MOUNT PLEASANT — A police squad car barreling down a roadway with its red and blue lights flashing is a pretty familiar sight.
But I’d hazard a guess that sitting in the car’s passenger seat is a little less familiar. And that’s why I signed up.
Shadows are cast amidst a backdrop of police lights on Meachem Road.
On Dec. 17, I spent half a shift with Mount Pleasant Police Officer Mike Miller. The Tuesday evening ride-along consisted of two low intensity calls, one traffic stop and some retail patrol.
Though the short time I spent with Miller was only a small glimpse into the world of law enforcement, the experience allowed me to see how one MPPD officer approaches his job.
Only a few minutes into the 6-10 p.m. ride-along, Miller’s radio babbled out a command and assigned him to a domestic call. The information from dispatch explained that a son and father were on the edge of a physical altercation.
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Several MPPD squad cars idled during a domestic disturbance call Dec. 17.
Miller flipped on the car’s emergency lights and sped up to about 65 miles per hour. En route, Miller was diverted from and rediverted to the same call within about 60 seconds.
I was trying to catch up; he didn’t seem phased.
“I can picture the house,” Miller said, indicating that he had been sent to that address before.
A few other squad cars met us at the scene. The father and son were separated, and Miller and I stayed with the latter in the garage.
“Are you the one who wanted to go into the military?” Miller asked of the son.
The young man answered in the affirmative.
Guidance from the state Department of Corrections advised MPPD to place a hold on the father, who had violated the terms of his probation by drinking and acting aggressively toward his son.
Miller and the other officers loaded the father into the back of our squad car. I took my spot in the front.
On the way to Racine County Jail, Miller kept an eye on the detainee through a monitor system built into the car. It was a peaceful drive.
One would think it might be hard to pick a topic of conversation when there’s a man handcuffed and secured in the back of your vehicle. Not so.
Miller and I talked about the constraints of a job in law enforcement and the pressure it can place on families.
It’s difficult working second shift and coming home to kids already asleep, he shared.
Miller told me about his family and how important it is to carve out as much time with them as possible.
No one regrets spending more time with their young kids, he said.
Miller has been working for the department since 2017. In addition to his other duties, Miller is also an evidence technician and a firearms instructor.
Before MPPD, he worked on the interstate system with Wisconsin State Patrol.
Sitting on a slab of cement for most of the day wasn’t for him, he told me.
When we arrived at Racine County Jail, Miller helped the man from the back of the car and escorted him to the intake room. We spent the next few minutes watching the man be medically cleared.
Officer Mike Miller and I waited alongside a man as jail staff medically cleared him.
As he was being processed, the man alternated between jokes, outbursts of aggression toward his son and wife, and bouts of hopelessness.
After the man was cleared for admittance, Miller and I went into another part of the jail, and I sat by as he completed paperwork.
Miller asked me if I was OK, noting how the man had become very emotional.
We talked about how officers sometimes have to compartmentalize, and he shared how he oftentimes lets himself forget about past calls as a sort of coping mechanism.
After leaving RCJ, Miller and I patrolled high traffic areas in the village.
The mere presence of a squad car might be enough to stop a crime, Miller explained.
“You never know what you’re gonna prevent,” he said.
While on patrol, we spent our time talking about issues as diverse as retail theft, arrest procedures, racism and police, and the importance of strong family ties.
No topic was taboo. It made for fascinating conversation.
Before the night was out, we stopped a driver whose headlight wasn’t working. It was close to 9 p.m. — just cold enough and pretty cloudy.
Near the end of the shift, Officer Mike Miller conducted a traffic stop for a broken headlight on Meachem Road.
Miller told me he wanted to give the driver a warning, but the driver had neither car insurance nor a Wisconsin driver’s license.
The onboard printer in the squad car spit out two citations.
Show up to your court date and plead your case, Miller advised the driver, a student from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside.
“Explain your side of the story,” he said. “If you have any questions, you can always call us.”
Miller and I also responded to a minor crash at the Foxconn campus, but the parties resolved to handle the matter privately.
It was a fairly quiet Tuesday night, but I got the impression that you never know exactly what you might see during a shift.
“You sign on for your tour of duty each day,” Miller told me.
And every day is different.
Officer Mike Miller has been working for the Mount Pleasant Police Department since 2017.
