Overnight on Thursday, the Houston Police Department conducted a kind of ride along, which is an actual thing (who knew?), not just something done for comic relief in a movie. But instead of taking a potential son-in-law candidate who is scared shitless by the officer's insane antics on the beat, HPD took along the Twitterverse via its Twitter feed and the hashtag #HPDTweetAlong.

Fortunately for the officers involved in the social media experiment, but unfortunately for those expecting high-speed chases and gunplay, it was a rather quiet night. Nevertheless, it was a glimpse into a world most of us never see, complete with photos and video.

Here are a few selected tweets from the night.

Listening to roll call getting ready for night shift #hpdtweetalong

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

Headed to a suspicious person call. #hpdtweetalong

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

Suspicious person was gone. Now enroute to an assault in progress. #hpdtweetalong

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

Enroute to help translate on a call. Two Spanish speakers on board. #hpdtweetalong

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

Stopped by and our co-workers had already helped the citizen to his house. #hpdtweetalong pic.twitter.com/1o8QRruJv3

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

Checked by with a unit on a CIT (crisis intervention team) call. Citizen taken to Ben Taub. #hpdtweetalong pic.twitter.com/NZWjErZDlW

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

Rolling down a very quiet Washington Avenue after 3 a.m.

Driving down Washington Ave. #hpdtweetalong https://t.co/Gqi9pTMbXc

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

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Went to a suspicious person call. Male was visiting friend at location. Cleared it information. #hpdtweetalong

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014

Finishing up paperwork at the station. #hpdtweetalong pic.twitter.com/2V5qsuaLej

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 8, 2014