“I’m going to give you the cover and conceal talk that I give on all of my ride-alongs. Conceal means get behind a bush: anything that will interfere with an assailant’s view of you. Cover means put yourself behind something that will stop a bullet. So whether that’s a tree — or another officer — I’m going to need you to do that, ok?”
I nodded. She handed me a heavy metal flashlight. Along with a UOPD sergeant, Officer Allison Hart and I trudged through muddy, uncut grass until we approach a tent where someone had been illegally camping on university grounds. I’m told to stand back as the officers peer around the corner.
“Are you in there? This is the police,” said Hart. She and the sergeant unzip the tent and probe the sides with their flashlights. No one’s there.
—
Last Wednesday, I got a taste of what it’s like to be on a patrol ride-along with the University of Oregon Police Department.
My assigned officer, 28-year-old UO law school graduate Allison Hart, is the only female police officer at the UOPD.
“I needed more variety than what a career in law would offer me,” she said.
What attracted her to the job most was the fact that she could work with people. As a veteran of customer service positions, Hart’s main concern is how she interacts with the community and people she meets during her patrol.
“Cops see the best people on their worst days. Lawyers see the worst people on their best days…I was a kid too. I’m not here to hold that against you,” she said.
There weren’t any calls when we first departed for the ride-along, so Hart asked me if I’d like to see dispatch. For security purposes, I’m not allowed to reveal where the UOPD’s call center is. After a few security clearances, we enter the room where dispatch is housed.
It was like I had dropped into a Spy Kids movie. At the front of the room, four plasma screens hung from the wall inches from each other. Each screen is displaying a feed from at least 10 or 15 different security cameras in a grid.
A pair of dispatchers working at the time, Wendy Rouse and Michelle Jackson, and were each stationed at a desk equipped with nine monitors. All 18 monitors were being put to use.
Normally, one dispatcher takes calls and the other sends out a message over the radio. If the caller provided information about where a certain crime is taking place, Rouse or Jackson will try and gather suspect information by looking at the camera footage.
“You never know what kind of call you’re going to get,” said Jackson. “It’s fast-paced, and always a challenge.”
During times when call volume isn’t as high, the dispatchers watch the feeds for suspicious activity.
“17 people tried to fit themselves into a Barnhart elevator once. It was amusing to watch,” Rouse said.
When we return to her car, Hart tells me about her experience working the 3-10 p.m. shift between radio chatter and dispatch calls.
“I think I’ve reached my lifetime quota of vomit.” Public intoxication is something she has to deal with frequently.
But sometimes the night can take a light-hearted turn: “One time a guy was canoeing in the Jaqua fountain. He kept asking why he couldn’t be doing that. And it’s hard to keep a straight face when you’re trying to deal with something like that,” she said.
Homelessness is another problem that Hart encounters often. The cycle of substance abuse that affects many homeless people means that Hart is often arresting the same people for the same crimes.
“It’s disheartening to see that,” said Officer Hart. “My least favorite part about the job is that I can’t fix everything.”
Listen to more of what Dahlia Bazzaz has to say about her ride-along here:
