What it’s like to be a new police officer | The Recruits

[Music] I kind of just go out with this mindset that okay make sure that you get home safely today make sure that you do everything you can to de-escalate a situation if you're talking to somebody and they're getting agitated or they're yelling at you maybe it's time for your partner to step in maybe they don't like you personally they don't like the uniform they don't like that you're a woman something like that make sure that I treat everybody like I would want somebody to treat my mom or my brothers or sisters Berlinda Cato is a rookie Sacramento police officer she's been on the job for about four months I first met her while filming at the Sacramento Police Academy earlier this year the same Academy Davis police officer Natalie Corona in sac PD officer taro Sullivan graduated from in 2018 both Corona and O'Sullivan had less than a year on the job when they were killed responding to what seemed like routine calls a traffic stop and a domestic disturbance more recently the El Dorado County sheriff's deputy Brian Ishmael was killed while investigating a report of theft from a marijuana grow their deaths are a grim reminder that the dangers officers face begin the day they hit the streets so to understand what it's like for new cops on the job I wrote along with Kato during a recent shift in downtown Sacramento the first day on patrol I was super nervous I wasn't sure what to expect there's a lot going on and I think that was probably the most overwhelming thing to deal with was the computer the radio people talking to you my tío talking to me Bravo 32 are we shown logged on and then trying to focus on what's going on make sure I ask the right questions but I think I did pretty good day one Cato was one of five female recruits sworn into the department after graduation before she's allowed to patrol on her own she must pass through four field training phases where she supervised by an FTO or field training officer I'm always on edge so I try that's like the one thing everybody tells you is not to be not to become complacent but I haven't had much experience so every call I go to I'm like okay this turns into a shooting where am I gonna go if this turns into this what am I gonna do in training Cato and her fellow recurrence will put through intense situations to prepare them for the worst-case scenarios but it's often these seemingly basic calls for service that can quickly turn violent many law enforcement experts agree that traffic stops and domestic violence two of the most common types of calls are among the most dangerous situations police officers will face in their careers there the calls that ended the lives of officer O'Sullivan and officer Corona essentially you never know what you're walking into when you go to calls the person that's there has the advantage on you they know where everything is you're just showing up after the fact so right now we're going to a welfare check on a transient woman who's sitting on the benches crying she says that she wants to kill herself if she doesn't get her dog back last time I saw she was sitting over there but coming to check up on her now she might either be inside or she might have already taken off okay do you know what her name is I think her name is Denise I didn't get a last name or her name is Denise on any given day kaito like most cops could go from an armed robbery call out to ones like this at a grocery store in Midtown where she must confront someone experiencing a mental health crisis threatening to kill themselves whatever contact I make with people I try and make it the most positive Denis because a lot of times when you get to the call okay that person may have had a bad experience previously with a different officer or with a different department okay well I don't want you to do that so we're gonna see what we can do to help you okay I try and make sure that when I leave they have this notion in their head or they have this thought that you know what maybe not all officers are like this because she's nice she cares she seemed sympathetic can I take you to the hospital okay do you have a preference on what your hospital you want to go to yeah okay so I want to walk outside to the car I think of it as you're a stranger so you have to show this person that you're there to help them you're not there to hurt them they can trust you they can talk to you yes I'm a police officer but I'm still a human being and I still care I want to make sure that I'm here to help you and that you know that I just want to get through field training I saw a couple months left and then I still have about a year of probation I'm still gonna make mistakes you can talk to the senior officers that have been on for 20 years and they still make mistakes so I've come to terms with myself on that that I can't be perfect I wouldn't change anything there's like this satisfaction when you go to a call and somebody's like hysterically crying Bravo 32 can I get a report number and then by the end of your call when you're about to leave they're not they're no longer crying they're happy they're happy that you came they're thanking you yeah there's nothing more rewarding than being a police officer

Channel: ABC10

Views: 633,522

Keywords: police, officer, police academy, police officer training, rookie, cops, davis california, sacramento california, sacramento, ois, sacramento police department, sacramento police academy, berlinda cato, california, davis police, michael anthony adams, de escalation, mental health, mental illness, mental breakdown, homeless, homeless in california, homelesss in california 2019, safeway, women police, female police officer, thin blue line, thin blue line flag, mini-documentary, mini-doc

Id: JdZmzeBry1U

Length: 6min 6sec (366 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 20 2019