21 Jul Law Enforcement Park Ranger in Training

Hey Friends! I had a pretty spectacular week in Grand Teton National Park. It seems that my weeks just keep getting better and better the more I spend here.

              This past Thursday I finally was able to do my Law Enforcement ride along with Park Ranger Aimee Hanna. I’ve never really wanted to be a police officer, but seeing Aimee and all the park rangers here at Grand Teton National Park with their uniform, I was so in awe at how official they looked that I wanted to get a feel for what it’s like to do their job. On Thursday morning we drove from the Southern part (Moose) of the park where I live to the Northern part of the park where she works (Colter Bay). About 30 minutes into our shift, we pulled someone over for speeding, which if you think about isn’t all that cool…unless you get to help with the process. Aimee did all the talking, while I assisted her with checking the license and registration and making sure everything lined up, which it did. After that, we got a call about a motor vehicle accident. The process in itself took almost 2 hours, but even though it took a while to get everything squared away, I learned a lot just by sitting in the patrol car and watching. First, the ranger must arrive on scene and make sure it is safe not only for them, but also for the parties involved. Then they must assess injuries and decide whether immediate/urgent care is needed. If care is needed, they then contact dispatch which calls for a paramedic. Once the paramedic arrives, they help out anyone who is injured while the park ranger talks to the drivers of the vehicles and gets the stories of all people involved and checks licenses and registration. One of the last steps is to take pictures of the scene and to get the cars off the road safely, among many other tasks. The point is, Law Enforcement officers have a much harder job than just pulling people over and giving them violations. There are many smaller components that go into their jobs, but what I love is that each ranger here has a passion and love for what they do. Although the shift ended a bit early, and I had a really fun day working with Aimee. She is super funny and very hardworking and was able to give me more insight to what really goes in to working law enforcement.