Sacramento Police Department invites shelter youth to ride horses, patrol boats

Aidyn Beggs’ jaw dropped when Officer Jason Warren turned on the sirens of his patrol boat as they sped toward the underpass of the Tower Bridge on the Sacramento River.

Beggs was one of 22 kids invited Wednesday to tour the Sacramento Police Department’s horse barn and check out its waterfront patrol gear, invited in part to build community trust and engagement.

“Police officers are humans, just like anyone else and we are here to help them,” department spokesman Marcus Basquez said, adding that he hopes the kids learn that “when they are in need they are able to trust us and come to us for help instead of being intimidated or scared of us.”

The children, aged 6 to 14, came from St. John’s Program for Real Change, a nonprofit group that provides transitional housing to women and children.

Emily Levin, the assistant director of the children’s center at St. John’s, said the field trip was “a fabulous experience” for kids who often do not get a chance to spend much time outside the shelter.

Brenda Rogers, one of the children who came along, said she got to ride a horse and give it verbal commands to walk and gallop before taking a ride on the patrol boat with Warren, who is a patrol boat operator.

Rogers said it was “super fun” to get the chance to learn from the officers.

“It’s always great for them to come out and interact with us and see what we do,” Warren said. “They always have a lot of good questions and we enjoy answering them.”

Warren shook hands with the children when they got on the boat, helped them put on life vests and explained to them how to properly use them.

Beggs, who had never been on a boat, said he was nervous but had fun — especially when Warren cranked the throttle.

After returning from the Tower Bridge, Warren slowed the boat down as it neared the Miller Park launch ramp and pitched the steering wheel back and forth to rock the cabin, sending out choppy waves and eliciting squeals of delight from his passengers.

“A lot of kids don’t get interaction with officers in a positive environment,” Warren said. “(We) tell them ‘Hey, when you see us, wave at us, say hi to us,’ because that’s what we enjoy. We just love the positive interaction we have with the kids.”

This story was originally published January 3, 2019 at 6:00 AM.