Articles - Patrol

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Ron Redding needed a rest. The duties of a lieutenant and SWAT officer with the Gulfport (Miss.) Police Department had drained him.

Most officers are aware of the general rule on entering a suspect's home to arrest him or to search for evidence. These actions must be supported by either valid consent or a recognized exigency.

A hapless crook sorta brought his own handcuffs—and manacles, ankle-irons, and hood, though he didn’t mean to. Officers responding to a report of a home-invasion robbery in Georgetown, Guyana, arrived looking for two scumbag suspects. But all they saw was a merry mob of neighborhood residents dancing around a utility pole.

My northern Jerusalem neighborhood, and the area within a few minutes drive from my home, has been the site of more than 20 terrorist attacks. So I feel like I have earned a Ph.D. in attack tactics and techniques from Terrorist University. What I have learned I now share with you, the American law enforcement officer.

It’s a 20-degree night in a major American city, freezing rain is spitting out of a black sky, and the wind chill factor is well below zero. Local police respond to a call for assistance from the manager of a fast-food restaurant. A young man is running around the restaurant’s parking lot naked, screaming nonsensical gibberish at the top of his lungs, and scaring the customers.

Like any other common task, accident investigations can become a bit routine for most patrol officers. Important details can be inadvertently missed as we try to finish up to get to the next call.

Although they don't receive nearly as much press as bombings, vehicular ambushes are quite common in Israel.