Wednesday morning, Josie finished loading their equipment into the black and white and checking the back seat area for dumped contraband.
Her nerves gave her the energy to perform the tasks, but she felt like she was slogging through cement with her every move.
Two days of trying to be perfect and prove herself had finally taken a toll. She’d experienced the same kind of stress her first month in the academy, but then she realized she was holding her own in training and she wasn’t so keyed up.
Working the street was different. Her life and Bender’s depended on her being alert and ready to take action instantly.
The day before, they’d worked four hours overtime booking the burglars and writing the arrest and evidence reports.
When she got home, she hadn’t slept well. There was so much to learn that the academy didn’t teach—like how to book a body and all the different forms needed for an arrest. It had shaken her confidence.
Luckily, the jailers were helpful—which was a good thing, because her partner was more interested in his phone than walking her through her first booking of a male arrestee.
She logged into their vehicle’s computer while Bender put gas in the car.
With the tank topped off, he got inside and turned to look at her. “Are you okay?”
She forced a smile. “Yeah. Why?”
“You’re kinda quiet.”
“I’m just mentally preparing for the day.” Boy, that was lame.
“Good, because today I’m going to show you how to keep the sergeants off your ass.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “Awesome.”
He pulled out of the station parking lot. “We’re gonna find you your first greenie.”
Her puzzlement must have shown on her face.
“A traffic ticket.”
Josie nodded and smiled. She didn’t know if she should be excited or afraid. Vehicle stops were one of the most dangerous things a cop could do.
“A bunch of guys like to sit on stop signs in residential neighborhoods,” he continued. “I don’t do that because most of the time the violator slows, checks to see the way is clear, and then rolls on through.” He pulled out onto the major boulevard.
“As long as the driver is safe, it’s not that big of a deal. And people receiving those kinds of citations are pissed because they think we have better things to be doing…and we do.”
“So, how do you obtain your tickets?”
“There are plenty of violations happening in front of us. You just have to be watching for them.” They stopped at a red light behind three cars at a major intersection. “Look at me.”
She turned to face him.
“Let me clarify that I’m not saying that it’s okay for people to run stop signs. I’m saying that if the driver slows and sees the roadway is clear and then goes through at a low speed, maybe that isn’t the guy you want to cite.”
“Understood.”
“Save the power of your pen for the driver who puts themselves or others in danger…or…for someone who fails the attitude test.”
“What’s that?”
“Someone who’s committed a violation and when you pull them over, they have a shitty demeanor.”
She grinned and nodded.
“We’re gonna drive around, and I want you watching specifically for traffic violations. Let me know what you spot, and we’ll go from there.”
“I can do that,” she said, hoping she’d observe a violation.
“Good,” he said. “Did you notice that car make a right?”
“Yeah.”
“Technically, we could have stopped that driver. Can you tell me why?”
She scanned the intersection. There was a pedestrian crossing the street. “The woman in the crosswalk?”
Bender smiled. “Exactly. The guy making the right turn should have waited until the pedestrian got all the way across the street and onto the sidewalk.”
“So, why didn’t we write him up?”
“Two reasons. One: The woman was totally clear of the area when the violator rounded the corner. In other words, the ped wasn’t in any danger of being run over.”
“And the second reason?”
“We’re stuck behind three cars, and our violator would be long gone before we could even think about catching him.”
The light changed, and they melded into the traffic.