For our 24 Hours of Dakota Days photo project, reporter Josie Kerk was able to ridealong with a member of the Vermillion Police Department from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Unfortunately, her photos were too dark or blurry for our printed product. We decided to put some of them online instead with Josie’s firsthand account of her experience during the ridealong.

11:16 P.M. — As we pull out of the station parking lot and turn onto Main Street, the officer tells me he’s been out on the streets since four o’clock today. He used to be a USD football player and worked for campus safety before joining the force. We get only a half block from station when we turn in to assist a young girl vomiting under a streetlight at the 100 block of West Main Street. The girl says she’s fine just and was only trying to make herself vomit so she would feel better. We leave the scene as she carries on down the street and joins a friend.

11:20 P.M. — We turn back on the road and head east down Main Street, breaking into the main crowd traveling between bars. Four officers are working the downtown area in two-man teams and the yellow tye-dye of the crisis team travels in packs through the commotion.
Our car is greeted both warmly and offensively by the crowd—some waves and smiles, a peace sign, and a few other hand gestures.

11:22 P.M.— Out of ground zero, we begin weaving in and out of the neighborhoods on preventative maintenance. The officer says it does a world of difference to break up house parties by just getting out of his car, and just seeing him is discouraging to troublemakers.

Many couples and groups of friends are walking the dimly lit streets. Some quietly look away from us, but many wave or wish us happy Ddays.

11:29 P.M. – Suddenly, we hone in on a male and female with open Coors and Busch lite containers at the corner of Yale and National. As WE whip alongside the corner, they drop their cans at a tree trunk and walk briskly away.

The officer hops out of the car and yells at them to return to the corner. The couple doesn’t have their IDs on them, but both admit to being 20. The officer says he’ll give them a break on the open containers, but they will be cited for minors and receive a mandatory court date.

The female asks if a breathalyzer test is coming up. It is. Worried about her boyfriend’s fourth minor, she asks if there’s any way out of the situation, or to corner most of the blame on herself. The office advises her that her boyfriend’s minors are his own problem.

They continue to ask for a legal way out, or an alternate sobriety test. The breathalyzers are used one at a time alongside the car. The male suggests to the officer that he should be catching all the vandals they’ve been seeing all night instead of citing minors, but the officer asks why he isn’t reporting the damage himself to help them out.

The officer dumps the nearly full cans out in front of the car before putting them in the trunk. We take off.

11:51 P.M. – The officer says that there are rumors going around about getting jail time for that kind of stuff. Apparently losing a license isn’t big enough, but even the stiffness of jail time will wear off with time too, he said.

11:54 P.M. – We turn onto Jefferson, then Roosevelt. Officers are opening citations for open containers continually on the radio.

The officer, who was working the downtown streets earlier tonight, says it’s easier because students tend to be in a good mood and are less likely to start a fight in an officer’s precense.

11:57 P.M. – We stop on West Cherry Street to move a construction cone out of the road.

12:07 A.M. – We hear about a loose oxygen tank in the alley behind Hollywood video over the radio. Searching around for a guy who wanted to commit himself to the hospital and then ran away, we start moving through the alleys.

12:16 A.M. – We head back to Cherry Street to respond to a noise complaint at the 1200 block of East Cherry and a female passed out on the lawn nearby. There are two other cars already at the scene and they shine a flashlight at top window of the house, but since it’s no raging kegger, we leave and begin patrolling the outskirts of Vermillion.

12:23 A.M. – Driving through an alley, we see the case for an electrical or telephone box lying in the alley. The officer recovers the box and picks up some overturned dumpsters.

12:38 A.M. – We drive behind the medical school at the intersection of Harvard and Clark Streets. I see a tall man and a young girl visiting with another officer. The officer in my car gets out to assist. There are three cops now I can notice on the scene.

Suddenly, two cops begin to take the man to the ground with handcuffs. A third rushes over to help and the girl runs towards them. They yell at her to get back by the car and she doesn’t listen. She just stands there anyway observing.

They handcuff the man and bring him over to my car. He leans against the outside of the car behind my window while they pat him down. He acts very surprised when they begin, and tells the cops to leave him alone. He continues to move and jerk about, yelling and insulting both officers. He’s very angry and very verbal.

Meanwhile, the girl is arrested with less aggression and put in another car. The man is put in the car and sits directly behind me.

12:47 A.M. – We return to the station, and the man is taken out of the seat behind me. He complains that he can’t be arrested for an attitude problem.