Yesterday, I totally cruised around in a police car!
I wear a hat just like a Mountie. I'm the sheriff of Boone County.
This is Boone County Sheriff Deputy Tony Theetge. He is awesome.
(I'm not permitted to publish photos taken during my ride-along for privacy reasons. And probably because the internet is not ready for the intense attitude I captured from my armed chaperone.)
For three and a half hours, Tony showed me the ropes of policing Kentucky's northernmost county, from the technology he uses to the lingo favored by this fellow law enforcement officials.
There are lots of stereotypes associated with police officers and few of them are particularly pleasant. But Tony and everyone I met at the Boone County Sheriff's Department was particularly propitious, patient and
professional.
Cops have hard jobs, y'all. And Tony performs with aplomb.
He even let me sit in the back of the cruiser! This is what it felt like:
scared silly
As I watched Tony gently interact with diverse people who weren't always at their best, I remembered why I don't even like to watch old episodes of Cops. It's hard to be a party to the tragic trainwrecks that are the lives of our fellow man.
But, corny as it sounds, talking to Tony gave me hope. He believes in karma, has a heartfelt dedication to the service aspect of his work and does his best to treat everyone with respect.
For every disoriented disaster of an individual, there are dudes like Deputy Theetge, trying to improve lives one night at a time.
Not a bad lesson to learn on a Wednesday night.
No comments:
Post a Comment