Editor's Notebook: Along for the Ride with the Sixth Precinct

I rode in a police car for the first time Wednesday.

There were no charges filed or handcuffs involved, as this was simply a ride-along. Civic-minded folks can request a ride-along from their local police precincts to get a better sense of how those precincts work.

News editors are perfect candidates for this kind of thing, especially given how frequently we report on police activity. Kara Hahn, president of the Civic Association of the Setaukets and Stony Brook, goes for a ride-along once in a while, as has Suffolk County Legis. Vivian Viloria-Fisher, D-Setauket. Officer Todd Bradshaw, a local resident, often leads the ride-alongs.

I met Bradshaw at Station 2 of the Stony Brook Fire Department. Apparently, it's a common practice in the county for officers to leave their own cars at fire stations while out on tour. But there was a problem: the officer using Bradshaw's vehicle, the 609 car, was down at the precinct finishing up some paperwork. So we joined Officer Frank Raspanti in car 608 for a few hours.

And I picked their brains on a variety of topics – from the beeping noises their equipment made to the community's impressions of its officers to the political inner workings of the county's police structure. Only on-the-record information is given in this account.

3:00 p.m. – First things first: sign a waiver. Just in case.

"In case we go into a high speed pursuit. Which I totally want to do, but we won't," Bradshaw said.

3:24 p.m. – A woman in a minivan flags down the car. She's crying. She has just lost her job and believes it unfair, and is looking for something – anything – to give her a sliver of hope. It's a civil issue, not something the officers are able to get involved in. But they can talk to the woman and generally try to calm her down.

"Whether we like it or not, we do a lot of social work or counseling on the fly. Mediation type stuff," Bradshaw said. "Locking up the bad guy is cool, but it gets old. It's dealing with the person in need that's a lot more satisfying."

3:58 p.m. – A call about a disabled motorist on Pond Path came in, but it must have resolved itself, because it's gone by the time we arrive. We pull back onto Route 347 from Pond Path via an entrance ramp which is one of the most frequent accident sites in the Sixth Precinct, particularly for rear-end accidents, the officers say.

"Not because it's a poor design," Bradshaw said, "but because people are in a rush."

4:28 p.m. – A call comes in for a domestic dispute involving an intoxicated individual at a private residence. It was resolved peacefully with no charges filed.

4:50 p.m. – A call comes in from Suffolk Plastic Surgeons, where someone tripped the silent holdup alarm on accident.

4:55 p.m. – On the way to respond to a call about a theft at an auto imports shop, we pass the Northville Industries oil refinery on Belle Mead. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, this area, like other "vulnerable" areas in the precinct, has become one of the regular patrol stops.

At the shop, Raspanti and Bradshaw talk to the complainant about the theft of a toolbox from a pickup truck. And the officers proceed to spend more time filling out the official report than they did at the scene of the alleged crime. The report is a four-page online report filed through the precinct's intranet on a computer installed inside the patrol car. Years ago, reports were one simple, handwritten page.

"In the end, this is the way to go, but it stinks because it takes so long," Raspanti said. "All reports must be submitted before end of tour."

5:27 p.m. – Bradshaw is just finishing up the report from the toolbox theft. I decide to pour the ice out of my drink, so I attempt to open the backseat door. It won't budge; the handle, it seems, is just for decoration. The officers explain it to me this way: what if I were a bad guy? They wouldn't want me just opening up the door and getting out. Which, of course, makes a lot of sense.

5:35 p.m. – We respond to a call about another civil dispute. A family moving into a new home allegedly argued with the moving company over the fee, and the movers drove away – with most of the family's belongings still inside the truck. The officers attempt to calm the mother, suggesting they try to make the best of a night without furniture and pretend it's a camp-out.

6:04 p.m. – The 609 car is ready for pickup. We head back to the fire house as Raspanti reflects for a moment on the image which he says many people have in their minds about police officers.

"People think we're in this car having a grand old time," he said, "but we're going from call to call and doing our reports."

6:36 p.m. – Bradshaw and I meet the Stony Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corps. at a medical office on Route 347, where 911 has been called because a 78-year-old male experienced difficulty breathing. The man is taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center, and Bradshaw files another report.

7:08 p.m. – We pull into Setauket Fire Dept. Station No. 3 on Nicolls Road, where Sergeant Andrew Gliganic pulls up next to us for a quick meeting.

"The thing I like about our department is...most of our officers live in the jurisdiction that they serve," Gliganic said. "They're serving their families, neighbors and friends."

7:53 p.m. – We pick up some food for dinner, but multiple calls come in over a loud dispute at a residence in Stony Brook. Dinner will have to wait a little while.

"People are allowed to be angry at each other and yell," Bradshaw said. "However, on the chance it's going to be violent, it's a fair call."

A total of four police officers and one Patch editor equipped with a pink flashlight arrive on the scene. Outside the home, two officers begin interviewing a distraught female, while another officer speaks with her male companion. A tiny papillon wearing blue pajamas darts around their feet. A curious passerby gets out of her car to inquire whether everything's OK.

Turns out it's a fight between a boyfriend and a girlfriend in which screaming occurred and household items were thrown.

"It's considered a domestic incident," Bradshaw said. "This enables one or more to apply for an order of protection if need be."

8:32 p.m. – Dinner at last.

9:30 p.m. – As we patrol on Route 347, I'm getting tired, so the next question on my mind is far from significant or hard-hitting. I ask Bradshaw whether he watches cop shows on television.

"Never," he said. "It's frustrating as hell. It's not what we do. I saw parts of an episode of NCIS a week ago that made me want to vomit. It didn't look anything like our precinct. Their uniforms fit them like supermodels. Very unrealistic."

While we're talking about TV, Bradshaw notices two cars driving strangely and runs their plates. He pulls one over, but doesn't issue a ticket.

10:07 p.m. – We make a stop at the home of a chronic caller who has reported the same issue several times over the past two weeks. It's a civil issue; again, not something the police are allowed to become involved in.

10:47 p.m. – Heading back to the fire house to conclude the eight-hour tour, there's an opportunity for one more traffic stop.

"Tonight was a typical night, nothing crazy," Bradshaw said. "An average night."