County police ride-alongs open some eyes

Leaders join officers to see life on the streets firsthand

By HEATHER RAWLYK, Staff Writer

Capital Gazette Communications

Published 07/30/10

Sometime between a traffic stop in Pasadena and an armed robbery in Millersville, Rick Behringer grabbed a soda and snack from a gas station - not exactly the dinner break he'd pictured when he signed up for a county police ride-along last week.

Paul W. Gillespie - The Capital PFC Rick Furrow talks with Kevin Sharpe, vice president of the Fox Chase Homeowners Association, as they patrol Hospital Drive in Glen Burnie. Sharpe was one of a dozen community association leaders to ride along with county police on July 23 to learn what it’s like to be an officer.

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Behringer, vice president of the Old Mill Community Association, was one of a dozen community leaders who shadowed Eastern District officers for eight hours July 23 to get a feel for crime in their neighborhood, point out problems and learn what police do on a day-to-day basis.

Participants such as Behringer learned just how busy officers stay on each shift, even on a somewhat slow...

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@Sal - 2010-07-31 23:01:35

The kitten was doing the speed limit in the left lane!!!

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Mary Ann Donnell - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

swine flu - 2010-07-31 13:53:34

catchy subject line huh ? that being said I wonder how may of the officers used as the ride-alongees were black, and also how many of the ride-alongers were black. if we can begin our analysis of the propaganda potential of the ride-alongs, this reader feels this bit of data will be crucial in beginning the analysis.

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reynold cavern - Annapolis, md - Karma: Terrible

Oh Come Now - 2010-07-31 13:16:15

David Moore - "Did it even occur to you that I may be IN law enforcement at a level other than county?" Dave, if you were I doubt you would show such a bitter streak towards them and propensity to judge based on just a newspaper's story. As one who has worked for both a local and federal agency I can say there is no camparison - locals have it harder. They get frantic, emergency calls with little prep time or backup and every mistake makes the evening news. Then they have the naysayers like you who are "embarrassed" by their perceived mistakes. Understand though that they keep the peace. Feds on the other hand usually get to deal with an event on their timeline and with substantial support. Very little makes the news without their consent. They take their time because they can, thus the expression 'making a federal case" out of something. They can because the locals are still out keeping the peace. That's what these ride-alongs showed to the community leaders.

I may be worthy of trust & confidence but most feds & civilians have little idea of what the locals deal with every day. I think that applies to you too.

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M Young - Crownsville, MD - Karma: Excellent

I can defuse this argument - 2010-07-31 12:44:57

LOOK! A KITTEN!

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Salvatorre Bagatelli - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good

keep practicing Steven - 2010-07-31 05:52:13

While the sincerity of your emotion is unquestionable, Steven, you may find that properly and maturely presenting a counter-point is a more adult and effective means of rebuttal than speculation and personal attack. For example, look at Mr Johnson's posting. Rather than name-calling and ludicrous scenarios, he presents a counter-point in an adult manner by actually formulating a reason for his view and an intelligent option for perhaps how I arrived at mine. Honestly, Steven, you know nothing of my background or my qualifications to perform proper law enforcement duties. Did it even occur to you that I may be IN law enforcement at a level other than county? Did it possibly occur to you that I may be embarrassed on a professional level by some recent actions by A.A. County officers? Obviously, and sadly for your "rebuttal", it did not. A beneficial skill to learn, Steven, is to keep rampant emotion in check while insuring the veracity of your response. Keep practicing.

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Dave Moore - Arnold, MD - Karma: Terrible

You try it - 2010-07-30 18:40:05

Love your child-like rant Dave. Sounds like you are one of the frequent geniuses that they have to deal with on a daily basis. I would love to see Mr. Moore do their job. I guess when he would run across an intoxicated fool spitting and ready for a fight, Mr. Moore would buy him an ice cream cone and send him on his way. Nice way to put a negative spin on a positive interaction.

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Steven Ingrassia - Glen Burnie, MD - Karma: Good

credit - 2010-07-30 18:37:36

We don't read about the million things these men and women do everyday that protect us without incident. We very seldom get a remarkable good story about police efforts. The bad situations hit all the papers and form opinions like Mr. Moore's. They needed good PR, yes. Like a business, they went out and arranged for some. A smart tactic that included the public, in hopes of people realizing just how nerve-racking police work really is. There are not so swift officers, certainly. But they have job responsiblities we can't even fathom. Ease up.

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Tyler Johnson - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

Total PR - 2010-07-30 18:04:16

What a total "grease job"!
With all the negative attention falling on Anne Arundel County cops and their "cowboy" counterparts in other jurisdictions lately, (all of which was their own fault), you could see this public relations schmoozing coming a mile away.

"I was really surprised at the skill that the officers displayed," she said. "They were all great at managing emotions that could have spilled out of control very easily, and that's what impressed me. It really did. They handled themselves very professionally and very calmly in a manner that respected everyone concerned."

This translates to "they were really on their best behavior. They didn't shoot or taze anyone. They managed to mask their usual arrogance and didn't even put on their customary "bully strut".

These 'leaders' who participated are now gushing like 8year-olds who got to sit in a real fire engine and were given an ice cream cone.

Just as scripted.

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Dave Moore - Arnold, MD - Karma: Terrible