Laura Driscoll - I Want to Be a Police Officer

I am learning
all about bike safety.

Officer Green checks my helmet.
Looks good, Eva! she says.
Snug around your head.
The strap fits well.
You are ready to ride!

Officer Green is in the bike tent
at Town Safety Day.

She already put
more air in my tires.

She put a bell
on my handlebars.

She tested
my brakes.

I know Officer Green from school.
Officer Green is at school
when we have fire drills.

I have seen Officer Green
all around town.
She makes me feel safe.

When I grow up,
I want to be just like her.

I see lots of police officers
at Town Safety Day.
One of them has a dog.

Im Officer Bell, he says.
This is Gus.
Officer Bell and Gus
are in the K- unit.
Gus is a search- and- rescue dog.

Gus uses his sense of smell
to find missing people,
says Officer Bell.

I love animals.
Officer Bell is so lucky!
He gets to be a police officer
with a dog partner.

Another police officer
is making ID cards for kids.
She takes my photo
and my fingerprints.

She tells me, It will be handy
for your parents to have
this ID card in an emergency.

The officers name is Detective Lin.
A detective? I say.
Do you solve mysteries?
Sort of, Detective Lin says.

When a crime takes place,
I try to find out what happened.
I make a lot of phone calls.

I talk to a lot of people.
I ask a lot of questions.

I am good at asking questions.
Maybe I should be a detective!

Trooper Jones is talking to kids
about car safety.
He lets us sit in his police car!

Trooper Jones is a state trooper.
His job is to keep
roads and highways safe.

I always wear my seatbelt,
he says.
Its a law that keeps us all safer.
I make sure drivers follow
all the rules of the road.

Hmm.
I am pretty good
at remembering rules.
I would probably be
a good state trooper.

Officer Perez hands out flyers
about wilderness safety.
He is the game warden.

Is that like a police officer
for the woods? I ask.
Yes! says Officer Perez.
I love working
in the great outdoors.

On the way home,
I see police officers in the parking lot.
They keep the traffic moving
slowly but safely.

One officer stops the cars
so I can walk my bike
across the road.
It is Officer Green!

Did you have fun
at Town Safety Day?
Officer Green asks me.
Yes! I say.
I did not know there were
so many ways to be a police officer.