Jeep and headed for Mount Pleasant, we were relying on luck to guide us. Except for a whirlwind weekend trip to purchase a home, we knew nothing about the Lowcountry. We later
W BY BILL FARLEY
HEN MY wife, Judy, and I packed up the
learned that many of our new friends had vacationed here, had children and relatives here and had all kinds of other roots in Mount Pleasant. The only local we knew was our real estate agent, who, like us, moved here from Los Angeles. So, as strangers in a strange land, we sought out op- portunities to participate in our new com- munity. One of Judy’s choices was the East Cooper Newcomers Club. At first, she was dubi- ous whether this would be right for her, but, in a matter of weeks, she was the public relations director for the club and making many new friends.
GUNSALLOWED NO
Mount Pleasant Citizens Police Academy
I, on the other hand, had nothing. I’m no longer a
golfer, and I’ve never been much of a fisherman, but I knew I didn’t plan to spend my declining years on the front porch whittlin’. Ten I saw an item in the newspa- per about the Mount Pleasant Citizens Police Academy. I’ve always been interested in law enforcement and coordinated executive security for my previous boss, so, once I checked it out, I convinced Judy to join me. She’d spent many years working for the California State Lottery, so she was familiar with background checks, security and fingerprinting. Te night our class began, I was excited to be a part of this new enterprise – maybe too excited. When we encountered the lieutenant in charge of the class, I lifted my Hawaiian shirt to expose my holstered Kim- ber .45 pistol and said words to the effect of, “I’m ready, Loo. Put me in.”
After backpedaling about 10 paces, he ordered me to 30
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A Kimber .45 autoload pistol.
“Put that thing away.” I replied, “But I have a concealed carry permit.” He responded, “Well conceal that … thing in your vehicle, or you can’t come into the police station.” A bit flustered, I shot back, “But you guys all carry weapons.” His answer, “Sure, but
that’s our job – not yours.” It turns out the Citizens
Police Academy isn’t meant to train Joe and Joan Normal to be useful members of the SWAT team. It’s a 10-week course, two to three hours every Wednesday night, to familiarize even knuckleheads such as me about aspects of our local police force ranging from traffic control to narcotics, to special weapons and tactics and much more. Plus there are opportunities to play cops on ride-
alongs. Full disclosure: On Judy’s ride-along, her unit pulled over a DUI 18-wheeler, arrested a lynching suspect and investigated a suspect- ed burglary, which turned out to be a pizza delivery man who’d gone to the wrong address. My ride-along
yielded a barking dog complaint and my cop partner and I sharing burritos in a parking lot by the Park West recreation center.
A highlight of the experience was when we were all
given our bright yellow MPPD polo shirts and our photo ID cards attached to Mount Pleasant Police De- partment lanyards. We had a graduation ceremony, at which I was honored to be the valedictorian, and now we’ve joined the ranks of alumni. No, we don’t go breaking down doors and capturing
continued on page 32
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