KALAMAZOO, Mich. — If you're caught speeding in Kalamazoo, there is a chance you could be pulled over by Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer Ryan Roddie.
He spends a great amount of his time at work patrolling the busy stretches of the city.
"I could be here [on traffic patrol], or just driving around our main areas," says Roddie. "Or a shooting [call] goes out, or a structure fire [call] goes out, and I have to quickly transition from traffic cop mode, to firefighter, or police officer responding to a possibly violent situation."
It's a mixed bag of scenarios Roddie could see in a day, and it's now being highlighted on a new social media show produced by the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety called Riding with Roddie.
The show's episodes typically last several minutes, usually highlighting Roddie's role on traffic patrol.
"I think it does a good job at showing traffic enforcement, what exactly I'm out looking for," said Roddie. "That we're not out here to be petty and look for five over, we're looking for the more aggressive driving behavior."
But, sometimes, you'll see the officer jumping into action as a firefighter. Department leaders say all public safety officers at KDPS are cross trained as police, firefighters and medical first responders.
13 ON YOUR SIDE Morning News Anchor Tanner Holbrook and Chief Photojournalist Doug Grevious rode along with Roddie to get a firsthand experience of what people see in the department's series. During our ride along, we watched as the officer conducted three stops.
While he's now the face of the videos, Roddie would agree it took a bit of convincing for him to get on board with the videos, but says he's received good feedback from his fellow officers and the community.
"I think it's a good thing for the department, and I think it will help with recruiting and some public outreach and education," said Roddie. "I don't mind doing it."
Speaking of recruiting, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety leaders say they're working to fill roughly 20 spots.
Their recruitment window is currently open until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
You can visit JoinKDPS.org for more information on how to apply.
How you can watch Riding with Roddie
You can watch new episodes of Riding with Roddie weekly on the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety's YouTube channel.
The next video will be released Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. on their YouTube, Facebook and Instagram pages.