Category: AUTHORSHIP
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FRAGMENTS OBSERVED: Riding with the Mobile Police Department, Part 6
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 4th Precinct in northwest Mobile for a day shift during the week rather…
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Fragments Observed: Riding with the Mobile Police Department, Part 5
Thanks to a steamy August afternoon, condensation coated the windows of the lobby at 1st Precinct on Dauphin Island Parkway. The precinct cat lounged on the sidewalk near the door—not bothering to withdraw from a stranger in the heavy evening air. Though it was the end of most people’s workday and week, the squad sergeant…
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Fragments Observed: Riding with the Mobile Police Department, Part 4
Tucked on the edge of a parking garage facing Water Street, Central Precinct is easy to miss in person and often overlooked on the jurisdiction map because of its small size in comparison to the other four precincts. I’ll admit that this was my final precinct to ride in, put off due to thinking it…
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Fragments Observed: Riding with the Mobile Police Department, Part 3
In the middle of June, I joined the dayshift squad in 2nd Precinct, covering southwest Mobile. I rode in 2nd Precinct while in the Citizens Police Academy the previous year, so it was a return visit for me though with a different squad. Right away, the comradery of the officers was evident. From seasoned veterans…
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Fragments Observed: Riding with the Mobile Police Department, Part 2
On a muggy pre-dawn morning in mid-May, I entered the behind-the-scenes section of Precinct 3 (northeast Mobile) for the first time. While each precinct is similar, there are differences beyond the age and architecture of the buildings that set a certain tone to each shift. The atmosphere that Saturday morning was eagerness to start the…