Best run from the cops

Every Friday morning, at the crack of dawn, right outside the Sacramento Police Department headquarters on Freeport Boulevard, is about the only time it's actually OK to run from the cops. The idea came about when a veteran police recruiter thought it made sense to help department hopefuls snag some face time with officers. Now, months later, these weekly “Run with a Recruiter” jogs have drawn a solid cult following. “I've never seen a police agency do something like this,” said Officer Doug Morse, a spokesman for the department. “It is a great program.” Lest you suspect Morse's comments as professionally motivated, a look at a photo posted on Twitter from the department's July 11 jog confirms the buzz: 20 smiling runners stained with sweat, a crowd that Morse says sometimes includes high-ranking deputy chiefs and police captains, as well as members of the department's SWAT team. “You can talk to anyone in our organization about what it's like to work at our department,” Morse says. Or you can just run. 6 a.m. on Fridays at the Sacramento Police Public Safety Center, 5770 Freeport Boulevard, Suite 100; (916) 808-0880; www.sacpd.org; www.twitter.com/sacpolice. RFH