Well I had a great time on the ride along. I got downtown around 11:30 and checked in at the front desk. Sergeant Wojtech drove me up to the Westside station. We had a nice chat, and I wish I had heard more of his stories about aiding in the evacuation of Mount St. Helens when it erupted. Spent a couple of hours riding around with JT in his car. For the inquiring minds, Sergeant Wojtech doesn't own an iPod, and JT likes classic rock and modern country on his.

Got to see a couple of calls responded to. As one involved a minor, and another was a routine complaint, but involving a no contact order I won't delve into any details. Heard some interesting stuff come over the radio as well.

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Of course guns were a topic of conversation :-) Some personal tastes in firearms, and OPD equipment in general.

Each patrol car carries an Olympic Arms CAR-15, and a Remington 870 shotgun. Officers may carry a sidearm of their choice in 9mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP. JT was carrying a taser, and generously offered to demonstrate the "stun gun" feature on me. I held up my hands and asked "Don't tase me bro" :-) Very cool less lethal tool, can shoot two projectile barbs up to 20 feet, or function as a stun gun.

OPD does not issue automatic weapons to it's patrol officers. SWAT has some select fire weapons though. Guns, ammo, tasers, body armor, batons, etc... there is no weapon or piece of equipment that a patrol officer carries that cannot be acquired by a law abiding citizen.

We drove around the Westside a bit, (I need to stay on good behavior, Westbay Marina falls within JT's patrol area. :-) it was a fascinating trip, seeing one's neighborhood through the eyes of a cop. Had a couple of problem areas pointed out to me, as well some of the area's success stories. Camp Quioxte is one of successes.

Also viewed (from the street) the area of the recent transient murders. A wooded area of city property that will someday get developed into a park, but in the meantime serves as a camp area for the homeless. It looks like it could be a nice area if one had to camp, but I would worry about the character of my "neighbors" if I had to.

The members of OPD I met Monday were very cordial and professional. OPD has always impressed me with the number of veteran officers they have. Veteran cops tend to have a more real world view of things, and have been around the block a few times. I always prefer dealing with a guy who has been there, done that so to speak.

I've seen OPD in action a couple of times (usually starting out with "Please keep your hands where I can see them sir" :-) and have given them a bit of a go around now and then, even to the point of turning a lawyer loose, and raising all manner of fuss. They were under no obligation to treat me with more courtesy than would be considered professional, but I believe they went beyond that, and truly treated me as a guest.

Honestly as far as police work went, it was boring, so I don't have a lot to report on in that regards. So often cops are called upon to be social workers with guns, which is what I observed Monday. I did hear some great stories, and had a pleasant time. Of course anytime I can hang out with folks who share some of my interests and are intelligent and well spoken I will enjoy myself. Olympia has a valuable asset in the OPD. They are more of an "old fashioned" "small town" police force than I would have expected. I have always felt this way, even when I have had problems with them.

Anyhow, I had a great time, and enjoyed meeting some officers who weren't asking for my ID and gun. Thanks to Linda Greggs at the OPD who scheduled the ride along, Lt. Wilson for approving it, Sargeant Wojtech and Officer Tupper for keeping me occupied for a few hours.

Here is their briefing and meeting room where all manner of important stuff takes place. Few outside of law enforcement have ever seen this room. Until now.