Doing What You Can To Stay Safe In A Dangerous Job
Dan Santella reports:
Law officers put on the uniform everyday knowing they're entering an inherently dangerous job. Friday night we rode along with Sioux Falls Police Department Officer Garrett Bruhn, giving us a great view of what it takes to stay safe while keeping our community safe. Bruhn explains one step you can take when dealing with a warrant subject.
"Detain him," Bruhn said. "You have the right to detain him as an officer for your safety until those warrants are confirmed."
There's strength in numbers, too.
"If you know you have a warrant subject, and you can have cover, why not wait for cover to get there," Bruhn said. "You know, why not put the odds in your favor and have two officers there, or three officers there, rather than by yourself."
However, time might not always be on your side.
"Now if the situation's evolving quickly, and you need to go and do your job, then you do so," Bruhn said.
When taking someone in, it's common for officers to have another officer follow them in a second car.
"Officers can if they have a very compliant person, they can choose to go alone. Most of the times they don't," Bruhn said.
Our ride-along Friday night passed by without incident. For situations where a law enforcement officer could be in danger, there's a new state-wide alert system.
"What Blue Alert is is utilizing existing resources, the Amber Alert notification system that we already have state-wide, to incorporate when something bad happens to a law enforcement officer," South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said.
The Blue Alert system is in 29 states. South Dakota is the most recent to hop on board.