. He then informed me of all jail procedures. We got out of the car and said to put all my weapons (baton, OC/CS, firearm) in the back of the patrol car and then escort the subject. He places the subject near the doorway and gives ME my first assignment:

OBJECTIVE:
1. Make sure the guy in handcuffs doesn't escape.

I immediately reverted back to my training. I grabbed his wrist with my non-dominant hand and had his bicep with my dominant hand. I applied firm pressure, but not something that would be discomforting to him. I wasn't inflicting pain, and at the same time, he KNEW I had a good hold. He remained compliant as DOJ took him in and began to process him. Close to an hour later, we were done. Now it was back to the station.At the station I received my time sheets and other paperwork, and the SGT and my FTO showed me how to fill it out. I began catching on quickly to my daily activity sheet simply by listening to my FTO and the codes being sent out. I also had a handy-dandy Q code/Signal sheet that I will be studying very vigorously.

After the paperwork, we did a TON of geography. The West Side, the East Side, different areas and business checks, all logged in to the activity report. During the course of the morning, we spotted about 5 alligators, some of which were less than 20 feet from the patrol car. Finally, it was a trip to the county line, re-fueling the vehicle, and completing paperwork. By then, the sun was beginning to come up, and I was getting EXTREMELY tired. Between getting up at 6AM and only napping for a couple hours, I was totally drained. I mean, I've stayed up through the night, but not when I get up at 6AM.

At 7AM I was technically off duty, but the SGT wanted to speak to my FTO, so I waited for a couple minutes. I thought to myself "About 24 hours ago, I was sitting in this SAME spot waiting to get sworn in." It was a really odd feeling.

Finally, I was driven back to my personal vehicle. I was then told that I would be having today and tomorrow off, and to come back Saturday night. The 45 minute drive home wasn't too bad as I was finally driving. I got home, and had a very key decision to make..... "Do I just pass the **** out all dirty, or use up my energy in the shower? Do I get instant sleep gratification, or not have to worry about the laundry?" I decided a shower was better. I dried myself off, fell into bed, and was in dreamland in about 5 seconds. Now I'm up, and full of energy again. The gym doesn't sound like too bad an idea right now.

See everyone soon!