Month: January 2015

by William Crum

Last Friday night I had an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to ride along with Officer Mike Henderson in the East Patrol division of the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department.

It was 10 o’clock; roll call was made by the watch commander. As I watched I often thought of the old TV show called Hill Street Blues, which many of you will remember. After roll call the watch commander briefed the officers on duty informing them of what is going on in the area that they will patrol. The officers on duty had very few questions to ask, each officer listened closely and they all took notes on what was going on in the area by which they will patrol. At the end of the roll call, the watch commander told everyone to back each other up.

Afterwards, Officer Henderson and I went down to get the patrol car which we will be riding in. Officer Henderson checked everything that was in the car including all firearms. As we both entered the patrol car we put our seatbelts on. Officer Henderson has roughly 50 pounds of safety equipment on him including a bullet proof vest. As I put my seatbelt on I could feel a sense of anticipation of what I’m soon to see. “You are afraid are you? You be OK,” Officer Henderson said.

As we left the building Officer Henderson checked the siren to make sure it works properly and off we went on our first call. First call was for someone was stopped for speeding. There was several other patrol cars there as well backing each other up. “We expect the worst always. This is why we back each other up,” Officer Henderson said.

As we drove our next call I really got know Officer Henderson. What I found out is he’s a family man who likes being a police officer and likes the community which he patrols.

Our second call was a woman who called the police because someone was knocking on her door. When we got there were several other officers there as well. I talked to them. Every one of the officers that was there was a lot like Officer Henderson. They, like Mike, enjoy being a police officer and enjoy their community where they live. They are a total team and you could see this in their actions and how they interact with each other.

Things were slow at this time so Mike decided to do a patrol. As we drove by we ran across an elderly woman who was parked by the side of the road. Her tire was flat and you could tell she was frightened sitting in her car. Officer Henderson got the car and asked her, “Ma’am are you OK?” “Yes,” she said, “but I’m really scared!” “You will be OK, you have anybody coming to fix you tire?” Officer Henderson said. The woman said, “My son is on his way.” No sooner than she said it, her son pulled up behind the vehicle. Her son got out of the vehicle and said to Officer Henderson, “Thanks for watching my mother till I got here, I really appreciate it, we will be OK. Thank you so very much.”

Officer Henderson said that a lot of people don’t realize that police officers are people too.
“We care about the people in our community, after all they are our friends and neighbors,” he said.

He said he and many other officers chosen this profession because they care about the community, a lot of them don’t like being tied down to desk jobs, and the feeling of helping someone else out when they are in need gives them a sense of purpose in life.

Many of the officers have been working together as a team for 12 years and know each other very well, he said.

As we drove along a call came, this time it was a domestic violence case, where the couple is not getting along with each other. These cases like this are the worst kind’ you really don’t know what to expect, Officer Henderson said. As we got there were other patrol cars as well, keeping an eye on the situation in case someone gets unruly.

As the night progressed not much was going on, everything was quiet for the most part.

We did 11 calls, the reason is the winter months and everything is quiet, Officer Henderson said. During the summer months, the workload triples. “We really get extremely busy during the summer months,” Officer Henderson said.

As the night ended we pulled into the police garage and went upstairs to check out with the watch commander. Come back another time when we are busy and you can really see what we do, this is been a slow night, said the watch commander.

What I learned was police officers are people too. They have families like you and me. They’re going to make mistakes, after all, everyone is human. As I walked to my car I felt a sense of gratification and honor to be a part of one of the most compelling experiences in my life. He gave me a new perspective on life a sense of appreciation and admiration for every officer. This was truly one of the most enlightening experiences I’ve ever had in my life. To be a police officer takes a certain breed of individual, a person who not only cares about himself but about their community as well. I salute every officer for what they’re doing for our community as well. I also want to do thank Officer Mike Henderson and the East Patrol division and others of the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department for what they are doing in our community.