State police offered an online ride along with a trooper on Friday.
This comes as the department tries to boost its presence on social media.
Trooper First Class Ryan Frechette was far from alone on his patrol on Friday.
There were potentially thousands of people following his every move; from responding to a car crash to watching for speeders on I-84.
He was connected to his digital partners through constant updates about the night on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Periscope.
It was all thanks to the quick fingers of Trooper Tyler Weerden who was busy tweeting and uploading posts.
“We’ve connected with people on Twitter and Facebook that have said I’ve never talked to a trooper before,” says Weerden.
After being a little behind, state police have now quickly expanded their presence on social media.
They now boast nearly 12,000 followers on Twitter and 6,600 “likes” on Facebook.
There you can find a look behind the training of new recruits, a flashback through police history, and the lighter side of policing.
But social media goes beyond the people behind the badge. Social media followers are becoming crime fighters.
Recently, police posted on Facebook, “YOUR tips led to the arrest of a wanted person” soon after the information was posted online.
It’s just one of many cases police say was cracked by their growing online community.
“A lot of us guys who aren’t too computer savvy as far as social media, yeah it’s pretty surprising,” says Frechette.
Police say they’re still looking to expand online despite that it takes time and resources. But they say it’s well worth it.
Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com