(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — Colorado Congressman Jeff Crank has gone on ride-alongs with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) and the Colorado Springs Police Department before, but each time he has, he says he learns something new.
“I’m not an expert on a lot of things, and I admit that,” Crank said. “I’ve just been elected to represent folks, and I can’t do that without going around and seeing what they do in their daily lives.”
Crank went on his second ride-along on Monday evening as he sat with deputies going call to call and worked through the challenges that their shift brought.
“Our deputies see everything that you can imagine, and they often arrive on the worst day of people’s lives,” said Cassandra Sebastian, the Legislative and Public Affairs Manager for EPSO.
FOX21 News met up with deputies around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 16 as they quickly responded to a domestic violence call. Deputies first approached a car as Crank stood behind and watched. Both deputies on scene were able to work with both parties while keeping calm and resolved the issue in a peaceful manner.
“Those are tough situations and sheriff’s deputies, police officers are the ones that have to respond to those and do it in a professional way,” Crank said.
But in a day of a deputy, there are the random calls that no one expects. The next call featured just that when an ambulance was reported in an apartment complex. When arriving on the scene, deputies found one of the windows covered with a black trash bag. Deputies then tried to track down who owned the ambulance, but we’re unable to get a hold of the organization to which the ambulance belonged.
“Who would think that you’re going to come upon an abandoned ambulance with a broken window in a housing complex?” Crank asked.
Calls typically involve people in need as well. Another call deputies responded to with Crank involved a foster child running away. Deputies found him sitting at the corner of a street. Officers then took the child to the patrol car, where they continued to ask questions and offer water. Crank was by the side of the car watching the whole interaction and compared it to his own circumstances.
“I think of my own kids, how fortunate my kids are that they aren’t in a situation like that, how fortunate I have been in my life that I was never in that kind of a situation but also understanding that we got to make sure that kids like that are cared for,” Crank said.
It also gives Crank more appreciation for law enforcement because of their daily sacrifice to keep our communities safe.
“Most of the time in America, we are safe and secure in our homes because the men and women of law enforcement keep us that way,” Crank said.
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