Ride Along

n (LEFT) Officer Ian McDonald carries several things on his person at one time, including, but not limited to, a body camera, his name tag, badge, walkie-talkie radio, gun, hand cuffs and keys. One of the facts McDonald mentioned, as he lost the back of the pin for his nametag, was the dammit, also known as a butterfly clutch.

Ride Along Student sits in on officer’s shift Photos and story by Meaghan Morton

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pending four hours in a police car was not exactly the plan I had for the weekend, but it was probably one of the most interesting car rides I have been on.

Upon asking Stephen F. Austin State University’s Police Department for a ride along, I had no idea what exactly that entailed. Thoughts ran through my mind wondering what would happen if they pulled someone over and we had to take them into custody?

Literally anything could happen.

Texas Peace Officer, Ian McDonald spends his shifts driving or biking around campus and interacting with students and visitors. Currently, McDonald is working on receiving his Intermediate Peace Officer proficiency certification. With the Texas Commission

While entering the SFA University Police Department, one can see multiple awards hanging on the walls. Some are from Toys for Tots, and one other is from the Nacogdoches County Republican Party.

of Law Enforcement, officers can take continuing education courses and gain certifications. He was the officer who let me join him on his shift.

I began by filling out a waiver. As I read and potentially signed my life away, McDonald sat down at a computer near me, with his body camera in hand. He pointed to the screen and told me this was where they uploaded body cam footage.

“The cameras are always recording, but not always saving,” he said.

After that, I asked him about the incident involving two SFA students and a Nacogdoches police officer, where the officer and the two subjects were caught having an altercation on tape from several phones and dashcam footage.

McDonald said the more cameras, the better, because it can show how an officer was doing right or wrong.

After, he showed me around the department’s building. We traveled down thin, yellow-tinged hallways eventually ending up in the armory.

McDonald said most of the guns in the armory were student-owned. Students are allowed to keep weaponry locked up in the armory on campus until they want to check it out, and use it for hunting or other activities.

During our tour of the department, active shooter drills were mentioned several times. In the armory, simulation bullets are stored in a box. According to McDonald, the bullets have a soap tip and during a simulation, are fired at officers while wearing full tactical gear.

Just the tactical vest, which is located in the front seat of every SFA police vehicle, is around 40 pounds. Just after a few minutes of wearing the vest, you can feel your shoulders start to burn from the pressure. Along with wearing the vest during an active shooter drill, they

Teaching materials for Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) training sit on shelves. Officers go out to different locations to instruct the training for free, including several different sorority houses.

In the armory, McDonald brings out simulation rounds. This ammunition is used for active shooter drills. According to McDonald, the tips are a soap material and even with a tactical vest on, hurts.

Meeting with a fellow officer, McDonald prepares to lock up several doors in the Forestry Lab building, beside the Arthur Temple College of Forestry. This lab is where forestry students may work on several different types of projects, including woodworking.

Driving through one of the gardens at SFA, McDonald checks one of SFA’s 250 call boxes. This particular one does not work. McDonald assumes it is due to a storm that occured the previous night and a tree that fell near the box. He said that the boxes are checked monthly.

must also wear a backpack-type sling filled with tools, another sling filled with extra ammunition and carry a rifle as well.

As we got into the vehicle, I noticed there was no customization.

Only the Chief and the Assistant chief take home their own vehicles; other officers switch out. During the drive, McDonald shared with me two types of policing: Community oriented policing and problem-oriented policing. Community involves getting to know the members of the area you live in, assisting them in simple ways.

Problem oriented would be an officer sitting at a high-risk speed zone and watching for anybody who goes over the speed limit.

Later McDonald mentioned how risky his job can get, especially with determining whether or not someone is a risk to themselves or others, or might be having a mental issue.

“Police officers have point three seconds to make a decision that not only affects their life, but it affects someone else’s life,” McDonald said. “You’re in between a rock and a hard spot. We need to be taught on key factors to look for.”

A message is illuminated on an electronic device. This device allows several different messages to be displayed on the backs of police vehicles. Often, McDonald patrols the pickup line at the local elementary. He said he usually picks between the message, “Drive Safely,” and “Have a safe day.”

“Police officers have point three seconds to make a decision that not only affects their life, but it affects someone else’s life...”

- Ian McDonald

The tactical vest used during an active shooting weighs around 40 pounds,not including the other equipment they have to wear and carry during the circumstance of an active shooter. Usually, the equipment sits at the front of the vehicle for easy access.

Opening his locker, McDonald shows the contents inside, including a bike helmet. McDonald’s favorite kind of patrol is bike patrol, because of easier communication with students.

McDonald makes a stop at his favorite gas station. He said he started coming to the station because it stayed open late. As soon as he walked in, he was greeted by familiar faces.

(ABOVE) Driving with his left hand on the steering wheel, McDonald’s ring is in view.

McDonald said that this is one of the only jobs where the main goal is to get back to his wife safe at the end of the day.

(RIGHT) Dispatcher Coby Carter sits at his desk and watches live video footage from cameras installed around campus, while waiting for a call. Every day, hundreds of calls come through to dispatch. Not necessarily because that many people call in for emergencies, but because after hours, calls to the information desk in the Baker Pattillo Student Center and other places, are transferred to the police department.

Walking through the department, McDonald goes through a thin, yellow-tinted maze of hallways that seem to lead to everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Rifles are lined up in cubbies in the police department’s armory. McDonald said that most of the weapons are students’. Students can check them into the department for safekeeping and then, when ready, check them back out to go on a hunting trip or whatever they need it for.