It was a Friday morning that started off pretty slowly, even by Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) standards. Drizzly, damp, quiet. Still, police officers were on patrol around the Island, looking for suspicious situations and keeping Islanders safe.

Public safety is a collaborative effort for the MIPD. Every difficult case or situation is handled by multiple people and even departments, like the Marine Patrol or Fire Department. Officers tag team assignments or are otherwise in almost constant communication with one another.

Covering City Hall, cops and crime, I wanted to see what a typical “day in the life” of an MIPD officer was like. I scheduled a ride-along for the morning of Friday, Dec. 5.

The officer I was riding with, David Canter, had already been working since 6 a.m. He has been with the department for a little more than a year. We spent the morning discussing daily routines, crime rates and  working on the Island, while driving up and down Island Crest Way and East and West Mercer.

MIPD officers respond primarily to property crimes, like thefts, motor vehicle prowls or burglaries, and less to physical crimes, such as assaults, rapes or homicides, said Operations Commander Leslie Burns.

They handle a variety of calls throughout their shifts, and work in traffic enforcement and education when they have time. They are also encouraged to get out of their patrol cars and walk through businesses and parks at night to check for security issues and other activity.

On patrol, officers periodically enter license plates into their mobile computers, looking for expired tabs, warrants, suspended licenses, swapped plates and even stolen vehicles. Depending on the severity of the violation, they’ll issue a citation or a warning.

The computers allow officers to access warrants, driving records, caution information, criminal history and vehicle information — which is important to have in potentially dangerous situations, Canter said.

Canter pulled over one person with a broken driver’s side rear view mirror. The interaction between officer and civilian was recorded, so I could listen to it while sitting in the car. Canter said that relationships between Islanders and police are usually civil and polite, and people recognize if they’re in the wrong.

Of course, I had to ask: would you let a high-profile Islander off easy on something like expired tabs? The answer was the one I was hoping for and expecting: we treat everyone equally.

Each vehicle is equipped with computers, printers, radar guns, rifles, first aid kits, AEDs, crime scene processing equipment such as fingerprint kits and cameras, in-car cameras to record audio or video of mainly traffic stops, ballistic shields and power systems to keep all of the electronics running. Patrol cars are replaced every three years due to the wear and tear on their engines, Burns said.

MIPD has six patrol cars, a total of 31 sworn officers and one police support officer. Officers work 12-hour shifts that run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The computers in the patrol vehicles are easy to use, even when officers are rushing on their way to emergencies. I would have had no idea what dispatch  — with scratchy sounds and complex codes — was saying, but information was simultaneously being updated on the computer screen. Canter explained a few the codes to me — F for ‘Frank,’ meaning ‘felony,’ C for ‘Charlie,’ meaning ‘cancel’ and so on.

After describing daily duties, Canter received several assignments: serving divorce paperwork to a resident, providing a courtesy transport to a man with possible mental health issues who was wandering around Town Center without shoes on and responding to a “person vs. vehicle” incident at the North-end Shell station, which involved collecting witness statements and making sure everyone at the scene was OK.

Every day is different, Canter said, which is why he loves the job. Working on Mercer Island is also great for career stability and longevity. Several police and fire employees have been with the city for more than 20 years.

Islanders have noted an increase in residential burglaries and car prowls recently, but the MIPD force is vigilant and committed to keeping residents safe.