The Christmas shift: One police officer’s day in Portage

Portage Police Officer Pete Bartaczewicz says he doesn’t like to be a Grinch.

By that, he means two things: He’d rather not be on duty at all on Christmas Day, and when he is, he’d rather not be too tough on people who need his help – or who get caught by his radar – as he patrols the streets of Portage on the day shift.

But Bartaczewicz, who just finished his 15th year with the department, said Saturday that working on holidays is part of his profession, and people considering police work as a career needs to know that they’ll probably spend Christmas, now and then, as he spent Christmas on Saturday.

For part of his shift, he was in a squad car, mainly keeping an eye on businesses, residences and public buildings to ensure that nothing was amiss – no doors standing open, no lights on when nobody’s inside.

But a Christmas “ride-along” with Bartaczewicz also entails a “sit-along,” in a Portage Police Department office.

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