This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

A Day In The Life: Huntley Police Officer

Huntley police Officer Doug Ingallinera shares what he does on a typical shift.

Rookie Blue, The Chicago Code, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and so many other of the “police procedural dramas” on TV only show the extremes of what these men and women do to protect the citizens of their town.

Behind the scenes, the job is pretty routine for Huntley Officer Doug Ingallinera. Recently, he shared with Huntley Patch what officers do on a daily basis in the quiet town of Huntley.

An officer’s day starts with going through roll call, then they head to their squad cars. Normally in Huntley, three officers and one sergeant are on duty at a time, along with a community resource officer.

Each officer is assigned a geographical area that they cover. Ingallinera he was assigned two different areas on this day because one of the officers on his 12-hour shift was on vacation. He covered up to the northern city limits down to Main Street.

A majority of the time is spent assisting other calls, whether they are medical assists, lockouts, noise complaints, or domestic arguments. Officers see all those scenarios in Huntley. Police also do traffic stops and ordinance violations such as water tickets.

Ingallinera spends most of his afternoon patrolling the streets. Every time he approached a car, he would type in a license plate number. The onboard computer-aided dispatch system then would read back to him like a GPS, stating whether or not the plate was valid.

Then he stopped at Haligus Road and Faiths Way, where he rolled down his window and pointed his radar gun at the front bumper of the car. His aim was spot on each time.

“The gun is as good as its user,” Ingallinera said.

The 35 mph zone is a hot spot for police officers. Many people are caught speeding there, he said. Ingallinera showed how accurate it was by pointing it at a person walking 3 mph.

He then had to go back to the station to collect bond for a person he arrested earlier in the morning. Afterward, it was back to patrolling the streets.

“The daytime shift is a lot different than the nighttime,” Ingallinera said. “It is more traffic stops during the day and cars illegally parked or domestic disputes.”

Whatever calls he responds to, he and his fellow police officers are held to a high standard.

Find out what's happening in Huntleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He explained that the CALEA certification the police department received last year was for full-accreditation status.

The certificate hangs proudly on the wall on the second floor of the police department, 10911 Main St. Huntley is one of only two departments in the county that have CALEA.

Ingallinera said he always wanted to be a police officer. He went to Illinois State to study criminal justice.

He guided a visitor to an area of the department that very few get to see. In the basement, there’s a workout facility and evidence lockers. He also showed the holding cells and the state-of-the-art locking system and camera system, so officers can watch where everyone is.

“If you somehow got out of the cell and tackled the officer, there is still no way to get out of here,” he said.

Being an officer seems like an extremely stressful and dangerous, yet fulfilling job knowing that you helped protect someone, he said.

Many people only see the police as bad people. Most people only interact with them when they are pulled over or arrested. Ingallinera said police are only there to serve and protect the community.

Find out what's happening in Huntleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.