Day 21: I'm On a Boat

We are back to the lake, but this time we had the chance to go on a boat to go round the lake and then a night out round Bricktown.

Back to the same lake as the one, the previous Sunday when we went Jet Skiing. This time the boat (barge) was attached to the jet ski to push the barge around. Luckily I had the chance to drive around the barge, although the top speed it went was 8mph. So not really adrenaline rushing action there. We stopped so we had the chance to swim round the big blue lake and a sunbathe. It was so lovely and peaceful just laying back and taking it easy (lovin' life). Problem was when it came to the flies as they are really annoying, keep biting you. Even when putting on the repellent spray, they come back after 10 minutes to bite you again. Apart from that we had a really lovely time.

Then in the evening we took up the night life in Bricktown. I had such a good time round the different bars (apart from Coyote Ugly) and had the chance to play a bit more pool. Even had the chance to drink something called a Lunchbox (Coors, Orange Juice and a Shot of Amaretto), which was very nice. It was a great night out in Oklahoma!

Day 20: Send in the SWAT team!

We went to Edmond Police Station, Bomb Squad and SWAT team. This was a very big day but was really looking forward to watching the SWAT demonstration with their large variety of guns.

Firstly we got to the Edmond Police Station and had a talk with the head of the patrol officers. There are different units within the station such as dog squad, highway patrol, lake patrol etc. There are 15 officers a shift so that they can cover the large area. They get 200 calls a day and about 70,000 a year with crimes like, auto burgulary, theft, vandalism, traffic accidents etc. However to get to the police force they need 3 months of training, in the training facility in Ada (Day 6).

We had the chance to see the Bomb Squad. To be part of the bomb squad they need to undertake a 6 week training course ($6,000). Under this they need to do a lot of studying about varying bombs and how to dispose of them safely. They teach problem solving, electronics, robot use, electronics, engineering, explosives etc. It was only 2 years ago that the bomb squad got a van specificly for the bomb disposal. Prior to this they were using a modified ambulance and took them a significantly longer time to deploy a base of operations. In this van they have a robot used to observe bombs from a safe distance.In the van they have other specialised equipment such as, hazard suits, batteries (for the robot), radiation detectors, thick container to transport bombs (to detonate in a safe location) etc. They approximately get 2/3 calls a month, which can vary from suspicious packages, naurotic acids, expanding packages and pipe bombs. They are aos on call to create explosives for creating entrances, which can be creating an exit through the wall or blowing open the window or door. 

We had a quick visit to the Emergency Operations Centre. This is where they take the 911 calls, and inform the appropriate authorities. So if there is a theft in a certain area then they dispatch the police that are responsible in that area. They are quick to calls and dispatching the services.

Next was a demonstration from the SWAT team. We had a talk with them about the various weapons that they used under different situations. The different armour that they wear, as it is bigger and heavier than the standard armour that the police wear. Also the non-lethal weapons used to disable the individual for example a gun that shoots out hard rubber pellets to hinder their mobility. They demonstrated these weapons such as the sniper rifle, assault rifle, non lethal rifle and flash bang grenades. I must say from films and TV they are louder than I thought. Luckily we had the ear plugs to lessen the noise.

We also had a small demonstration, of the attack dog. They use it primarily to recover evidence that has been dropped by the culprit, find missing persons and drug searching. It was a fairly scary seeing what the attack dog does when its set on you.

After the SWAT team we had the chance to go to a very interesting Route 66 museum. Run by one person you can turn up at the door and have a look round his house. It was bursting to the brim of Route 66 merchandise and history. Was a very unique museum and was glad to have gone (plus had my photo taken with a Route 66 sign.). Then rounding off the day with all of us enjoying some pizza and film at J Mills flat.

I had an enjoyable time at the internship, it was a worthwhile watching the demonstration and meeting the bomb squad. Its a once in a lifetime experience and was glad that we had the chance to meet the members of the SWAT and bomb squad.

Day 19: Law and Order

Off to see the Attorney General (AG). I literally have no idea what they do or what one is. Not really heard of them in the UK but did some research and they fulfil the similar role as the attorney general  in the UK.

Firstly, what are the duties of the Attorney General? The duties of the attorney general include:

• Providing legal advice and representation to legislators.
• Provide legal advice and consultation to varying organisation such as OSBI, FBI, police, department of health etc. 
• Legal advisor to politicians, governors and the state.

They deal with lawsuits against the states. So for example, if someone was mistreated by state run organisations and the individual sued them, the AG would be responsible in dealing with the law suit. Also if the state needs to file a lawsuit against a company or individual then they are responsible for that.

They have different units, which deal with different aspects. First is the general council, where they give out general legal advice. Next is litigation, which deal with representation of the state. They can either represent the state in a lawsuit against someone and defend the state under lawsuits. The next is medical fraud which deal with lawsuits in medical contexts. So legal concepts in federal funded medical insurance ( e.g., not paying out on insurance when supposed to), evaluate poor/old individuals when covering medical costs when they do not have insurance. Next is public protection which involves using the law to protect and take care of vulnerable individuals, e.g. adults with mental disabilities and children.

Next was the Chief of Criminal Appeals, which represent and preserve the constitution of the guilty. Also ensure the punishment imposed are carried out. Through the varying levels of prosecution, if they are found guilty of the crime, the guilty party has the right for an appeal. So if they were sentenced with the death penalty, with a strong defence they can reduce this to life with or without parole. They can usually do this by highlighting the inaccuracies of the court, the exclusion of some evidence (introduction of new evidence that was not originally in the case), proving the council was incompetent. They also have the defendant to pleas so that he can reduce his sentence. However with the amount of documentation at the arguments heard then the individual could be sent to execution. They can set the date back of execution through executive clemency. Both the defence and the prosecutor give the judge a booklet with details of the crime and for the defence what reasons would they not want to be executed.

After a fairly short day we had the chance to go to White Water Bay for a bit of a tan, relaxation and lie in the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Its such a difficult day that the only we can recover is through a nice dip in the pool. Went on one of the rides there but after that felt a bit winded landing in the water.

In the evening we went to Frontier City (an amusement park). I was a bit apprehensive to begin with since most amusement park look the same after a while. However I had a lot of fun there, even though my bumper car stopped working, so was getting hit from all sides. Even went on the huge roller-coaster that went in loop round. Other rides we went on were log flumes, rapids, a couple of roller-coasters etc. It was a great evening, even though we were all wet from the log flume ride. It was a good way to end the day.

Day 18: MIPT

A fairly short day, with going to the MIPT (National Memorial Insitute for the Prevention of Terroism) and then the Oklahoma City National Museum. 

The MIPT was established as an institute dedicated to terrorism prevention (domestic and international). It used to improve the policing and information skills of the 850,000 law enforcement officers in the US.  InCOP (Information Collection on Patrol) is a series of workshops that enhance departmental intelligence capacity, both in traditional crime and terrorism prevention, by progressively improving the collection skills of the line officer, improving the quality and quantity of acquiring the information. There are 4 different types of InCOP. InCOP 1 is centred around information collecting so that they report suspicious activity. This should make them more aware of their surroundings. InCOP 2 is where they learn about source assessment and development. This is where they develop skills in recognising a good resource. InCOP 3observes an open facilitated dialogue between officers and crime analyst. While InCOP 4 teaches the evolution and changes of the terrorism threat, the current terrorist threat, terrorist tactics and operations and how to develop warnings and indicators as well as detect them. With the training the different services try and remain 1 step ahead as prevention is the goal. This is training is always training and remains up to date and fits around the trainee. 


After the presentation we had the chance to go through the Oklahoma City National Museum. The museum guides you through the events of the Oklahoma Bombings in April 19th, 1995. Starting from when the Alfred P Murrah Federal building was built, the minutes before the bombing then the minutes, days, weeks and years following the bombing. 


You go through the museum in a chronological museum. You learn about the layout of the building and what it looked like before the incident. You then move to another part of the museum where you can hear an official recording of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board meeting, the building just across the street from the Murrah Buildings. The meeting started at 9:00am, and about 2 minutes into the recording you can hear the bomb that went off across the street. When you listen to the meeting, it just sounds like any other meeting, then you hear the explosion, everything changes for them and everything is in disorder. Then you go to the next section of the museum where you see some of the wreckage from the disaster, destoryed files, miscelanious left on the site, rubble etc. Then you watch the news coverage of the incident and the confusion of what had just happened to them. Its such a devastating thing that could have happened to so many people. 


You hear the stories of the rescue effort, trying to get as many survivors out of the wreckage and to be reunited with their loved ones. During the first few hours after the explosion, its frantic rescue. Other rescue services from the different states. Then the final hours of the rescue operations. The museum have a gallery to honor the lives of the 168 who were killed.


They have a section of the museum which shows the investigation trying to catch the culprit who set off the bomb. Mcveigh, the man who parked the van containing the bomb outside the Murrah building, was caught in the first couple of days after the bombing, in Kanasa. He was pulled over by the police officer for a driving fault, so the police officer did not know he was responsible for the incident. However back in Oklahoma, a part of the car was recovered that was traced to McVeigh. Other evidence that was found, was the large quantities of raw materials that were used to create the bomb. The other eivdence that the FBI recovered was numerous. So this lead to the guilty verdict against McVeigh and therefore the eventual execution. 


Going through the museum it does make you wonder why someone would do something so heinous.

Day 17: 4th of July

So its the 4th July/Independence Day,  to commemorate the creation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, making themselves independent from the British. Seemed a bit weird celebrating it, but was a good reason to have a big party.

In the morning there was a huge parade of floats, cars, bands, dancers etc from 9am til about 10.30am. Unfortunately I missed the first 15 minutes but I enjoyed the rest. The parade included so much stuff like the armed forces, Ford cars, a giant flag, marching bands, the Oklahoma theme, baton twirlers. Took plenty of pictures but can only put a few up.

Had a few hours break to just write a couple of postcards before we all went to Melissa's flat. There we had some nice home cooked american food (ribs, burgers, sausages, potato salad, sugar cookies etc). All was absolutely filling and delicious.I had to go up for seconds! It was nice being relaxed and chatting with great company.

Later that evening, we went back to the campus to watch the firework display. I must say those were the best fireworks I have ever seen. Lasted about 1 hour, they shot up so many fireworks that it illuminated the sky. Especially the finale where they shot up so many fireworks that they brightened the sky with an explosion of colours. The bangs from some of the louder fireworks set off the alarms of nearby cars! With a great view of the fireworks it was a good evening. It was a great to end the 4th July and was glad to have experienced such an American tradition.

Day 15 &16: Shop Til You Drop

Time to Chill by the pool. This is going to be a short one since it's only going to the waterpark, mall shopping and eating steak.

Saturday: Went to White Water Bay again. This time I was determined not to get sun burnt. So applying thick layers of 50 spf sun-cream. After the excitement of zip-lining and abseiling, wasn't really in the mood to go down the water-slides. One thing I tried when I was there, was dippin dots. Its an ice cream shaped into ball bearing sized balls. Its really nice, however they begin to melt after a short amount of time in this weather. It was a relaxing day, going down the lazy river and bathing in the hot sun, getting my tan on for graduation. Later on, we had the chance to go to a healthy restaurant. I mean, I do enjoy burgers and pizza, but there is a limit of how much I can eat. So a nice healthy wrap with couscous made a change from the chilli dogs and fries. Later on that evening, had a chance to go to Bricktown to go on the water taxi to have a look round the night life district of Oklahoma City. It was a gentle ride around the area with a fairly odd but funny driver.

Sunday: So another mall trip and had the chance to buy a few more clothes for myself. Since a lot of clothes here are better and cheaper than the ones back home (its good not having to see t-shirts with skulls on them). So came back with converse trainers, couple of jeans (2 for $55), a sweatshirt and a t shirt. All in all good purchases. For dinner we went to Cattlemen's Steakhouse for, you guessed it, steak!

Tomorrow its time to celebrate the 4th of July.

Day 14: Ride Em' Cowboy

Hunting

Time to take in a bit of Oklahoma in. But first Ihop (International house of pancakes). Some of the best pancakes I have ever had. And for 2 pancakes (with eggs, bacon and sausage), it was very filling. But would love to go again (note to self: try and get Ihop have a restaurant in the UK).

Native American Tribes in Oklahoma

Then there was a few mile drive to The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. In there we saw an 'Englishmans' desk of western guns, revolvers, rifles. Then a reconstructed western town at dawn (you can see me in the jail, for most wanted). Then a room with probably a handful of western films (not might sort of genre... don't really count Brokeback Mountain as Western). Then a brief look at native american history,what they used to wear when facing the cowboys and what tribes were found in the state of Oklahoma. And the different activities in the rodeo and when it was first set up. After this we had a journey up to Mt Scott to get a view of Oklahoma. It was such a scenic view, had a chance to take a few good photos (See Below).

Me and the Seismic Meersburger

Next was lunch/dinner at Meers, a very rural restaurant, in the middle of nowhere. I must say for the decour, it was very rustic and rough. And looks as though it has been there for quite a while. Had the chance to have something called the Seismic Meersburger. Basically, longhorn meat, cheese, mayo, bacon, lettuce and I don't know what else, but was very nice (and very filling). Was glad to try it but dread to think how many calories were in it. So an experience of Oklahoma history and cuisine.