BM> I have to say here that times have changed greatly since I was a
 BM> child, and it may not be "times," but rather, "circumstances."  I
 BM> lived in a large-city suburb, and I believe there were foot patrolmen,
 BM> though all I can actually bring to mind are the school crossing
 BM> guards.  Where I live now, until recently, all police, to my
 BM> knowledge, were in patrol cars.  More recently, in the summer, we have
 BM> had a pair of bicycle patrolmen, and in another nearby small city,
 BM> motorcycle patrolmen.  Generally speaking, then, barring certain
 BM> circumstances, there has been little likelihood for the police to need
 BM> to commandeer a vehicle around here.
You are right, the need does not arise very often. However, some of the new
programs being tried do involve foot patrol and bicycle patrol. It is also
not that difficult to get fairly large distances away from your patrol car,
depending on what the situation is. This would be much like asking to use
your phone for an official police call. Most of the more modern radio
equipment can be used as a phone or be patched through a phone, but the need
still arises from time to time. There would be a million and one examples for
requests of assistance that amount to little more than common sense, but they
many times relate to life and death. Police cars and fire equipment had large
numbers of flat tires trying to respond to assistance calls after a tornado.
We asked a couple of local tire shops to open up and try to keep us running.
There would be dozens of examples like this during or after a natural
disaster. There were needs for heavy equipment and all kinds of hand tools.
The City paid for all of these items and paid for repairs on borrowed heavy
equipment. The amazing thing was the number of volunteers who worked with us
for two and three days straight. Certified First Aid People worked non-stop
and never even asked for repayment of the supplies they used. It is during
times like this that you find out about the Red Cross, The Salvation Army,
The Amateur Radio Clubs, Civil Defense, and all of the folks with big hearts
who only want to help however they can.
Tom Rightmer - A Victims' Rights Advocate
... A critic knows the way but can't drive the vehicle.
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