I was recently given the opportunity to spent time with several Russellville Police Officers while on duty to learn more about what they do and how they do it.

By Staff
I spent about five hours with four different officers over a period of three days, and I can say that I learned a lot.
My first hour was spent with an obviously seasoned officer. It was the night shift, and as we drove along he was telling about the things he noticed as when went down the street. Within five minutes of leaving the station, we catch a guy practically running a red light so we got behind him to check him out. Ran the tag, and pulled him over. The officer found the driver with no driver's license and illegal alcohol in the vehicle. The driver passed the field sobriety tests so he didn't get arrested. But, his car was towed per the new city ordinance for unlicensed drivers, and we gave the guy a ride to the station to be picked up by a friend.
My second hour was spent with a newly assigned rookie, and within two minutes of being with her I realized that she was really green. But, nobody is a pro at his or her job at first. It takes time to develop skills necessary to do any job, and I know that once she's had a few months on the street, she will become a good officer, but that comes with experience.
My third hour was my favorite of all the time spent with the RPD. This time it was the day shift, and I was with an experienced officer. I spent an hour and a half with this officer and in that amount of time, we made one traffic stop, checked on a vehicle that appeared to be broken down, and made two arrests.
If that's not an hour well spent, I don't know what is. The traffic stop was for no seat belt and the guy checked out, so the officer issued a verbal warning. The broken down truck turned out to be not broken down, but the arrests were the interesting parts of the experience.
The first arrest was a woman who was walking down the road. The officer recognized who she was and checked out her warrant status. Turns out there were warrants out for her arrest, and he took her to jail.
The second arrest came when we went to help the investigator serve a warrant on a subject wanted for theft and burglary. Once the subject was in custody, his rights were read on the spot and he was questioned in the back of the police car. He practically admitted his part in the crime, and was taken to jail.
My final hour with the officers was spent with the Russellville Compliance Officer. The only thing I can say is that the compliance officer position is very uneventful.
I never really gave any thought to what happens when people don't clean their yard or if a dog gets lose and wreaks havoc in the neighborhood. This is where the compliance officer comes into play.
This job is what I would consider a necessary evil-meaning that while the job is sort of boring, it is important because what's the use in having a city ordinance on trash, yards and dogs if there is no one there to enforce it.
I can say that one exciting thing happened while I was with officer. We responded as back up to get an escapee at a local apartment complex. Two other officers were there when we got there. They circled the unit to make sure the escapee couldn't get away. Once they got in the apartment, they found that the guy wasn't there, but did make another arrest while they were there. At least it wasn't a complete waist of time.
During my time with the officers, the one thing I learned is that their job is bigger than just riding around and writing tickets. They are busy trying to keep the citizens of Russellville safe, and while it is unpleasant, arresting people, and writing tickets are two of the ways they keep our community safe.
So, the next time, you are pulled over by an officer, or even see them on the street, you should stop and say thanks because we'd all be in trouble if they weren't here.