Underscores the value of 2-man patrol cars and of following the basic training rule “no call is routine.”
I'm sure the brass will tell you that 2-man patrol cars are too expensive.
But...I had a friend of mine who was a Reserve Deputy Sheriff out west back in the 1980's. He'd go out with a regular deputy maybe once a week on a volunteer basis, as the second man in the car.
The regular deputy would handle all citizen interaction while the reserve deputy would hang back and keep an eye on things. And, yes, he was trained and armed.
That was a decent idea. Why not bring it back?