Day 4 - "Heat" - 6/22/09

It has been unusually warm and muggy these past couple of days, and it was very evident last night. My FTO is continuing to struggle with a cold, so I have been taking extra precautions to prevent myself from getting sick. More Vitamin C and hand sanitizer by the truckload, please!

I had a chance to speak with my girlfriend before I went on shift, which relaxed me a bit. I wasn't nervous or anything, but she always seems to make me feel better, regardless of how good I am already feeling. I actually felt very confident; very sweaty, but very confident. Before my FTO arrived, I had a chance to speak with my SGT, who gave me orders to head to a checkpoint and also gave me the key to the back rooms of the station. When my FTO arrived, I transferred my stuff from my car to his and we went on our way.

He lets me queue up on the radio very frequently, and it gives me the opportunity to practice and also stay vigilant on my skills. We sat at the checkpoint for a couple of hours and went over more forms. The air conditioned patrol car felt so nice. At roughly 2AM, we received a call to investigate a resident being harassed by a loved one. We went out to the residence and made contact with the complainant/victim, a young woman with a 6-month old girl in her arms.

It was incredibly buggy due to all of the humidity, and they began swarming on her, my FTO, and myself. I had my notepad out, and so did my FTO. Even though we were both doing a lot of writing, I assumed the role of the cover officer while my FTO made contact. I made note of the types of questions he asked, his tone of voice, his stance, and other nuances that will let me excel in this job. We found out she had received threatening phone calls and text messages from her co-habitant, who happened to be the father of the child. We also found out he was on his way to the victim's residence to "handle" things. Our SGT stopped the co-habitant at one of our checkpoints. We made the decision that he was allowed to come in, grab some things for the evening, and then immediately leave the premises. He did so. The entire time he was on foot, I was ready to roll just in case something happened. However, he came and left without incident. We had locked the victim and her child in our patrol car to put a barrier between the two parties.

After handling that incident, we made it back to the checkpoint for a little while longer and went over some more forms. My FTO began letting me assist him in maintaining the checkpoint by making contact with drivers and getting down all of their information. This continued for a little while longer until we made our way back to the station for some paperwork.

Back at the checkpoint, we began filling out the report. The computer program "Omniform" really makes things easy. Just tab, fill in info, tab, fill in more info, and so on. I can't wait to install it on my computer so I can use it when I get my own car. While my FTO began typing his narrative, I studied my statute book and continued to assist at the checkpoint. The end of the shift ended with a completion of all report forms, and my daily activity sheet.

On my way home, I began noticing dark clouds EVERYWHERE. They gradually got darker as I continued to drive to the Northeast. By the time I got home, it felt as if I was driving through a tropical storm. Mild rain, but the wind was incredible! Downed tree branches, mild debris, and a vicious looking sky. By the time I parked my car it had began to drizzle. The moment I got inside my house, the sky opened up. I considered myself very lucky, and very dry :D.