Pasadena police give residents first-hand look at their jobs

PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- It's National Night Out against crime, a night dedicated to building a stronger anti-crime partnership between police and the community. In Pasadena, they are trying to grow their troop of volunteers.

Gene Wheeler grabs the radio and reports in saying, "580 in service, first place we're going is Lillian and Allendale."

He's starting his patrol shift but this is a patrol with no paycheck.

"We don't arm ourselves in any way," Wheeler says. "Sometimes we get a lot of stares, they aren't sure what to think about it."

What he does have is a passion for the Pasadena Community. He's a member of the ever growing Pasadena Citizen Patrol. Volunteers of all ages have gone through weeks of training. They sign up for volunteer shifts and drive an SUV marked with their group name and a big volunteer sign on the back.

Tonight the trio visited National Night Out locations.

"The police officers in Pasadena are like any other department, they are stretched pretty thin. They can always use an extra set of eyes and ears," Wheeler says.

They don't confront anyone but they do have a direct line with Pasadena Police Officers to call for help. They do have authority to issue handicap parking tickets, patrol parks and businesses, and be on vacation watch for homes.

In Pasadena, they revamped their Citizen Policing and Patrol Program following the Trayvon Martin case in Florida.

"We want to be a part of the community, not be a part from it," Police Chief Mike Thaler say.

Thaler adds he just sent two officers to a briefing on the unrest between citizens and police in Ferguson, Missouri.

"One of the themes in policing right now is reach out to the community more and make sure you have that engagement and involvement. So there's not that sense of friction," he says.

Trina Rodriguez is an organizer for the National Night Out location at Rusk Park.

"The more someone can get out there and get to know their police officers, who the person they can contact is, the better the relationship is going to be for anybody in the community," she says.

Wheeler says he is proud of his role in trying to bridge that gap.

"It's that presence that maybe people will decide to do something else differently," he says.