A South Dakota police officer is going viral for finishing a DoorDash delivery after the driver was arrested on a warrant. You can watch the Ring camera footage and see the Sergeant’s response here. The officer says “…your driver got arrested for some things he didn’t take care of.” Which normally means they forgot to pay a minor traffic ticket, hence the warrant. It’s really just some quick paperwork and normally the fine can be paid and the arrested persons released immediately thereafter. Officer Buhr, however, went above and beyond to serve his community. Arby’s to be specific.
What I believe most people fail to recognize is that when you generalize police, you discount cops like Officer Buhr. Most of the cops in this country serve small communities, in small departments, with a low crime rate that are able to do favors for their towns. Like finishing deliveries. But that’s not to discount big city departments. I can’t imagine working their constant carousel of ass-puckering calls and making the decisions they face on a daily basis. I’m not saying they’re without good deeds, but I doubt the NYPD has the time to finish roast beef slider deliveries.
But these are a staple of small town policing. A large majority of that job is mediation and figuring out a solution where everyone can leave as satisfied as legally possible. I’ve called the cops once in my life. It was only because I knew the guy was a registered sex offender out on a street corner at midnight in a neighborhood he didn’t live in or know anybody. Fair call, right? Crimes, medical emergencies, fires, or reasonably suspicious activities occurring. That’s what I was taught anyway.
Apparently everyone didn’t receive that same lesson as me. Here are some instances where people have called outside of that criteria, or so I’ve heard.
- A man called because he believed there were either squirrels or raccoons in his attic. I don’t know what crime he believed was being committed. Maybe he thought the cops would just shoot them? He was hand delivered a list of locally trusted exterminators and animal removal companies.
- A woman flagged down an officer in her vehicle by beeping and waving her arms frantically. The officer quickly, yet safely K-turned for fear that the woman was in danger. The driver asked the officer if he could drive her to her DoorDash address that she couldn’t locate. A mile and a half out, the officer happily showed her the way.
- One department constantly receives calls at all hours of the night when it snows. Not for a motor vehicle crash or anything but to inquire if school will be open the next day. Why the residents believe the police have this information is unknown but they promise to post it to their Facebook page whenever they receive confirmation.
- Another man called saying he needed help and hung up the phone. The man declined every call back from the dispatcher as officers responded to the address. The man needed a package brought in from his porch and requested that the police plug in his new cable box for him.
- One particular town has a known holiday lights house. People from out of town continuously call for directions and to question what time the lights start and finish. Though the police are not customer service for this lights spectacular, they try and disseminate the information as quickly as possible to free up the emergency line.
- A woman in her thirties called because there was a bee in her house. She had no allergies, she just didn’t like bees. The officer chased the bee with a newspaper until it finally flew out of an opened window. The officer radioed in that “The suspect took off on wing and he was currently in pursuit. The perp was last seen where black and yellow striped clothing.” A seminar was given the next day in the department on radio etiquette.
People call police for non-police matters every day. Unless they’re busy, they don’t mind. In fact quite the contrary, they enjoy the interaction. I’d wager that 99% of cops took the job to protect and help the community. Many of them grew up in the towns they work in. That’s why they’re also proactive in doing tasks that they aren’t required to do. I know cops who shovel out fire hydrants when it snows. Who give rides to people when it’s raining or they’ve had too much to drink. Who are the first ones to donate and raise funds for families that have been hit with tragedy.
I’m not saying it’s a perfect profession without fault, and I’m not one of those blue line weirdos. I just think it’s nice to hear the good with the bad. Like Officer Buhr, who has the meats.
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