Shannon Williams
February 7, 2003
WPD “ride-along”
Imagine a mobile office cubical. Imagine being surrounded by buttons, sounds, and lights. Imagine a cockpit in a car. That was my first thoughts as I sat in the patrol car. I had arrived at the station at 9 pm on Friday night. One other student sat on the floor waiting for his assigned officer. A Latino family chatted to my left. The woman, Johanna, was the only source of entertainment as we waited for roll call to end.
After about forty-five minutes, an officer came into the dreary foyer of the police station and asked if there was a Jeanette here. I answered, and he pointed me out to my assigned officer. I opened the door and introduced myself as Shannon. The officer repeated my name and said his name was Bill H. He explained that we were to ride to the airport for him to check on something. On the ride over, I asked him various mundane, and most likely for him, obvious questions. He was kind and answered each one.
He reminded me of a cross between a civil war reenactor and Al from “Home Improvement.” His uniform was a standard dark blue with a red stripe piping. He carried the issued gun, handcuffs, and flashlight. The car was fairly new and held several radios and a mounted laptop with a red light shining onto the keyboard. I was struck by the fact that he had the radio tuned to a classic hard rock station. It was interesting to see such a scene.
After we arrived at the airport, Officer H went into the building and came out several minutes later. Then, we stopped by the entrance to chat with an officer stationed there. Due to the heightened alert issued earlier that day, two officers were to patrol that area. After we left the airport, Officer Hall explained that Waco is divided into three districts, and within each district is a number of beats. District one is on the right side of 25th Street and Waco Drive. District two is below Waco Drive. District three is to the left of 25th Street and Waco Drive. Later, I asked him what was meant by the dispatch saying such numbers as “3330 and 2330.” He explained that the first number was the district and the remaining numbers were the beat designation. He said we were “3330.”
After small talk, I asked him such questions as how many arrests he made and how many tickets were issued in a week. He said it was like “feast or famine.” He had not arrested a person in about three weeks. Either he would not arrest someone for weeks or there would be several arrests in one week alone. As for tickets, they do not use a quota system so his average would be around two to three a week. That statement surprised me.
Also, another statement that shocked me was that during the winter, the busiest day in Waco is Thursday. That is the case because of the “teen nights” at several local bars such as Graham Central Station and Tom and Jerry’s. To prove his point, he drove within his district but outside his beat to show me the various bars in Waco. He said he was lucky because he did not have any bars in his beat. I asked if the officers changed beats. He said no and explained that the officers just adjust. Most crime happens around the area of Waco Drive and the Village Apartments near 25th Street.
We patrolled around the Lakeshore Drive area including various apartment complexes and businesses. We talked of how crowds form and what type of tickets would be issued. Next, we patrolled Wooded Acres and Bosque. We stopped to check on two little boys with bikes. At Hastings, he told the group of boys to leave or do business. We waited until they cleared the lot. Then, we stopped at the HOT fairgrounds to talk to Officer K. He was a funny man. He kept joking about not much action that night because of the cold weather and the bar activity.
The laptop between us would buzz every time Officer H refreshed the calls list on the screen. He explained the various codes on the screen and how the officers knew which call to attend to. While we were sitting there, Officer K received a call for a break-in. We followed and shown a spotlight onto the scene. An older man’s car had been burglarized. Officer Hall pointed out that it was strange that a car would be touched behind a fence and in a carport. We noticed glass on the ground. We kept circling around. He called the other officer and was informed that the man had moved the car from the street. That explained the glass. We then talked about fraud and senseless crimes.
We patrolled other areas around district three. Officer H instant messaged other officers on his laptop. Besides the CB radio, their communication comes in the form of the Internet. He said that he had been with the Waco squad for six years and that the cars had only had laptops in them in Waco for only a few years. The Waco squad is understaffed and under funded, thus they are behind in technology. After a stop at a local convenience store, we received our first assigned call of the night. A suspicious car was spotted at a local business on Valley Mills Drive. He explained that the car would most likely be gone by the time we got there. He was right. So, we circled Valley Mills Drive and arrived back at Hastings. During this portion of the night, I could not help but yawn repeatedly. So, when we met back up with Officer K, they joked that I was not a night owl and could not endure the entire night shift. I agreed.
It was close to midnight when we decided to head back to the police hall. Officer H called in his intentions. He explained that he could tell what kind of night he would have by the first few minutes. If he were extremely busy in the first minutes, it would be a very busy night, and vice versa. As we patrolled down Bosque Drive, we followed another patrol car on a traffic stop. Officer H got out of the car and stood as backup along with a third officer. Earlier, I found out that only two officers that night were bilingual and that most cars were only one-officer cars.
We stayed on that call for over twenty minutes. Then he returned with his flashlight to the car. He brought me back to the station and wished me well. I thanked him for his time and wished him a wonderful night. After my friend picked me up at the station, I noticed every patrol car we passed. I longed to go on another patrol and to see more. From this experience, I gained so much. I learned about crime in Waco, was shocked by numbers and statements. I took so much from the experience. I will never see another Waco Police car the same again.