Officer Chris: A Ride-Along with Vic PD

I spent my Friday night running after a police dog, holding the keys to a cop car in my pocket and meeting some of Victoria's most colourful characters.

Beyond more free pizza lunches than your body can rightly handle, being a law student affords you interesting opportunities every once in awhile. I was quick to sign up when a colleague of mine organized a series of ride-alongs with the Victoria Police Department.

I had little idea what to expect. Given Victoria's aged population and sleepy reputation, I had difficulty fathoming a very busy night. But as I came to learn very quickly, Victoria has got its fair share of problems.

Image: 49th-parallel.blogspot.com

My night began around 7:00 pm. After my initial placement left the station on an important call, I was placed with a veteran officer -- for the sake of anonymity, Officer Q. He was very pleasant and seemed happy to have me on, but was nonetheless a tad reluctant. And with good reason. Having a civilian in the passenger seat certainly doesn't make an already stressful job any easier. It's just one extra thing to have to worry about. With that in mind, I was especially appreciative.

As Q started listing a couple basic precautions, he handed me a set of keys to our cop car. It suddenly dawned on me that I was about to embark on something inherently dangerous. I managed to shake from my mind any scenarios in which I would need to use the car keys, but it did serve to remind me to stay out of harm's (and the officer's) way.
After a brief tour of downtown Victoria's less desirable areas, we returned to the station and I got a tour of the cell blocks. Our criminal law classes had already painted an appropriately dingy picture of the block, but seeing it for myself certainly nullified any remaining envy I had for its unlucky residents. I sat for an extended period at an office desk, realizing quickly why police hate paperwork so much. Q finished up his work and away we went. The night was really about to begin.

Our first major call brought us to an apartment building where a 22 year-old guy had breached his probation by drinking alcohol. The first officers on the scene had been refused entry into the apartment, but when we arrived and were let in (I stood idly in the hallway) by the guy's mother, the guy and his compatriots jumped the second floor balcony and took off. A K9 unit arrived within minutes and we began running after the well-trained dog. It wasn't long before it tracked down two of the guys. They had been hiding in some bushes and if it weren't for the quick pull by its handler, the dog would have delivered a gnarly chomp to one of the kids. We returned to the apartment where the guy in question had peacefully returned and surrendered. He was drunk off his rocker, but remarkably pleasant. He was placed in our car, and during the drive back to the station I was fascinated to watch Q talk with him. They were both civil and Q was genuinely curious to learn about the guy. As he explained later, this is a function of curiosity, but also a strategic move to build good relations in the event they encounter each other in the future.

I also hate bike thieves (Image: inquisitr.com)

My expertise was later called upon when we cleared some drug users off the steps of a church only to find an unlocked bike left behind. Q asked me whether it was an expensive bike, which I affirmed, noting I had one of the same make. It matched the description of a bike reported stolen. Some lucky guy is getting his bike back.

Q explained that if you want to eat dinner, you usually have to do so before 10:00, as the city tends to fall apart between 10 and 2am. And just as we were about to grab some food, we got a call to support another car for a traffic stop. By the time we arrived, things had gotten a little crazier. As Officer A was chatting to her pulled-over car, an old woman down the street yelled that two guys kicked a door in and ran away. They were found within seconds. One was placed in our car, seemingly inebriated as he spoke about the different sexual energies of masculinity and femininity. He seemed unable to figure out why his friend kicked down the door. The other guy put up quite a fight, and when he was placed in the paddy wagon he went berzerk and made a hopeless attempt to kick his way out of the steel box. He was equally enjoyable at the station, though his claims of police lies lost much of their credibility when he assured everyone it was February 1st of 2013.

A bad night for Ronald (Image: CBC)

I had hoped that a call involving a McDonald's would finally put food in my stomach. I was wrong. Two sixteen year-old boys jumped three other young people outside a McDonald's and pepper-sprayed them. As the boys ran away, the victims wandered back into the McDonald's in the hopes of finding some help. The police and ambulance were soon called, but unbeknownst to them, the pepper spray continued to emanate and soon contaminated the entire lobby of the restaurant. No food for us. We set up a containment field in the area, but eventually gave up.  

We made stops throughout the evening, checking up on suspicious folks. At no time did Q ever seem abusive or power-hungry. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He treated people with respect and talked to them in a way they would understand. If they treated him well, he treated them well. It was fascinating, yet astonishingly simple. There didn't appear to be any super secret police tricks or agenda he was operating under. And his actions certainly made a case for police discretion. He was focused on keeping people safe and reducing harm, noting that there are many alternatives to fining people or throwing them in the back of a police car.

I ended up lasting his entire shift, roughly 11 hours. It was invigorating and the variety of action was especially attractive. It certainly pours cold water on the prospect of sitting at a desk job for the rest of my life.

And Q's most despised group to deal with? Drunk law students. And with good reason. According to Q, there is nothing like dealing with a group of young, inebriated and entitled folks who think they know the law. I've been studying the criminal law for six months. Q has been at it for 20 years.