Ride-along brings London, Ont. councillor up close with shooting investigation
After a night of seeing police officers checking on teen runaways, watching for people out on bail and filling out paperwork, a London, Ont. councillor found herself up close with a shooting investigation.
Coun. Virginia Ridley isn't a stranger to police ride-alongs. Tuesday night was the third time she'd gone out with a London police sergeant to see the ins-and-outs of policing.
Things were routine for most of the night. Ridley's Twitter feed mentions her officer stopping to look for an injured deer, determining whether police had authority to seize a weapon, and investigating reports of a naked man walking backwards.
But things changed when a call came in at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
A man had been shot at a building on Ridout Street.
"I have those other experiences where I've seen the variety and range of what police do," Ridley told CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive. "I wasn't surprised that we would go to something that's a little more intense than the community policing."
Seeing the officers at work impressed the London councillor.
"No one is speeding toward a crime scene with their guns pointed," Ridley said. "They're very organized, very strategic. The highest-ranking person takes over until the next-highest ranking person comes in. They're communicating and all the officers are reporting to the sergeant."
Ridley said she wouldn't discuss details of what she saw, but London police said a man was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. He went into surgery early Wednesday morning and was still in critical condition as of noon Wednesday.
The man's name and age have not been released.
"It was interesting to see something that may be a major crime and see how it's organized and how the officers have to work co-operatively with each other," Ridley said. "They all know their place. They know what to do, when to report in."
As the call came in over the patrol car's speaker, Ridley said she felt a little rush of adrenaline, though the officer seemed calm.
"Clearly, I'm not prepared and don't do this every day as our professionals do," she said. "I do get a little [adrenaline rush] but I try to sit back and watch."
Through the evening, Ridley tweeted about her night, going from calm routine policing, to the aftermath of the shooting.
