PORT ANGELES — Mayor Cherie Kidd was on the beat Friday with two of Port Angeles’ finest.
Kidd, who became mayor last month, went on a ride-along in two patrol cars that evening to see the city from the perspective of police.
The mayor said she got to see the “other side” of Port Angeles and was impressed by how well the policemen — Cpl. Kevin Miller and Officer Lucas Degand — handled their duties.
“It’s almost as if they have their eyes on the back of their heads,” she said.
Kidd said she didn’t witness any arrests but noted how the workload for the officers was nonstop.
“It was constant,” she said.
“It was from one place to another to another.”
Kidd said she will recommend that the other six council members also go on ride-alongs to gain firsthand experience.
“We are at the end of the paper trail for the Police Department,” she said of the City Council.
“I think we need a good sense of how they use things, of what they are doing at night.”
This Saturday, the mayor said she is going on a ride-along with the Fire Department.
Friday’s trip was the second for Kidd, who rode with an officer during her first election campaign in 2003, which she lost to Jack Pittis.
Police Chief Terry Gallagher said he was more than happy to accommodate her.
“I think anything we can do to better acquaint people with what we do, the issues or problems officers address, is worth doing,” he said.
“Sometimes the community looks a little different on our side of the windshield.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.