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September marked my tenth ride along in just under a year and a half, and my sixth for this calendar year. As there are five precincts, I went back to the one I began this blog series with. This time I approached 4^th Precinct in northwest Mobile for a day shift during the week rather than a Saturday night. I returned to the same squad, but a good portion of the officers were new to the group. They had full squad leadership on deck that day, plus nearly all the beats had officers, and several Field Training Officers hosted rookies, making for a full roll call room with eighteen people. But 4^th Precinct needs the numbers. They have one of the largest areas—if not the largest since last year’s annexation of several West Mobile neighborhoods.

I was placed in the capable hands of Officer Wells, once more. The morning started with over an hour of patrol around her beat until school and commuter flow picked up. Then traffic stops began, which carried over off and on throughout the day, mostly warnings to drivers about following too closely, especially when combined with speeding or abrupt lane changes. I heard the first of two accidents we were dispatched to while she had another driver pulled over. The squeal of brakes, followed by the impact of crunching plastic and metal made me cringe. Giving more distance between vehicles can prevent a lot of accidents, which is one of the many traffic related habits Officer Wells tries to educate drivers about when she pulls people over. Increased awareness will hopefully prevent the stress of unnecessary accidents in the future for the dozens of people involved in them daily around Mobile, from minor fender benders to those with casualties. Fortunately everyone was able to walk away from all the traffic incidents we were on that day, and three out of four vehicles drove home.

Of course there was the obligatory false alarm call, this one being different in that the address of the alarm ping didn’t match the supposed home security plan location or resident. Mysterious, but as the observer of the backing unit, that’s all the information I’ll ever hear about that one.

The two disorderly calls in different sections of the precinct Officer Wells was sent to that day both involved people she had previously dealt with. One was homeless person close to a wooded area walking in traffic wearing only his underwear, the other was a man rambling through shopping centers near his supposed home address. Since she was familiar with both, the officer was able to discern their mental processing had, in one case, deteriorated to a point where he had trouble focusing on the conversation, and the other appeared more agitated than he had the day before. Both individuals were offered water by the officers on scene, and one was repeatedly offered a ride to the crisis center. Only water was accepted.

The wandering man ended up being criminally trespassed at a store. The homeless man was admonished to keep his pants on when he’s near the road so they would not get calls about him walking around in his underwear. (There was a call later in the day dispatched to a different unit involving indecent exposure in the same general area. Was it the same man? Maybe.)

Mobile does have a Homeless Outreach Team, but all MPD officers are able to offer help to people in need, which is good because the homeless population is gigantic compared to the size of the Homeless Outreach Team. In recent years, West Mobile has seen homeless numbers in its suburban zones that rival what is typical of a downtown area. MPD is trying to keep up with proper training for the officers in dealing with the public who might have mental health or drug issues, but with everything else patrol officers deal with, most days there isn’t time to stop and talk to each person. They are usually just in touch with the ones causing concern enough for the public to telephone the police.

One act of kindness was shown to Officer Wells by a restaurant employee we briefly parked by. When we were getting back in the Tahoe, the worker took a duckie off the dashboard of her car and shared it as a token of recognition for service to the community for one of Mobile’s finest. As the holidays approach, please keep in mind the first responders who serve your community 24/7. Even the smallest acknowledgement of appreciation can brighten their day.

P.S.

Thank you for journeying with me on my rides with MPD. This series (find them all here) will continue into the new year, leading up to the release of my next book, Fragments Observed: Lessons Learned on Patrol. My first nonfiction book will take a deeper look at my ride alongs, showcasing more behind-the-scenes events and how the experiences have changed my outlook on life.