Officers wonder “Am I going to end up on YouTube?” though job is mostly uneventful
The day starts in the afternoon with a briefing. Police officers working second shift for the University of Northern Iowa’s Department of Public Safety are first filled in on happening from the previous shift. Each shift is comprised of two to four patrol officers.
After the briefing, the job can vary greatly each day. When I showed up to meet the officer I would be riding along with, she was nowhere to be found. Officer Stacy Davis had just been deployed to a fire alarm call. I felt disappointed that I did not arrive sooner so as to have been along with her. I wondered what that entailed.
When she returned, I was was given a tour of the UNI Public Safety office. There was a closet known as a holding cell. In there was just a bench and a toilet. I wondered what it must be like to be held in there. Most people who were locked in that space where drunk, so that made me feel better.
I questioned the officer on how often people were detained. My assumption was that typically offenders were picked up on weekend when the college party scene was greatest. Officer Davis shared that drunk drivers can be out at all times of the day.
The staff works diligently to keep the campus safe. In addition to the alcohol related arrests like operating while intoxicated, public intoxication, and minor in possession; police help with mental health situations, parking enforcement, and drug possessions.
It was no surprise to me that the leading illegal drug used by college students is marijuana. Officer Davis noted that the obvious smell attributed to the higher number arrest compared to other substances. She also mentioned prescription drugs are being abused at an increasingly alarming rate. Law enforcement of proper usage is difficult because sign of use and possession are much harder to notice.
I questioned the officer about her feelings of marijuana. She agreed that many in society believe it should be legal, with some even thinking it is. However, she noted, “Pot is different than it was in the ’60’s.” Further, Officer Davis said the substance today is engineered and more powerful than it used to be.
She believes in testing cannabis oil and other derivatives of the plan to medical purposes, but does not understand why people would put this substance in their bodies without knowing where exactly it came from or what its effects will be. Although she faces ridicule by the users of this drug, it is her job to enforce the law.
One tool to help officers in this and other areas is all of the cameras around campus. They are in strategic locations around campus. The person in the control room brought up the footage from the tower elevators for me. She and officer Davis told me about a common issue regarding the towers elevators.
As students jump in the elevators, they become damaged and stop working requiring a repair person to come to campus to free those trapped and fix the unit. Even after “No Jumping” signs have been posted, kids keep jumping. Seemingly unbeknownst to them, they are jumping on camera. The footage can be reviewed at the same time of equipment failure revealing the culprits.
“This last time, three out of four in the elevator jumped. And guess what, they were not even UNI students. So, guess who got the bill.” Though he did not jump, the UNI student was charged for the elevator repair.
The cameras aren’t just stationary around campus. UNI police officers wear body cameras turning them on whenever in contact with someone. On the other side of things, Officer Davis considers, “Am I going to end up on YouTube today?”
That is an understandable concern. I wondered why she chose this profession and found out she majored in biology and anthropology at UNI graduating in 2007. She initially wanted to be a forensic detective. A year after graduating, her plan was to become an officer first and work her way up. “And, nine years later, her I am, doing this same job.”
Curious about the fire alarm call from earlier, I asked the officer about it. “Burnt popcorn is always triggering fire alarms to go off,” she responded. She saw the disappointment on my face. I was expecting something more exciting. She followed with, “Hey, it is sure better than the alternative.”
I supposed she was right, but I couldn’t help but secretly hope something big, and wild, and crazy would happen while I was on the ride along with Officer Davis. I asked if she had done other ride alongs with students, and she mentioned she would likely be the one to take most of my class. Specifically, she noted, “I’m one of the only ones that can do ride alongs.”
And so, we began my ride along. Where would we go? What would we see? As I got into her police car, I noticed the giant gun mounted between our seats pointed up. There was a case of what looked like bullets right next to my foot. It was so hot. “When it’s nice out, riding in the car is great. This is my office,” Officer Davis shared, “When its hot or extremely cold, this office is not where you want to be all day.”
She cranked the air, and I was sitting shotgun with a police officer for the first time. Her area is the west and south of campus. “I can choose my route. You don’t want to go to the same place at the same time each day. People will start to notice that. That is one thing they tell us at the academy.”
We left Gilchrist, then we left campus, traveling on University, and then Hudson Road. A car turned in front of us illegally and the officer just shook her head and said, “Really?” We traveled further leading us by the soccer fields and then to a gravel access road where a photographer was taking a family’s pictures. As we stopped, I could see there faces become nervous. Officer Davis asked, “Are you taking some photos?” The group lightened up. Officer Davis mentioned they looked nice, and that this was a good location, and we moved on.
“I get paid to patrol campus,” the officer mentioned. And, that is what we did. We patrolled for an hour. Burnt popcorn, elevator jumpers, drunks, parking tickets, and pot heads. I thought something would happen. I thought I might get to be part of a real situation involving enforcement of the law.
No luck, however, a truck we were following went extra slow out of fear of the law. I brought up that though I’m not a speeder, without hesitation, I hit my break when I see a cop. Officer Davis was thankful for that. She took that as a nod to her profession. While she and her fellow officers may not be out arresting people left and right, the campus community is aware of police presence. With that, the hope is they will think before engaging in illegal behavior.
VIDEO LINK: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jf6J3uPY0l48HRHm2 (Officer does not allow others to film her)
Journalism & Law 