Blues and twos, for most, are an infrequent sight, but for the officers behind the driver’s seat of the black and red ISU Police Department cars, it’s a way of life. Officer Ryan De Vries has been with ISU Police for a year and a half and has worked in law enforcement for 10 years. De Vries has always had a tie to law enforcement, growing up in a household of blue bloods.

“It’s what I know,” De Vries said as a call came in on the police radio.

9:50 p.m. – Dispatch reports a suspicious man roaming the Frederiksen Court parking lots in a mask.

De Vries, whose father worked in law enforcement for 35 years and recently retired, started his career in law enforcement in Okoboji, Iowa before transferring to the University of Iowa Police Department when his wife was accepted to law school there. Eventually, De Vries took a job with ISU Police after his wife’s completion of law school.

While scanning the dark lots for the masked man, De Vries commented on what he thought was the best part of working for the ISU Police.

“I just like working with the kids,” De Vries said.

After a few loops of the lots, De Vries paused to speak with another officer in the area who was also searching for the man in the mask, both noting they couldn’t find him. The two decided to stay in the area to see if another call would come over the radio, and parted ways.

The worst part about the job has to be seeing the results of some of the crimes, De Vries said. He noted certain calls he’s been on, notably domestic violence calls, can be hard to stomach. Calls where a death is involved, however, are something that are not only hard to stomach but are hard to forget, De Vries said.

“It’s pretty tough to describe your first experience with death,” De Vries said. “I think I’ve seen seven people who have passed.”

10:05 p.m. – Dispatch reports another call about the masked man in the Frederiksen Court area, adding he’s scaring people as they park their cars.

As De Vries turned the SUV around to head back to the scene in question, he touched on the other part of the job that frustrates him.

“People just don’t understand honesty anymore,” De Vries said, scanning the lots once again.

Officer De Vries stopped the car, and began a foot patrol around and through building 35 of Frederiksen Court. Silently walking through the vacant halls, De Vries looked for the masked perpetrator, but to no avail.

“You tell me the truth, I’m more interested in letting you off,” De Vries said, continuing the previous conversation as he walked back to the cruiser.

De Vries and the other officer in the area then spotted a man who seemed to be suspiciously lurking behind an SUV nearby. The two walked over to the man, who ended up just being a student waiting for his girlfriend who lived in Frederiksen Court.

Leaving the area, suspecting they may have scared the masked man off, De Vries began to discuss his typical day.

His shift starts at 3:30 p.m., and De Vries said he normally begins his day with more traffic stops as people begin to head home after work. Around 9 p.m., the calls coming from dispatch change over to incidents involving the typical college nightlife, De Vries said.

10:18 p.m. – De Vries spots a vehicle on 13th Street without any headlights on and stops the vehicle as it turns onto Stange Road. 

The stop, which took more than 20 minutes, ended with a minimal citation because of an expired driver’s license. For a small amount of time, De Vries had to consider giving her another ticket for failure to provide proof of insurance, but the driver’s husband was able to email her a picture of her insurance policy. 

This stop, which was cordial on all accounts, is not how all stops progress.

“It’s that lack of respect that I don’t get,” De Vries said, saying times when citizens are disrespectful to officers is the hardest part of the job for him. “As a younger officer it was tough.”

As he grew older and gained experience, De Vries said he’s learned how to deal with the members of the community who disrespect officers, and has found ways to relieve the stress that comes with the job. Working out is one of the best ways to relieve stress, De Vries said, adding that a seven-mile run can really calm him down.

De Vries, who became a new father last year, said the experience of being an officer as a new father is a very new one. The separation between personal life and work is something all officers must face.

“The biggest issue with officers is when to turn it on and turn it off,” De Vries said of his professional persona. 

At this point, De Vries had arrived back to the station for shift change, at which point all the officers met in a room in the Armory to discuss the calls that happened during the shift. De Vries said his goodbyes to the night shift officers while Officer Ryan Meenagh began his shift.

“I always wanted to be a cop,” Meenagh said, getting into the cramped police sedan, which was packed with equipment. “There’s the quintessential helping people.”

Meenagh, an ISU graduate with a degree in criminal justice, said he began his academic career in business, following in his father’s footsteps, before he realized he wanted to change career paths. 

“I talked to my parents and asked for their blessing,” Meenagh said, noting that other than the concern for his safety, his parents were quite supportive.

Pulling out of the Armory parking lot, De Vries said the night shift, which runs from 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., is rather quiet from Sunday to Wednesday, but gets busier during the weekend.

“Obviously we get a fair number of party calls,” Meenagh said.

While driving down Welch Avenue, the conversation changed to the community’s perception of law enforcement.

“There’s an attitude of law enforcement’s out to get you,” Meenagh said, adding he believes this perception is false.

While Meenagh said he is proactive, trying to make stops that prevent future infractions from happening, but also makes contact with citizens just to check in and see how things are going. Not every time a law enforcement officers speaks with someone means they have done something wrong, Meenagh said.

“I like to make traffic stops, but I don’t write many tickets,” Meenagh said, adding he only writes about five tickets in a typical week.

“We use a fairly light hand,” Meenagh said in regards to the ISU Police.

12:10 a.m. – Dispatch reports a vehicle versus pedestrian accident on Hyland Avenue and Lincoln Highway.

Meenagh flipped on the lights and sirens and picked up the pace, heading toward the accident. When he arrived, it was found the Ames Police Department was already on scene, and the accident was minor as the car had almost completely stopped when the driver hit the man.

Camaraderie, rather than competition, is the general attitude between the departments in the local area, and also between the different shifts within ISU Police, Meenagh said.

Regardless of the lack of competition, Meenagh said he is highly critical of himself, picking apart different stops he’s made to see if he could have done a better job. This critical attitude is beneficial to an officer in Meenagh’s opinion, as it allows for an officer to try and make sure officers are safe and citizens are getting the best quality service.

Between midnight and 1:30 a.m., Meenagh had a number of stops including a report from dispatch about an unattended bonfire, which ended up being a smoldering brush fire from earlier in the day, a stop on Welch Avenue to assist a fighting couple, which ended peacefully, and a quick check of the construction site on Lincoln Highway after seeing shadows inside. An undercover officer was already there.

1:47 a.m. – Meenagh sees a vehicle driving semi-erratically, and the passenger of the vehicle keeps opening the door.

Pulling into an apartment complex, Meenagh asks the driver of the now parked car for her license, and initiates the field sobriety test. After taking the breathalyzer test, the driver of the vehicle is informed she will be arrested for OWI.

After driving back to the station, the driver is booked, and begins making phone calls.

Now nearing 3 a.m., Meenagh takes a quick break before taking the woman over to the county jail in Nevada. He has four and half more hours on his shift and already has six calls under his belt. 

“I don’t want to take people to jail,” Meenagh said. “I just want people to be safe.”