Officer, You're Under Arrest

Red and blue lights flashing in the dark of night in a secluded area. The smell of exhaust twinges at my nostrils. 

Spotlights are pointed at a driver still inside a vehicle that was just pulled over. 

Deputies believe he has a gun.

Although this is a mock scenario, and we know the man inside isn't a real danger (he is a training officer for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and he only has a prop gun), adrenaline is still pumping through my veins. As participants in the sheriff's Citizens Academy, our job is to apprehend the imaginary armed suspect peacefully.

Luckily, he was mostly cooperative.

How in the heck do they keep it together when they're in a real-life scenario and the suspect has a real intent to do harm?, I thought.

When we finished up with the mock arrest, we headed over for a driving lesson.

We were split into several different squad cars in groups of three.

I sat in the back of the squad car, which was not padded for comfort. The seat was a gray, hard plastic (for easy clean-up, apparently). Our instructor first demonstrated how to manuever through a tight, windy obstacle course of cones at a nice, pleasant, Sunday afternoon-like speed while explaining the nuiances of ABS brakes.

We looped around to the obstacle course's starting point again and braced ourselves for a high-speed demonstration.

The instructor — obviously, a trained professional — calmly whipped through like a NASCAR driver at seemingly break-neck speed. I was tossed around in the back seat like a rag doll. The plastic seat became like a slip-n-slide, and the the seat belt practically cut off circulation at my neck. (Please Note: the highest speed attained in this obstacle course was probably 30 mph, an instructor said later.)

Whoa Nelly! Is there a harness for this thing?!, I screamed in my head.

I found myself quickly double-white-knuckle gripping what I refer to as the "Oh S*** Bar" (excuse my French, but that's exactly what I was screaming in the thought bubble above my head. I think that bar's official title is the "Safety Grab Bar"). 

He later gave each of us a chance behind the wheel. 

My heart was really pounding after being jostled around in the back seat for four more trips through the obstacle course. 

Finally it was my turn to test drive this baby.

My first lap through the course went slow and steady — with my main objective to make sense of the confusing array of cones set before me.

As I prepared to make my second lap, I was instructed to speed up. I did my best, with the driving instructor in the passenger's seat. I whipped through as fast I felt comfortable driving. When I crossed the finish line, my legs and hands were shaking from adrenaline. 

Victory! No cone casualties!

But, my bum was sore and a seat belt strap burn remained on my neck for days after this little joyride. Don't worry, I consider them valid souvenirs.

On the Docket: SWAT and Special Ops. 

Follow The Series:

• A Journey Through the Sheriff's Citizens Academy

I am writing a weekly series about my experience in the 33rd class of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office's Citizens Academy. The three-month program offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. It is open to eligible, adult members of the community and is free of charge. (More criteria here.) While most of Clearwater is under patrol by Clearwater Police, unincorporated areas are overseen by the sheriff's department.