Paso Robles Police Vehicles

Most of us are familiar with police patrol cars -- the ones which stop to ticket us for traffic violations and the ones that whiz by us on the road as they rush to the scene of an accident or a crime. Most of us don't see the more specialized police vehicles unless we are at one of those scenes or see them on television. Last year I had the opportunity to see several of the Paso Robles Police vehicles during events the police department sponsored for the community. 

The Police Car You Don't Want to See Behind You With Flashing Lights On, © B. Radisavljevic

National Night Out

National Night Out is observed by communities all over the country as a way to promote understanding and cooperation between the police and the citizens in a community. The second one ever in which the Paso Robles Police Department participated was held on August 4, 2015. It is usually held on the second Tuesday of August. The department hosted a block party in front of the police department and had most of its police vehicle types on display, even some I did not get a chance to photograph. The public was allowed to inspect them, something the children enjoyed the opportunity to do. Here are some of them. 

Police K-9 Car and Swat/Rescue Vehicle, © B. Radisavljevic

A Closer Look at the Swat Rescue Vehicle,  © B. Radisavljevic

Paso Robles Police Vehicles on Display,  © B. Radisavljevic

Heroes on Display

I had another opportunity to see police vehicles up close at an event for children who had  been participating in the library's summer reading event. I had gone to the library and noticed all kinds of emergency vehicles parked along 11th Street, next to the library. Curious person that I am, I had to check it out. 

It seems that the children had been reading about firefighters, park rangers, police officers, and others who respond to people in emergency situations. The city wanted to give the children the opportunity to meet some of these heroes up close and ask them about their work. The vehicles got their attention. One of the most popular was the K-9 unit below. 

Paso Robles Police K-9 Unit on Display,  © B. Radisavljevic

Of course, no K-9 unit is complete without its canine officer. 

Paso Robles Police K-9 Police Dog on Display,  © B. Radisavljevic

Police Vehicles in Your Neighborhood

Most of us don't mind seeing police patrol cars cruising our neighborhoods, since we know they are keeping watch to protect us. What we don't want is to find them parking along the street, because then it is probably because a crime has been committed or someone is in trouble. No one really welcomes a visit from the coroner, for example, or wants to hear the police knocking on their door in the middle of the night when they know they have done nothing wrong. 

We see police cars most frequently in our neighborhood when there has been a robbery. They are there because we call them. I had to call them when my house was burglarized one day. Only a day or two later another house was burglarized and I saw this car in front of it. The supervisor comes out only if something needs his or her opinion when officers are already responding to a call. 

Paso Robles Police Supervisor's Vehicle,  © B. Radisavljevic

How many police vehicles have played a part in your life?

 Motorcycle Policeman on Duty, 1923. Vintage Photo Poster


Do you like vintage vehicles? I find it interesting to look back at older police vehicles and see how they have changed through the years. They are featured here on Zazzle posters and postcards. Just click on images for a closer view.

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 1954 Chevy D.A.R.E. Police Car Pine Hill NJ Poster Police car - old Iron IV Canvas Print Buick Le Sabre Poster Police Paddywagon, 1909. Vintage Photo Poster Classic_1947_Plymouth_Police_Car_Texturized Postcard Old Fifties Highway Patrol Police Car Postcard Classic_Old_Police_Car Postcard '51 Chevrolet Police Car Postcard Police Paddywagon, 1909. Vintage Photo Postcard

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If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of this post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.

This is my sixteenth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is Things You Can See or Experience in North San Luis Obispo County. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Acorn
B is for Barney Schwartz Park
C is for Cattle in Wine Country
D is for Dark Star Cellars
E is for Electric Wires
F is for Family Farms
G is for Graveyard Vineyards
H is for Horses
Insects in My Neighborhood in April
J's Burgers in Paso Robles: A Review
Kosta is God's Gift to Me from Across the Ocean
Laguna Lake is Full Again
Mission San Miguel Photos
Niner Estates Decorated Heart Hill with Vineyards

Ocean Photos from the California Central Coast

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Heroes on Display

I got lucky on a library visit again today. Evidently young library patrons have been reading about the heroes who respond to emergencies. Today they were given a chance to meet police, firemen, state park rangers, soldiers, and others who help keep the public safe. Emergency vehicles were parked all along 11th Street.

Today I will show you the ones used by the K-9 units. Since this dog is dark, you might want to click the photo to get a better look. Do the same with any photo here to enlarge it.

State Park Ranger K-9 Unit

I actually cropped the photo above from a larger photo that shows the vehicle, as well as the ranger and the dog. This is the uncropped version.










The Paso Robles Police also brought a K-9 unit. Here are two different views of the Paso Robles Police Department K-9 car.

Paso Robles Police Department K-9 Car, Side View

Paso Robles Police Department K-9 Car, Rear View

Paso Robles Police Department K-9 Unit 

The Paso Robles K-9 Unit was there when I arrived. The state park ranger unit arrived while I was photographing the Paso Robles K-9 dog. That's when  things began to get lively.


When the state park ranger unloaded his dog, there was only one vehicle separating the two dogs, and the dogs did not like each other. It was all the men could do to restrain the dogs from charging at each other, but they succeeded.


I will be showing you some of the rest of the vehicles and displays in the next couple of days.

Test skimlinks

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Paso Robles Police Vehicles on Display at National Night Out Event

Tuesday, August 4, was the second annual celebration of National Night Out in Paso Robles. I explained it and showed a bit of the action in my blog post last night featuring some of the children's activities. Tonight I will show you some of the police vehicles that were on display, as I promised I would.  Many of the doors were open, but the cars were often carrying so much that no real purpose would have been served by letting you look inside. If you click on any photo you will enlarge it for a closer look.

This is a close look at the Swat Rescue Team vehicle.

This is the front view of the Swat Rescue vehicle with a police car beside it.

Some of the other vehicles had obstructed views and I could not get good photographs of them. Tomorrow I will show you the Crime Unit Kits.

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National Night Out In Paso Robles

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to just stumble into events. I was taking some books back to the library and just happened to notice something unusual was happening while I was on my way to park. The street in front of the police station was blocked off and it was full of people, police vehicles, and even food. Naturally, I had to wander over and see what was going on.

What I discovered is that it was National Night Out, the second one in which the Paso Robles Police Department has participated. Lieutenant Tim Murphy (left, above) explained this event is designed to help bring the police and the community together in a non-threatening setting and to educate the public about what police do.

Lt. Tim Murphy, left, Chief Robert Burton, Right

On display were several types of police vehicles. See them here. In this post, I want to zero in on some of the things the children were able to participate it. In this photo, a little girl is learning first hand how the police dust for fingerprints at a crime scene. I saw this myself when the police came to my home after it was burglarized in 2013.

Fingerprint Dusting Demonstration

Young visitors to this event had a wonderful time. I saw many carrying balloons, and I heard a number of police whistles being blown -- all souvenirs from this party. The children also loved seeing all those police vehicles. These two were enjoying the opportunity to explore this one up close. Another popular activity was eating the hamburgers, hot dogs, and cake which had been donated for this event.

At the end of the block toward 9th Street, smaller children were occupied making chalk drawings on the street. See photo below.

I think the National Night Out does give the community a chance to communicate with police in a relaxed setting. Most of the time people only see police officers when crimes are being committed or during traffic stops. Tonight even Chief Burton was available to answer questions from citizens. The eventual goal is to have these events as neighborhood block parties throughout the city, perhaps organized by neighborhood watch groups, with police personnel attending.

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