Yesterday, I finally threw out the Dunkin Donuts coffee cup which has been moldering in my car for almost two weeks. I was reluctant to toss it. And not because whatever culture was growing in its dregs might prove useful to medical science. No, I was holding on to it for sentimental reasons. It was kind of a souvenir, you see, from my ride along with the Norwich Police.
I first broached the idea of a ride along shortly after taking over the police, fire and court beat from my now-departed colleague, Tyler Murphy. (He’s doing well in Albany, by the way, in case you’re wondering.) I got the idea from Chief Joe Angelino, actually. The chief extended an invitation to my Leadership Chenango classmates and me in late 2009, so it was in the back of my mind for awhile. Now that I’m on the police beat, I figured there was no better way to get a true picture of what happens in the city than to accompany Norwich’s finest on a busy evening.
The chief was happy to oblige my newfound interest in his department. Or at least he was once he verified I would be covered by The Evening Sun’s workman’s comp policy. And had me sign a hold-harmless agreement which, I’m not going to lie, scared the bejeezus out of me.
The document in question absolved the Norwich Police, City of Norwich et al from any and all liability in the event of my untimely death, dismemberment, injury or emotional trauma which might result from a car accident, gun shot wound, shark attack, you name it.
I signed it, of course, but the words were ringing in my ears as I reported for “duty” on the appointed Friday.
I arrived promptly at 6:55 p.m. Which, as Officer Justin Carpenter quickly pointed out, was five minutes late.
It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start off the evening, but I guess you could say it broke the ice. Too bad I’ll probably never live it down.
When Sgt. Burlison doled out the assignments for the shift, I learned I’d be paired up with Officer Reuben Roach.
I’m not sure if he drew the short straw, or if it was penance of some kind for him, but it definitely worked in my favor. Because with eight years of experience patrolling the Norwich streets, Officer Roach proved to be a wealth of knowledge about the city and its residents.
After a quick tour of the station, we climbed into the police cruiser to which he’d been assigned and hit those streets. It didn’t take me long to realize just how naive I was about the city. Particularly the unsavory element which seems to come out after my admittedly early bedtime. My jaw dropped as Officer Roach shared stories of past arrests, domestic disputes and tales of what he and his fellow officers have encountered on the job.
I was keenly interested in everything he had to say. OK, that’s not strictly true. I did tune out during one particularly gory description, but that was to prevent myself from upchucking in the patrol car. (I’m a pansy, what can I say?) But the rest of it was pretty fascinating.
