Over the years, Barbara Salazar has zip lined, parasailed, and ridden in a blimp and a hot air balloon. At 80 years old, Salazar can finally cross the last thing from her bucket list: to spend the day with the people that protect and serve the city of San Ramon.
San Ramon Police Department’s Officer Becky Chestnut hosted Salazar in a ride-along on Tuesday and began the day near the highway, teaching her how to use the radar to track speeding vehicles.
“I just admire the police department so much,” Salazar said.
Later, Chestnut then took her to learn about crime scene processing and fingerprint lifting – giving Salazar the opportunity to feel a part of the police force.
“I’ve always wanted to be a police lady,” Salazar said. “But in my day you didn’t do that, you went to secretarial school.”
Chestnut explained several of the processes to Salazar and helped make her ride-along experience a memorable one.
"I love Barbara. She's super excited. Very amiable to do anything we want to do,” Chestnut said.
After processing fingerprints, Salazar hit a dummy and even had lunch with Police Chief Joseph Gorton.
