Ride-Alongs

I was thinking recently about ride-alongs, those opportunities for citizens to join a police officer for a shift.

When I was on the department, officers could invite a friend or family member to ride along with them. Often, the ride-along was assigned by a supervisor, and officers only found out at roll call (the beginning of their shift).

I’ve already shared the story about how a couple of Field Training Officers referred to me as “a businessman with a gun.” I didn’t like the description while I wore the uniform, but I’ve made peace with it. I most certainly was a businessman with a gun.

That description might’ve made the rounds through the department, but if it didn’t, my demeanor surely provided enough context for my supervisors.

“You have the right personality,” one supervisor said. Maybe he didn’t like me, or maybe he simply trusted me not to put my finger in my nose. Either way, it seemed I got more than my fair share of citizen ride-alongs.

One rider was a city councilmember. His politics were drastically different than mine at the time, but we had a nice conversation. He asked questions about the job and I shared my thoughts. I asked questions about city politics and probably revealed my inexperience. Regardless, it was clear he cared about the city, even if his ideas were different than mine.

Anyway, I was thinking about using a citizen ride-along in a story and decided against it. Frank Zafiro and I wrote The Ride-Along, the fifth book in the Charlie-316 Series. We covered a lot of ground in that tale, and I’m not sure another ride-along story set in a different universe would give me much new to explore.

That’s how it goes at times. Lots of ideas, but only a few ever bubble to the surface.