"I have a good story for you. During the last checkpoint I had a warrant hit: he was talking to another deputy, and I asked the deputy to tell the driver to pull into a holding area. When the request was made, the bad guy started a very short pursuit that ended in the holding area. Two deputies got out of their cruiser, weapons drawn, and backed me up while I assisted him out of his vehicle. We arrested him and impounded his vehicle. The entire event used four deputies and when the situation was over we went back to our positions. Now this seems like an ordinary event until I realized later on that all deputies involved were reserve. This shows what can be accomplished with solid training and respect. A bad guy was taken off the street by professional law enforcement officers with little cost to the general public. It went so smoothly that nobody thought much about; not even those of us who were involved."
What more can we say? The Council for Law Enforcement Reserves operates this website to create a growing database of case studies and objective proof that RLEOs work, literally and figuratively. Traffic safety checkpoints represent an important - though often boring - part of the core law enforcement mission. RLEOs add additional trained manpower, and provide the necessary surge that these events demand. Here's an arrest that was performed flawlessly by highly experienced RLEOs. Thanks, John, for the story. Stay Safe!
