Dave SmithMore from Dave SmithPatrolMake It Stick"Watch the Hands!" —J.D. "Buck" SavageJanuary 31, 2008PatrolVoices From AboveThe thing about being a good burglar is that you have to know when to move and when to stay still. One of the really bad times to move is when a K-9 officer is using the pay phone in front of the building you are burgling.December 31, 2007PatrolListen to Your Little VoiceI think one of the hardest things in life is deciding what advice to take and what to ignore. I like to think most people give you advice they honestly think will be of help...OK I may be a little naïve, but I like to think that anyway.November 30, 2007PatrolThe Greatest HappinessYeah, Mike is strong. But Carrie is even stronger. Mike told me the greatest thing in his life is his wife, who has given up so much for him.October 31, 2007TrainingTaking the BiteI would later reflect on the odd incongruity of the K-9's toenails gently striking the tiles in the Junior High that we had just cleared. They were so dainty, almost tentative, as he rounded the corner into the shadows of the dead-end hallway where I hid silently in darkness. After that, he was a blur of snarling teeth and crushing power gripping my extended right arm.September 30, 2007PatrolDress for SuccessTucson Police Department had a classy but oddly untactical uniform. We had blue wool pants, always in fashion in the Sonoran Desert, and a white shirt. Yep, white. We were really visible to the bad guys.August 31, 2007Special UnitsA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the StationI have even joked and kidded with the dead themselves at scenes. Truthfully, I have done some of my best shtick talking to dead bodies. OK, they don't laugh, but they also never interrupt.July 31, 2007PatrolMy Lucky DayOften we think that something that happens to us is a matter of bad luck, yet it changes things so much that it becomes good luck! An example is the day I was "killed." It was my senior summer, and I was driving a tanker in the Coconino National Forest looking for a small fire that one of the towers had picked up following a thunderstorm. It was extremely rugged terrain, and we could find no way to drive to the site of the fire.June 30, 2007PatrolThe SearchNot long ago a good friend of mine was killed in an accident. He had gone to the academy with me, been my roommate, and later worked the beat next to mine for two years. We had the bond of on and off-duty friendship and adventures. In thinking of Sam I remembered the scariest building search I ever did.May 31, 2007PatrolThe Thrill of the ChaseOne of the most canine-like drives I have ever felt is the urge to chase, to pursue, to catch. I must confess to an odd primal thrill I always felt when a miscreant took off running. I wish I could say my mind thought "Tally ho!" in a thick British accent.April 30, 2007Previous PagePage 19 of 21Next Page
