As if last week's kidnapping and bank robbery didn't draw enough police attention in eastern Wake County, why, I say, why are there so many patrol cars guarding the highway lately?

The first thing that comes to mind is the weather is nice and warm, and hey, it's summer time. People are getting out and doing things (both legal and illegal) and trying to get to their destination in record time.

But still a curiosity in my book is the joint effort between local towns' police officers on 64/264 between Wendell Boulevard and Highway 96 (Arendell Ave.).

It's got my attention because lately as you head toward Wendell from the Knightdale side of things there is a Zebulon K-9 unit monitoring the road, and then when you get past Lizard Lick (into the Zebulon jurisdiction) there are Wendell cops doing the same — more or less a role reversal. 

I thought that was weird enough, and still don't know if they're looking for someone in particular, drugs, or what, but then I saw the true conundrum — a Durham Five-O in Wendell. WOW. I know. Tell me about it. What could possibly be going on here?

One half of me wants to call the local police departments and put an end to my measureless curiosity, but the other half of me doesn't want to spoil the endless possibilities that stem from such ignorance. 

It's almost like the kind of thing that would become the perfect rumor in a small town. Maybe they're searching for aliens. If anyone knows the truth, or thinks they do, I'd love to hear about it.

See an audio slide show from the Wake County Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service honoring the 19 Wake County police officers who have lost ... more

Watch video of the State Highway Patrol's undercover investigation of illegal street racing in the North Main Street area of High Point in ... more

Police Chief Jose L. Lopez has received the 2008 NLPOA Law Enforcement Leadership Award from the National Latino Peace Officers Association.

“I am very proud and honored to receive this award. I hope it inspires other younger officers to pursue a leadership career,” Lopez said in a statement. “Coming into the law enforcement profession nearly 30 years ago, there was not a lot of Latino representation in policing, never mind in management. I didn’t have anyone to mentor me and many said it was impossible for a Latino to rise to the level of chief.”

Lopez became Durham’s police chief in September 2007 after serving more than 23 years with the Hartford, Conn., Police Department where he retired as assistant chief. In Hartford, Lopez was the first Latino officer to reach every rank from sergeant to assistant chief and the first Latino officer to manage several different divisions and units. 

The local police union is vocally opposing the potential creation of a Civilian Review Board to investigate complaints against the Chapel Hill Police Department. The union says supporters are "small pool of representatives ... not reflective of the majority of the community" and that the board's work would amount to "Monday-morning quarterbacking."

"The board will reflect, discuss and decide in the light of day over several hours, days, weeks or even months with no training or knowledge of the intricacies of police work, the decisions an officer must make in split seconds and often at night based on extensive training and experience," said Chapel Hill Police Officer Mike Mineer, President of the Chapel Hill Area Police Protective League, I.U.P.A. Local #105.

The union suggests that, instead, a Civilian Police Academy could help the public better understand police work, "creating common ground of understanding instead of simply creating an adversarial group to put pressure on police departments based on uninformed opinions."

“We serve the community daily in a respectable and professional manner," Mineer said. "We serve a diverse community and take pride in being able to deal with diversity through our education, training, experience and, most importantly, our interaction with the community. Furthermore, our Chief and our Department take pride in the quality of officers employed and strive to provide us with the appropriate training, policies and procedures to equip us with the right attitude and skills to perform to the standard the community expects.”

The International Union of Police Associations has also pledged its full support for the officers and the department.

“The danger here is that faced with oversight from a board with no law enforcement experience or training and coming from a limited agenda of their own is demoralizing to the officers who face danger on any given shift,” said International president Sam A. Cabral. “If officers have to be looking over their shoulder constantly worried about the uninformed judging of their actions, they will have no choice but to proceed more cautiously in all situations. This places them in danger by making them hesitate to act quickly. That hesitation can result in injury or death to them or the citizens they are trying to protect.”

Cabral further stated that officers are already subjected to departmental investigations, investigations by municipal or district attorneys, and even civil lawsuits.

“The redundancy of a group of untrained civilians second-guessing their actions only adds a further burden on officers, and not only fails to protect the safety of the citizens, but interferes with the officers’ ability to carry out their sworn duty to protect the public,” he said.

N.Y. MTA K-9 Officer Nelson Hernandez on training canines for suspect apprehension. (Staff video by Shawn Rocco)

Video footage of police trying to keep students off the field following ECU's win over West Virginia Saturday. (Staff video by Travis Long)

A man went to Wendy's for some late-night grub just before 2 a.m. on Tuesday. He was on foot and couldn't get into the restaurant because only the drive-through was open. "He asked if I would take his money and order his food in the drive-through," wrote Carrboro Police Officer L. Alvarez in an incident report. "I did, and he left the area without incident."

Carrboro Police Officer J. Walker responded Monday morning to the parking lot of Carolina Fitness on West Main Street, where a baby bird was unattended. "I made a nest in a nearby tree and placed the bird in it," Walker wrote in his report. "No further assistance was needed."