Police hosting ‘virtual ride-along’

Coatesville police are offering to host ‘virtual ride-along’ Friday night..

The City of Coatesville Police Department has scheduled a ‘virtual ride-along’ for this evening. Sergeants Steven Smith and Rodger Ollis will utilize Facebook and Twitter to post and tweet all non-sensitive activities and incidents that patrol officers encounter from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. The department hopes to increase its social media following and to continue to build partnerships with the community. The virtual ridealong aims to give the public valuable insight of what the police officers experience during a shift in the City of Coatesville.

The virtual ride-along will start with the Operation Nighthawk training, roll call and preparation. The police officers will then go on patrol and give a play by play of the night’s activities, including the department’s participation in Operation Nighthawk, where municipal police departments join Pennsylvania State Police for DUI enforcement. Operation Nighthawk is dedicated to late Trooper Kenton Iwaniec, who was killed in March 2008 when he was struck head-on by an impaired driver while heading home after leaving a shift at Avondale barracks. Since Iwaniec’s death, his family has led an effort to spread awareness about the dangers of impaired driving. The family also raises money to equip police with portable Breathalyzer units which are used in the detection of impaired operators.

The public can find the Coatesville Police Department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts here: www. facebook.com/cityofcoatesvillepolicedepartment and www.twitter. com/coatesvillePD.

Coatsville police officers will be using the hashtag, #cpridealong for their virtual ride-along.