One thing is for sure: I am not cut out for law enforcement. Bear with me y’all, I know this has been a popular topic lately for these columns, but it’s probably because I am participating in the first class of the Citizen’s Academy, hosted by Senatobia Police Department.
Each Thursday night, my fellow classmates and I learn about the inner workings and different units of our police department. Last week’s study focused on patrol.
When I say there is more to our patrol unit’s job than meets the eye, I mean it. During the night’s course, we learned just a portion of possible situations our guys and gals in blue might find themselves dealing with during any given shift. Let me go ahead and say, it was enough to make me know for certain I do not possess the patience for dealing with people in those situations.
The class began with Officer Kevin McKenzie guiding us though informational PowerPoint slides and YouTube videos. Honestly, it was very eye-opening to see how many different scenarios can go from routine to unimaginably horrific in such a short amount of time.
Personally, it made me think back on the number of times I’ve been pulled over (Okay, yes, it used to happen a lot when I was young, stupid and thought speed limits were more of a suggestion than actual rules set in place for the safety of all concerned). Upon those reflections, it suddenly made sense why the officers approached my vehicle the way they did.
See, I was always slightly offended by their standoffishness. Coming from a true extrovert who tries to befriend everyone, I just couldn’t understand why the officers would seem so suspicious. Now, I get it.
Our officers simply never know what awaits them at a “routine” traffic stop. In fact, Officer McKenzie pointed out that patrol units are told repeatedly as a reminder to not treat any stop as routine. Why? Because of how quickly situations can deteriorate and be anything but routine.
I find this heartbreaking. If we’re honest here, most of you who are taking the time to read this column are probably the type of people to treat a traffic stop like I would. We’d do what the officer asked us to do.
“License and registration?”
“Sure. Here ya go.”
“Do I know why you pulled me over? (With my history, more than likely speeding.) Yes, unfortunately, I do.”
But none of that matters because our officers can make a routine traffic stop one hundred times a day and everything be simple. The hair in the punchbowl happens on the one stop they make that isn’t routine.
And that, ladies and gents, is why they deserve our respect and cooperation.
After the lecture portion of the class, Officer McKenzie took us students on a little field trip where more members of the department were involved to give us “newly schooled” students a hands-on taste of mock traffic stops.
Each student was outfitted with a bullet proof vest, tactical duty belt, flashlight and gun - don’t worry it was fake. Dressed for the part, we were ready to pull over suspicious vehicles, and the officers walked us through various situations they might encounter during a shift.
Now to be sure there were laughs shared by all because, first of all, I believe some of our officers had a bit of fun getting to act out some of the ridiculous antics of various people they have come across during their careers. On the other side, my classmates and I were so out of our element, and the awkwardness of our role reversal was quite apparent. Sure. It was a fun learning experience, but more importantly, it was eye-opening.
The exposure to the realities of what our officers face left most of us with a sobering reality check.
So on that note, I can say absolutely, I don’t have what it takes to be an officer of the law. I don’t have the patience for stupidity. I’m generally not situationally aware of my surroundings, and Lord knows, I’m just not that coordinated or organized. I know my biggest takeaway from the training is a greater understanding of what they deal with. I know I’ll have a little more insight if and when I see those flashing blue lights in my rearview mirror again.
And I think I’ll pray a little harder at night for our men and women who keep us safe. I’ll pray all their stops are just “routine.”
