My first time stepping into the west Arlington police station the clock read 6:45 a.m. Thankfully nothing had gone horribly wrong that caused me to arrive there so early on a cold morning, but because I would be doing a ride along.
Today an officer would be assigned to take me with him on his shift 7:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. so I could see what a police officer did. All day I would stay with him and go where ever he did as long as he judged it safe.
Sergeant Kathy Mazza opened the door of the station letting me inside, she greeted me with a smile and gave me a short tour of the station before leading me to briefing.
Briefing consisted of about twelve officers seated in front of Sergeant Mazza and Sergeant Michael Curtin, while she gave them the rundown for the day. She made sure everyone knew what beat they were working, informed them of a small string of recent bank robberies and reminded them to pay attention to their surroundings, as two New York police officers had been shot just days before.
After briefing Sergeant Mazza introduced me to Officer Francis Pitone, a tall man who looked very stern and intimidating until he smiled. After a quick handshake and an equipment run, Officer Pitone and I walked to the parking lot, and took off.
Officer Pitone chatted with me in the car, telling me about his beat- the area he covers every day, and answering my questions about the equipment inside the car. While he drove Officer Pitone entered licence plate numbers from the cars around us, into a computer program to see if the cars were insured and their registration, up to date.
We had driven around Arlington for about twenty minutes when Officer Pitone pulled into a parking lot to take a closer look at something on his computer screen, rolling his window down to hear the outside world, he absorbed himself in his computer. At that moment shrill obscene shouts could be heard from somewhere nearby. A man in a bulky sweatshirt with the hood drawn up, exited the treeline next to the apartments across the street, he jerked his arms in the air and continued yelling as he disappeared behind an apartment building.
The tops of Officer Pitone’s ears turned pink.
“Well, OK then.” Officer Pitone said.
He laughed, but didn’t look at me. He must have been embarrassed I heard what the man said. The car shifted into drive and bolted out of the parking lot, across the street we wove between buildings until we saw the man again.
Officer Pitone drove toward him, while radioing dispatch.
“Officer 129, stopping white male, gray hoodie, approximately 25 years of age, requesting back.”
He gave his location, and ordered me to stay in the car before jumping ou,t leaving the drivers door wide open and the car parked in the middle of the street. The man kept walking, a sour look on his face, his eyes were darting around looking for an exit, but his shouting and arm waving had ceased.
“I’d like to talk to you for a minute.” Officer Pitone said.
The man started speaking rapidly, but I couldn’t make sense of any of it.
“Just take a seat.” Officer Pitone said. “ Do you have an ID?”
A Pantego police officer pulled up behind us, a male officer got out and spoke with Officer Pitone. Officer Pitone took the man’s ID and walked back to the patrol car. The Pantego officer watched the man sitting on the curb, while Officer Pitone ran his ID. When the scan came back clean Officer Pitone returned the man’s ID and talked to him about his irate behavior.
The man didn’t appear to have a drug problem and hadn’t been wandering the streets drunk at 8:00 in the morning, but admitted to having some mental health problems. What put him in such a temper was a fight with his sister, he had gone on a walk to blow off steam when we found him. Officer Pitone asked him if took medication for any of his problems, the man said no. Officer Pitone asked if he could drive him to the hospital where he could talk to a doctor about getting on medication, but the man didn’t want to do anything like that.
Officer Pitone wished him well, folded himself back into the car and we were off again, rolling around the streets of Arlington. A little later we were called to check on a house, whose alarm had been set off. Another officer met us at the house where three contractors had set off the alarm upon arriving.
They were the real deal, so we moved on roving and streets checking license plates until a call went out for us and another officer to go to a domestic dispute, we wrote a ticket for someone not wearing a seatbelt and made a quick stop for lunch at Chick-fil-a.
Two police officers Officer Pitone knew, joined us while we ate. The men told stories about old partners and the craziest calls they’ve been on, stopping every now and then to wave or smile at a wide-eyed child.
When the last of Chick-fil-a’s waffle fries were consumed, the officers returned to their cars and headed back to work.
Officer Pitone and I drove around our beat again, still running licence plates and listening to the radio, until dispatch called us to a car robbery.
We quickly drove to the site of the robbery, and were walking into the post office where the lady who had been robbed waited for us, when Officer Pitone stopped. He stared at a car then walked over to it. Another officer stood near the car.
“This is the car that was stole.” Officer Pitone said.
The other Officer confirmed, that the alleged stolen car still sat in the parking lot.
“Have you talked to the women yet?” Officer Pitone said.
“No, she’s sitting in the post office.” The Officer said.
We walked to the post office and as soon as we opened the door saw the lady. The gray haired women sat perched on a chair, leaning forward on her walker to see the officers.
Officer Pitone addressed her by name and asked if she called in the missing car. When she said yes, Officer Pitone told her about how the car still sat in the parking lot. The old women looked baffled and explained how that couldn’t be right, someone took her car, she knew she didn’t see it in the lot.
We walked the elderly lady to her car, and asked if we could drive her home. She said that wouldn’t be necessary, but would allow us to follow her back. Officer Pitone folded her walker and stowed it in the car, before helping her in and driving behind her back to her house.
When we arrived Officer Pitone jumped out of the car and hurried to get the women her walker. She told us she still couldn’t believe what happened, and promised to stay home the rest of the day until her daughter came home.
The rest of the day we spent driving, making two traffic stops. One stop for a driver with an improperly displayed license plate, and one man who received three tickets for not using his blinker, being an unlicensed driver, and driving all over the sidewalk.
The day ended with Officer Pitone and me safely at the station. The rest of my week would be spent relaxing on winter break, but Officer Pitone’s week would be spent working inside a police car.
