Of course, during my trip to Portland, I had to do a ride along with one of Washington County' finest, my son, Corporal Robert Rookhuyzen! He switched his usual graveyard shift to one through which I could be conscious, noon to 10 PM. (My last ride along, graveyard shift, I was only partially conscious the final 4 hours!)
Rob's car was outfitted with a dandy computer that kept him going all shift! I have long considered myself to be a good multi-tasker but he put me to shame. He often had the radio, dispatches and his walkie talkie thing going simultaneously--and was communicating on
all three! Yes, this was done often while driving! We responded to several interesting calls:
1. picking up evidence from the scene of a month-long dead body that had been overlooked the night before. We both thought how sad it was that no one had missed this woman for 30+ days! He asked if i wanted to come in with him--duh! The smell was unbelievable. I guess maintenance had been in that morning to see if they needed to replace the carpet! They will need to replace the floor! There was lot of gooey human left behind.
2. We also responded to what they called Sex Abuse incident (the fourth in a month and the second that day) at the world campus of Nike, wherein a man riding a red bike rode up behind women joggers and grabbed their crotches--then riding placidly away! Of course all the women were using their iPods at the time so they had no forewarning of anything. Scary!
As a result of that call and interviews of victims, the Commander put Rob t in charge of a "mission," their term for a 3-day undercover op to catch the perv. He made many calls and wrote reports in prep for the op which would take place the next three days at a variety of hours. (Unfortunately, the perp never showed.)
I also got to watch a "lay down." This is where a photo lay out was presented to witnesses (at their place of employment or wherever) of a drunk driver who left the scene of the crime. In separate "lay downs," both witnesses immediately picked out the driver. Hopefully another drunk driver bites the dust! It was her fourth DUI!
Being a corporal, Rob gets to choose the calls to which he will respond. He pulled over one driver with expired tags (I don't know how he sees what he sees and runs plates while driving!!) and no insurance. The poor man who was driving his boss's truck, left with a very hefty ticket.
I am old and cannot recall everything we did but it was great fun as always. Robert told me every city/county police force welcomes ride alongs from citizens. He says he often checks the board before going out on patrol to see if there is anyone waiting to go. He likes showing what the police do for better citizen understanding from the public. So...check it out!!
I am so proud of him for what he does, each and every day. I always enjoy these outings!
My son Robert was recently promoted to the rank of detective with the Washington County (Oregon) Sheriff's Department! He called us a few nights ago with the good news. There was quite a detailed selection process for this, including interviews, presentations and other tests. There were multiple applications so we are especially proud of this accomplishment.
