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https://studentshare.org/law/1514108-observational-assignment-police-ride-along.
With over thirty years of experience between them I felt pretty safe! The officers planned to set up a road block on the main street that leads to the largest disco in town, but that plan would have to wait. On our way to set up the roadblock to the main disco the officers got an emergency call from a smaller disco that that there had been a fight between a Russian and an Italian. The Italian had been stabbed in the shoulder so while we waited for the ambulance the officers questioned both men.
It was very interesting to watch their interrogation methods. They spoke to the men separately and asked them the same questions over and over but the officers cleverly reworded the questions to see if they could identify any contradictory statements. It was fascinating to watch. Once the officers gathered information from the victim and the witness the ambulance transported the Italian to the hospital. The officers found an outstanding warrant on the Russian for a failure to appear in court so he was arrested even though the charges for the stabbing were still pending a full investigation.
Then we moved on to set up the major roadblock. Unlike American patrol methods where officers drive around neighborhoods, German patrol officers use the tactic of setting up roadblocks at potentially troublesome locations and remain stationary allowing the trouble to come to them. After setting up at our location at 23:27 officer Schmidt pulled over a 2000 BMW and began questioning the nineteen year old occupant. As officer Schmidt took the man's information he also was observing his behavior, how he answered questions, what his eyes looked liked.
Based on what office Schmidt observed he asked the driver to submit to a breathalyzer test which registered at 1.2 pro mille. The man was arrested for DWI. At that point Officer Schmidt took the opportunity to educate me about the consequences of DWI. He said since the man was nineteen and still on Germany's two year probation for young drivers, he probably would not be able to drive again for years. In addition, he will have to pay a fine ranging from 2000 to 3500 euros. The next call we received was a report of an overdose in the large disco.
A 17 year old girl apparently overdosed on ecstasy pills and was being rushed to the nearest hospital. When we arrived the officers questioned the girls "friends" but of course none of the "friends" knew anything about where she got it or how much she took. Naturally the officers were skeptical but didn't push the issue and seemed satisfied that at least the girl was on her way to hospital. At about 2:00 the traffic from the disco had begun to slow down so the officers decided to patrol around the city.
As we drove around office Schmidt noticed a 2003 model Opel without a license plate parked on the main artery. The circumstances seemed to indicate a stolen vehicle so the officers called in the VIN number and sure enough the car had been reported stolen two weeks earlier. I noticed the officers were very careful not to disturb any evidence as they obtained the VIN number and inspected the vehicle. They told me that car thefts have been on the rise in the area over the last few years. Thieves take the cars across the border into Poland and then strip them and part them out making the stolen vehicles very difficult to find.
Officer Schmidt then called a towing company to take the car to impound where a team of specialists from
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