I woke up at 5am this morning to get to Flushing by 7. Upon arrival, I was put into the back of a police car and told to stay there for 8 straight hours. My legs were cramping up and my head felt flushed. The handcuffing, however, felt strangely exciting...

Okay, I'm kidding about the handcuffs. But I did spend 8 hours in a cop car today as part of my "police ride-along" assignment. We were to ride with the cops in our area and get a sense of the community and the issues that affect it.

In the morning, I rode with Officer K, a tough-talking girl who looked like a meaner Kelly Monaco, and Officer T, who claimed his grandfather was in the Italian mafia and then barely said a word. Their car didn't have the fence-thing that separates the front seats from the back, so it wasn't a problem for me to sit in the back. I quite enjoyed talking to them and trust me, we had a lot of time to talk because there was nothing going on in Flushing. There was one call about a German Shepherd dog that was loose and another one about a guy wanting a refund back from the hardware store, but that was about it.

At one point, we got a call in about an assault, and Officer K, the driver, took me on the wildest car ride I have ever been on in my entire life. I kept grabbing for the seatbelt (which I didn't have on.. I know, I know) but everytime I thought I had it in my hand, Officer K would make a sudden swerve or brake really hard and the seatbelt would come loose again. I hadn't been bounced around the backseat like that since senior prom night 2001. (Totally kidding). We didn't end up getting to the assault because another car picked up the call. But my heart needed a good half-hour to beat at a normal rate again after the ride.

In the afternoon, I went with out with Officer V and Officer A. They were both very chatty, interspersing facts about Flushing's history with, "Do you like hockey?" and "Wanna go see the hookers?" I told them I liked the Leafs and no... well, maybe.

(For the record, Officer V liked the Islanders and said the prostitutes probably wouldn't be out in the middle of the day).

In the afternoon, I was in the backseat once again, but this time I was behind the fence. You should've seen the stares I was getting from people every time we were stopped at an intersection. I tried making the "I'm not a criminal" face but then I realized that that is probably the face that everyone sitting in the back of a cop car tries to make. Eventually, the officers rolled down the window for me and I sat with my hands hanging out so that people would know I wasn't bound to my seat.

"You okay back there?" they'd ask occasionally. There was zero leg room and my knees were pushed right up against the back of the front passenger seat. My back was aching from the uncomfortable hard leather seats and I was boiling from having to wear a bulletproof vest in 85 degree weather.

"I'm great," I responded.

We did a few routine calls, including pulling someone over for running a stop sign and stopping some poor lady who didn't know that "handsfree cell phone" meant not holding the phone in your hands (They let her go). Then we got lucky.

We found a man who had crashed his car, cut his head on the windshield and was walking incoherently beside the highway!! I know this sounds mean, but I was so happy to cover a car accident with injuries! (Only journalists can get excited by gruesome accidents and bloody injuries because it gives them something to write about). This story got better. The man was on medication for the zanies and had not taken his pills in a few days. He was on his way to see his psychiatrist when he crashed his car. Crazy eh? Yes.. crazy...

Before I knew it the ride-along was over. I went to return my bulletproof vest (though I thought of keeping it to make my 50 Cent costume for Halloween) and the person who collected it turned out to be the community affairs officer who I had not yet met. "Oh so you're Detective K!" I said in excitement.

"Oh, so you're a Columbia student," he said, not nearly as excitedly.

"I've been meaning to talk to you," I said.

"Thanks for returning the vest and I hope you had fun today," he said. "Bye."

I gave him my business card and told him it was show and tell and he had to give me his. No really, I think I actually used the words "show and tell." He sighed and reluctantly gave me his contact information.

I walked out of the station house and prompty jay-walked across the street. Officer V was outside and looked in my direction. "Uh.. go Islanders go?" I said.

"Go Islanders go."