Police ride-along features a family feel

Monday morning was just another day on patrol for Glendale Police Officer Michael Parks.

He had just finished up a call at a hospital, where he’d helped transport someone suffering from blackouts and dizziness. Then over the radio, he heard the “dreaded” call to report back to the station.

“Oh, boy,” he said to himself. He thought he was in trouble.

When he arrived, he was told he’d be getting a new partner for the afternoon.

“Take this old man for a ride,” a supervisor said.

That’s when he saw the San Fernando police chief, in uniform, in the Glendale watch sergeant’s office. Police Chief Robert Parks also happens to be his father, who retires Friday after more than three decades in law enforcement. He spent the last three years at the helm of the San Fernando force.

His last ride as a sworn officer, he spent alongside his son, who’s served in Glendale for six years.

“It was definitely a treat,” said Robert Parks, who was a single father for most of his son’s childhood. Robert Parks served as the San Fernando agency’s first Drug Abuse Resistance and Education officer, after which he climbed the ladder to chief.

For nearly two decades before he was named chief, Robert Parks also served as a reservist in the United States Air Force.

“Everything he did, I wanted to do,” said Michael Parks, who served in the military before becoming a police officer. “Growing up and looking back, it was unbelievable just to see him touch so many lives.”

They’d ridden together plenty of times when Michael was a boy, but Monday marked the first time the pair rode together as sworn officers, which ignited a sense of nostalgia for the chief, a Glendale native.

For Michael Parks, the experience was humbling and a little intimidating. “You have that feeling of your old man looking over your shoulder,” he said.

Robert Parks knew from a young age his son would pursue a military and law enforcement career. He used to dress up in camouflage, climb trees and throw oranges and grapefruits to the ground, pretending they were hand grenades. As a young teen, he and a neighbor friend dug a “fighting hole” trench out of the new sod in the neighbor’s backyard, which actually got him in trouble.

Eventually, he joined the Marine Corps and served two tours in Iraq before becoming a cop.

“I’m proud of him,” Robert Parks said. “It’s an honorable job — you won’t get rich, but you get rich in your heart.”

For Michael Parks, the feeling was mutual.

“If I ever amount to being half the man he is, I’ll be doing pretty well,” he said.