Dispatch Day 2

Back in dispatch, Lee and Angela were there just like they had been before, but a woman named Michelle was also there. She was about 6'1, not exactly someone I would ever mess with, and as it turned out she was a highway patrol officer. Unfortunately an accident inhibited her from continuing that line of work, but she works in dispatch as a part timer. Michelle gave me some advice about going into law enforcement, explaining that starting with highway patrol gives you more options in the long run. Advice coming from a woman in law enforcement was pretty amazing, so in the future I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

My job for the day was manning the dispatch window, which doesn't seem to difficult unless you have angry people who have had their cars towed, are posting bail, or who have had their cell phones taken out of their recently released vehicles. Luckily, that day, everything was resolved peacefully, although one man did have to be calmed down by a detective.

Eli was back to ask me if I'd learned everything I ever needed to know and if I could do the job all by myself. He then proceeded to ask me why I wanted to work in dispatch because it was boring, to which Lee responded, "It's not boring if you're saving lives...and plus Jessie [her nickname for me] is going to be a lawyer anyway." It was true, not the me being a lawyer part, but the part about saving lives, I gained a lot of respect for those working in dispatch because it's a very difficult job.

The true highlight of my day was when I started realizing that something big was happening. More and more of the officers came into the dispatch center, and people started whispering and laughing, and then someone walked in. An average looking guy, short, bald, and wearing his street clothes. He looked pretty upset, maybe bitter, and I was beyond curious as to why he was there and what the big deal was. As it turned out Monkey had now gained the new nickname of bear because he was the one who had received a pretty intense bear hug a few days prior. The hug was so intense, that he broke some of his ribs and he'd be out of commission for awhile. I can safely say that one of the greatest things about the police station was everyone's sense of humor. A couple of days later I found pictures hanging around making fun of the legendary 'bearhug', and it was evident that the guys used humor to keep themselves going and it truly work.