My first Issaquah police ride-along experience may not have been the thrilling, action film-like pursuit of criminals that I was hoping for, but it did give me a glimpse of the daily life of a law enforcement officer, and the challenges that those charged with ensuring the community’s safety face routinely.

Granted, doing a ride-along at 10 in the morning and not 10 at night decreased the likelihood that I’d see the entertaining antics of Issaquah’s drunks that I enjoy writing up in the blotter each week, but I wanted to at least witness a speeding ticket given out (and God knows some Eastside drivers deserve them!).

During my first hour with Officer Chase Goddard, the officer drove me, a relative newcomer, on a tour around Issaquah’s beautiful Cougar Mountain and Squak Mountain, and told me about his own experience integrating into the community. Goddard, a Georgia native, moved to the Pacific Northwest three years ago with his wife, and joined Issaquah’s police force in January of last year.

“The community is appreciative [of law enforcement],” he told me. “That’s not so everywhere in the country.”

The conversation came at a time when it seemed we were hearing every day about more violence against police in different parts of the nation.

In many areas of the South, Goddard said, it is common for police to pass by citizens and greet them without receiving so much as a smile in return. Here however, it is a completely different story, he said. Even the criminals he deals with for the most part “recognize that I’m just doing my job.”

Goddard handles a variety of different crimes all over the board. Some days, the calls for Issaquah police are so nonstop that Goddard cannot get backup when dealing with a potentially dangerous situation. In these circumstances, there is no guidebook of set protocol; an officer often has to judge the scenario quickly and make the safest choice at the time.

“That’s the thing about this job, nothing is definitive,” Goddard said. “You’ve got to make the right decision in the moment.”

People sometimes criticize these decisions later, Goddard said, but we both agreed that it is much easier for a person on the outside to make judgments in hindsight than for the officer at the time who is alone, under pressure and facing a threat. Personally, I don’t think I could keep calm enough to make a rational decision if a criminal was possibly about to hurt me, and I applaud police for having the ability to do this regularly.

Other days are calmer, and Goddard patrols the streets, looking for anything or anyone out of the ordinary. Oftentimes he will pull up and simply start a conversation with anyone who looks suspicious. The point is not to arrest these people, but to give them a listening ear if they need someone to talk to, while subconsciously reminding them of police presence. After all, Goddard said, is a criminal likely to choose a town like Issaquah for lawbreaking if police are a frequent sight? This seemed like a very clever strategy to me.

Suddenly, at 11:30 a.m., I got my wish — we were being called to assist an officer who located a car full of stolen goods in a neighborhood known for less-than-lawful behavior. Though this did not seem to be a dangerous crime scene, there was a moment when I felt afraid.

Sitting in the locked police car (for my own protection), I observed two of the suspects standing around talking, when all at once, one of them met my gaze and began walking in the direction towards me. Even though I was secure in the police car, I tensed up — would the man try to break into the car and harm me? It seemed unlikely, but then you can’t predict what a potentially unstable criminal might do.

In the end, the man did not end up coming my way, but it showed me something important. That little jump in my stomach was just a hint of the paralyzing fear police must feel every day when they’re going off to confront criminals, not to mention the anxiety felt by spouses, children, parents and siblings who know that their loved one goes to work with a risk.

I have a newfound respect for law enforcement, and am beyond grateful that there are people who are willing to make putting their lives on the line a career so that the rest of us can sleep soundly at night.