Riding in the passenger seat of a police car requires a lot more of one thing than I ever would have thought. It requires a lot of trust. I’m sure it’s kind of similar to being a parent of a new teenage driver. You are constantly looking for the imaginary brake and worried about them making the right decision. With an officer there is no question of their ability, but there are so many factors and things that could go wrong.
The first time I rode with an officer at a high speed was actually headed off the island. We went to a gas station in Texas City to back one of the K9 officers. He was looking for a person who had crashed a truck into the gas station, stolen several items and run off. The amount of time we spent getting there mattered because that was time the suspect could get farther away from the scene. I wasn’t too worried for most of the drive. I felt like the officer had things under control. What was scary was when he was driving at a high speed and it didn’t seem like people were going to move out of his way. I had to trust the training that he had for these situations and his abilities.
A while after that I got in my first pursuit with an officer. We were the second police car in the line chasing a vehicle with two guys who had just robbed a gas station at gunpoint. At first we were driving down seawall at high speeds, which was nerve-racking, but not too bad. Then the car started making abrupt turns and trying to lose the officers. At this point I could do nothing except try to stay out of the officer’s way as he was driving and trust that he had things under control. Being the second car it was pretty impressive to hear him call out the pursuit to dispatch. He helped them to record every red light that was run, the speed we were driving and any other traffic violations. Because I imagine you’re curious…the car got lost trying to get off the island and ended up in a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood. One of the guys ran, but the officers that were on the other side of the neighborhood got him. The other guy got out of the car and gave himself up. The funny twist to the story is that the officer I was riding with did not put his car in park when he jumped out in the cul-de-sac. He only got it to reverse. I was able to reach over and grab the gearshift and get the car in park.
Another time I was riding with an officer who was assigned to the West district (61ststreet to the San Luis Pass) and a major call came out on the East End. We needed to get to the East end quickly to go and assist the officer. This time going high speeds down seawall felt a little different. There were a lot of cars and they were not moving out of the way very quickly. My heart rate rose a little more in this situation than it had before. Again it had nothing to do with the officer’s driving, but it was difficult feeling so out of control when it seemed like so many things could go wrong.
That ride along really made me ask some questions about who and what I am willing to trust. I realized how deeply I trust the officers that I ride with and how I have never questioned that trust. Then it made me ask myself about my trust in God. I began to wonder if I trust God as deeply and as easily as I trust these officers. Do I give God control of where I’m going as freely as I do when I ride wi? I read verses like Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” I wonder how often I really trust in God with my wholeheart and don’t rely on my own insight. I think it would be kind of like realizing that I don’t have an imaginary brake in the passenger seat and that there is no reason to be alarmed by that. I’m sure something is going to happen someday when I’m riding with an officer (of course I certainly hope not, but accidents are a thing), but that is no reason to lose that trust in their training and abilities. With God there is no possibility of an accident, which makes it even easier to put trust and faith in Him. We may make choices that aren’t the best for us, but that’s a different thing than God making a mistake and that’s a whole other topic for another time!