On January 30th A police ride along participant was riding in the right hand passenger seat of a Los Banos patrol car when things got a little exciting. The rider, Mr. L. had recently put himself through the police academy and, (while waiting to hear back on the applications he had put in at various law enforcement agencies), he decided to avail himself of the opportunity to go on a 'Citizen's Ride Along' with the Los Banos Police Department. A few hours later Mr. L. would have an exciting story to tell about a high speed chase where the suspect vehicle left the roadway, rolled over, and ended up in a canal.

Los Banos police officer speaks with his 'ride-along' after they participated in a high speed car chase. The vehicle the officer was pursuing rests below them in the canal near the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

Many police departments offer citizen ride-along programs and Los Banos is no exception. The idea is to give average citizens the opportunity to get a small taste of what it is really like to be 'on the other side of the badge'. Typically, a rider will get to see a couple of traffic citations issued, and have the opportunity to talk with the officer about his job in between being dispatched to all manner of calls for service. Minor traffic stops, family disturbances, 'cold burglaries', loud music complaints, fender-benders, and such are pretty typical fare during most ride-alongs. Sometimes things can get even more interesting and a rider will be able to observe a DUI stop or even an arrest or two. Real police work just isn't wall-to-wall excitement like it is on TV ...usually.

However, on Saturday night Los Banos police dispatch was alerted by CHP of a vehicle heading toward Los Banos. According to radio traffic, multiple Los Banos police units, including the police cruiser piloted by the police officer that Mr. L. was riding in, picked up the pursuit and attempted to make a vehicle stop. Again, according to radio traffic, during the chase the suspect vehicle stopped briefly and then took off again - this time heading down highway 165 in the direction of the National Wildlife Refuge. As the pursuit continued with sirens on and lights blazing, police officers radioed that vehicle speeds were getting into the 100 mile per hour range.

A few miles outside of town on highway 165 (just after the large red barn) there is an s-curve in the highway which borders the wildlife refuge. It is at this point that the pursuit ended when the suspect vehicle left the roadway, overturned and went into a canal. Police units converged on the area and found the silver Mercedes upright but partially submerged in the water. Officers then reportedly entered the water and pulled the driver up the bank to safety - and presumably a much slower ride back into town.

The Los Banos officer, despite being wet from his entry into the canal, stayed with the partially submerged vehicle until after the towing service was on scene. For his part, it would seem Mr. L. got an interesting peek into some of what he may participate in someday if he is hired on as a law enforcement officer in a rural area.

If you are interested in learning more about the citizens ride-along program you can call the Los Banos Police Department at 209-827-7070 for more information.

Los Banos police officer and his rider look down a canal bank at a partially submerged Mercedes that left the roadway after a high speed chase

Dirty water sloshes in the back seat of a silver Mercedes as it is slowly winched out of a canal after leaving the roadway subsequent to a high speed chase that terminated near the SLNWR.

If everyone in Los Banos would just take 1 or 2 hours a month to do something to help their neighborhood or their community we could truly make Los Banos the gem of the valley.

The above is only my personal opinion and I strongly encourage readers to seek out more information from expert sources. Copyright 2009