Tag Archives: boulder

Views from Inside the Windshielf: Police Ride-Along Insights

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I mark the arrival of fall with a tradition that’s become as much a part of my seasonal routine as watching the leaves turn between Nederland and Ward: my annual ride-along with a Boulder police officer.

A selfie of two men inside a police vehicle; one man is wearing a gray sweatshirt and smiling, while the police officer, wearing a uniform and glasses, smiles next to him.

As a member of the City of Boulder Police Oversight Panel (BPOP), I’m required to check out our fair city from the passenger seat of a Boulder police cruiser. The city manager appoints 11 panel members, including two college students.

Many of you don’t live in Boulder. I suggest you check out police oversight in your community. They’re all different.

Fortunately, I’ve never had to experience Boulder from the backseat of a police cruiser. My only recent encounter with law enforcement involved a photo radar van that caught me speeding on Glenwood Avenue between 28th and 30th streets. I’d much rather be caught by radar and mailed a ticket than be stopped for half an hour or more.

I suspect most Boulder residents, including myself, have had little, if any, direct contact with law enforcement. A ride-along offers a glimpse into a world most of us know only through news reports, TV dramas, or the occasional flashing lights in our rearview mirrors.

Notice of Violation issued by the City of Boulder, detailing a photo enforcement program for traffic laws, featuring an image of a driver.

This year, I signed up for Watch 1, the early-morning shift. At 6 a.m., I met Sgt. Faber in the police station lobby before roll call. I knew the drill. The shift begins with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by general information and updates. This morning’s training covered probable cause and searches, a subject I found interesting.

The legal boundaries governing police searches have evolved considerably since the days of Eliot Ness and his “Untouchables,” the handpicked Prohibition agents who stormed into warehouses with Tommy guns, chasing after Al Capone and his bootlegged whiskey.

Today, probable cause, constitutional protections, and search rules shape what officers can and cannot do in the field. For example, there’s a big difference between an open baggie and a sealed one. A traffic stop for a busted taillight does not mean an officer can look in the trunk unless the driver gives permission.

The training reminded me that police work involves much more than responding to calls. Officers must understand the law and make decisions within its boundaries, often under difficult circumstances.

A police training session in a classroom setting, with officers seated at tables and a speaker presenting concepts related to probable cause and searches on a screen.

On my first ride-along two years ago on Watch 2, with recall at 2:00 p.m., we responded to a noise complaint at dusk. Before getting out of the car, the officer looked up the hours the city code allows loud noise. It turned out the contractor was well within the limits. The officer told him a neighbor complained and that he should use his better judgment and finish by the designated hour.

Later that night, several officers on duty drove around looking for a citizen who had wandered away. It turned out we searched the wrong area. What if caregivers of people prone to getting lost wore an AirTag necklace or bracelet? That would help find lost loved ones.

A friendly cat’s been snooping around my neighborhood with an AirTag on its collar. The same idea would work with pets.

Close-up view of a cat's back and head, showing its ears and a collar with a round tag.

For this year’s ride, I joined Officer Russ Maynard, a 17-year department veteran on Watch 1. Compared to my previous two ride-alongs, not much happened during our shift, which, I suppose, is a good thing.

No dramatic confrontations.

We stopped to check out a report of someone sleeping in a stairwell. The person had already left. Later, we walked along Boulder Creek to investigate a report of four people causing a disturbance. They, too, had departed.

No arrests.

During my first ride-along two years ago, I observed a felony arrest earlier that day. Before we went in to pick up the suspect, the officer explained the level of force he would be using as a precaution. He cuffed the felon and a second responding officer took him to the county jail without incident. We went back to the PD and logged his belongings.

No high-speed chases.

Last year, during my second ride-along, also on Watch 1, after roll call, we got a call and zoomed out of the parking lot with lights flashing to check on a pickup truck that had knocked over a power line on Highway 93. That contact diverted traffic for several hours.

I appreciate the ride-alongs as a way to get to know patrol officers as people, rather than as the stereotypes we carry around, learned from TV shows and movies. Of course, police officers have their own stereotypes about oversight panels and Internal Affairs offices.

“Serpico,” about an Internal Affairs undercover whistleblower, comes to mind.

Movie poster for 'Serpico' featuring a split image of a police officer in a hat and a man with a beard. The text includes 'Al Pacino en "Serpico"' and credits for director Sidney Lumet.

A little time together in a cruiser helps both sides see beyond preconceived notions. The other is what citizens can do if they believe an officer crossed the line or deserves a commendation.

The city’s website provides a link to guide them through the complaint and commendation process. The flow chart looks more complicated than it is.

Generally, this is what happens after a citizen fills out the complaint form, or if you would like to commend an officer, contact Chief Redfearn. You can also call the Department at the non-emergency number, 303-441-3333

The Independent Police Monitor (IPM), who works out of the city manager’s office, reviews and classifies each submission. Once the police Professional Standards Unit (PSU) and the IPM have processed a case, BPOP may review it and recommend changes to the findings or disposition.

The Chief of Police retains final supervisory authority over the department’s employees.

This process provides accountability while recognizing the chief’s responsibility for managing the department.

The BPOP ride-alongs have been the most enlightening part of my tenure on the panel. Meetings and reports are no substitute for talking with officers, asking questions, and seeing a little of the world from their perspective.

The most useful lesson I’ve learned is the importance of showing up, listening, and understanding someone else’s job.

I enjoyed my time with Officer Maynard. We didn’t solve any crimes or make the evening news. That’s for Sgt. Hank Voight on “Chicago P.D.” and Capt. Olivia Benson on “Law & Order SVU.”

I already know how I’ll mark the arrival of another autumn, though. I’ll look forward to climbing into a police cruiser, buckling up, and seeing where the day takes me.

Maybe I’ll sign up for Watch 3 beginning at 2100 hours on a Saturday night during CU football season and after a big win over Northwestern, avenging the Buffalo’s 2026 loss in Evanston to the Wildcats.

The Invasion of the Tomato Snatchers

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My $33 tomato venture has officially ended with the harvest of a third tomato, and the economics improved considerably, dropping the per-fruit cost to $11.

A green tomato plant in a pot with wooden stakes for support, placed beside a wooden trellis. In the background, a purple pot with a small plant and a green watering can are on a metal table.

I’m not calling it a successful business venture, but I learned to trust the division of labor and buy fresh produce from the food store.

I’ve heard that backyard gardening is a labor of love. I had optimistic thoughts of turning my brown thumb into a green one at the beginning of the summer.

Maybe I’m more of an arborist. The avocado tree has been doing much better. I’ve been nurturing a pine tree seedling that has survived for 18 months. It’s supposed to become a bonsai-worthy tree, assuming I can keep it alive long enough to find out. I’ll bring the pine tree inside soon.

A small potted plant with green shoots in a purple pot, placed on a table next to a bright green watering can.

Across the sidewalk, I’ve been tending a patch of milkweed. Monarch butterflies migrate through Boulder in the summer, and milkweed gives them a place to lay their eggs.

They’ve grown tall, and I’ve tied them up with strong twine to keep them from flopping over and avoiding the purge by over-eager gardeners who think it’s time for them to go.

Close-up of a green, spiky fruit growing on a plant, surrounded by large green leaves.

Now the seed pods are finally forming. This is where my gardening project takes a turn toward science fiction.

The pods resemble miniature versions of the seed pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In the 1956 movie, the pods are the machinery of an alien invasion.

The body-snatching Pod People grow duplicates of sleeping humans, absorbing the person’s physical form, memories, and characteristics. When the metamorphosis finishes, the original human disappears, leaving behind an emotionless replacement.

My milkweed pods, I assume, have no such ambitions.

I think of them as little botanical spacecraft carrying the next generation of milkweed seeds. The Monarchs are doing their own version of biological time travel, arriving each summer to lay eggs on the plants that will feed their caterpillars, which metamorphose into the next generation of butterflies.

I wonder who is tending whom.

I learned that this summer in my little garden, I’m not much of a farmer. Three tomatoes isn’t much of a harvest. Gardening is about the few fruits of my effort and the satisfaction of having kept an organism alive through its lifecycle.

A colorful display of fresh vegetables at a farmers market, featuring green, red, yellow tomatoes, various types of eggplants, and a bell pepper arranged in cardboard boxes on a red table.

The pine tree is still growing. The avocado tree will have avocados in 20 years, and the milkweed is preparing its pods. The Monarchs have a nursery. I cut back the tomato plant, unaware that our business model had failed.

In the meantime, the farmers’ market runs through October.

From Taboo to Trendy: What Happened to Japanese Culture?

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I wandered through the Rocket Fizz candy store today, looking for a Goo Goo Cluster. On the way out, a shelf packed with Japanese candy sidetracked me.

Matcha Kit Kats.

Pocky.

Gummies in flavors I can’t pronounce.

A few days ago, I read about a Japanese convenience store opening in Longmont, Kawaii Conbini.

Part of me smiles.

Another part of me wonders, “What happened?”

I’m Japanese American. Growing up, my Nisei parents did not celebrate being Japanese. They tried not to attract attention to it.

America had spent years teaching them that being visibly Japanese was dangerous.

My parents belonged to the generation shaped by World War II and its aftermath. The U.S. government code led Americans to believe that the Japanese should be viewed with suspicion.

More than 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forced from their homes and sent to incarceration camps.

The lesson my parents learned was straightforward.

Speak English.

Don’t make waves.

Don’t draw attention to yourself.

Don’t give anyone a reason to see you as different.

The result was cultural amnesia.

The Japanese language disappeared from my house. Traditional customs faded. My parents encouraged me to become as American as possible.

I remember a time when Japanese food was considered strange. Sushi was exotic. Anime was niche. Asian products occupied a tiny corner of specialty stores. I packed my lunch when I was in junior high school. I never included maki sushi or teriyaki chicken, two of my faves to this day.

Today, the situation is the reverse.

Sushi is sold in supermarkets. Anime fills Comic-Con events. Japanese video games dominate popular culture. Japanese cars became symbols of quality and reliability.

People seek out Japanese knives, Japanese whiskey, Japanese electronics, and Japanese candy.

What changed?

The generations that fought World War II are largely gone. For younger Americans, Japan is not associated with wartime enemies. It is associated with technology, design, food, entertainment, and innovation.

Another factor is globalization.

When I was growing up, culture moved slowly. Today, a teenager in Wyoming can watch the same anime series as a teenager in Tokyo. A TikTok video featuring a Japanese snack can reach millions of viewers overnight. The world has become smaller.

That’s how I learned about Goo Goo Clusters. When I was in Nashville for a cohousing conference, I tried the caramel-peanut-chocolate candy for the first time. Prior to 1912, candy consisted of one ingredient. A Goo Goo Cluster was the first to combine a variety of ingredients.

America has changed, too.

The old expectation was assimilation. The goal was to become indistinguishable from everyone else.

Today, there’s a greater appreciation for cultural diversity. Americans are curious about differences rather than fearful of them. Food, music, language, and traditions once viewed as foreign are now opportunities to learn something new.

That doesn’t mean prejudice has disappeared. It hasn’t.

There’s been a shift, and the irony is impossible to ignore.

My parents grew up in a world where being Japanese made you a target. Today, consumers seek out Japanese products.

The candy aisle at Rocket Fizz may seem trivial, but standing there, I couldn’t help thinking about the cultural journey.

Maybe that’s progress, or a reminder that cultures survive when people are pressured to set them aside and wait for a new generation to rediscover them.

As I looked at those shelves of Japanese candy, I thought about my parents.

They spent much of their lives trying not to stand out.

I wish they could have seen a day when the once suspicious stood in line because they wanted a taste of what being Japanese had to offer.

Rocket Fizz did carry Goo Goo Clusters, but it was an expensive gift pack. I’ll wait to get one the next time I’m near a Cracker Barrel.