Owen's Boy Scout troop visited the Alpharetta Police station. They have the 911 dispatch center that handles all 911 calls for North Fulton, not just Alpharetta. We got to look in on the dispatch center through big windows in a conference room. But our cameras were shooed away after I snapped this pic.
Then we got a Q&A session with a Captain and a Detective about what police officers do.
They passed around a protective vest for the kids to try on. They weigh a good fifteen pounds.
Next we walked out to their garage and saw all their motorcycles. One officer started several of the bikes to demonstrate how loud the sirens were, but after several attempts on four different bikes they gave up and said they needed to get the bikes into the shop for maintenance. I was thankful since loud noises (like sirens or train whistles) can bring both kids to tears.
Then we went out to tour the SWAT bus (which was locked and keys hidden) and to meet the K-9 named Bok. You can see him on the floor next to the stairs. Obeying his master's command, he lay still for a good 15 minutes while the police officer talked to us about his training and capabilities. Bok was trained in Czechoslovakia and only knows Czech commands.
Bok LOVES his tennis ball. The tennis balls serves as a better reward for good behavior than treats or food for this boy.
They demonstrated Bok's unfailing loyalty and obedience by commanding him to attack the detective who was wearing a protective arm covering. Bok did not relent until he was commanded to release.
After the K-9 demonstration, the kids were allowed to get inside a brand new police car that had fewer than 9 miles on the odometer. They had fun.
Chloe hung out in the backseat. Most of the boys were crowding out the front seat.
We finished with a group shot in the lobby before going home with special pocket/key-chain lasers.
