The little guy near the front row was a dead ringer for Barney Fife, the deputy who worked for television’s Sheriff Andy Taylor in the Town of Mayberry. This guy’s police uniform was loaded with patches and pins. On his belt was the usual: gun, speed loaders, handcuffs, plus a set of nun-chaku used by martial arts folks.

We are at the Police Academy and this feisty little guy, we might as well call him Barney, is sitting at the desk next to me. He’s a brand new cop-in-training. His motor is wound up tight and his wheels are spinning.

At the front of the class is Jim Kirby, the dean of law instructors at the Academy. A retired FBI agent, he is considered the state’s leading expert on Fourth Amendment rights - the Constitutional provision that guarantees "the right of the people to be secure...against unreasonable searches and seizures...."

For a policeman, this is of singular importance if duties are to be performed properly. But Barney is restless this day and bored when Lawyer Kirby writes on the blackboard terms like "curtilage" and "expectation of privacy."

What Barney really wants to do is learn about handcuffing and take-downs. Barney longs to be on the pistol and shotgun ranges and pursuit driving course. Barney is so wound up he cannot contain himself. Without warning he blurts out for all to hear: "How long are we going to spend on this Fourth Amendment crap. When do we learn to be real po-leece?"

Quicker than you can rack a 12-gauge, Lawyer Kirby snaps about, nearly swallowing a cheek-full of Redman. He is tense as he nearly glares a hole in Barney’s head. You can see the muscle pulsing along Lawyer Kirby’s jawbone. But this veteran lawman is a model of restraint. He does not explode. Instead he goes on teaching rookie cops how to take punks off the streets without abusing citizen rights.

What about Barney? Well, it turned out he couldn’t shoot any better than he could think. Halfway through the 10-weeks course Barney decided he’d be better off hanging drywall for his brother-in-law. Lawyer Kirby applauded that decision.