Moments after he drives out of the State College Police Department, Officer Bryan Foster catches a glimpse of a shiny object yards away.

"That guy has an open container," Foster said, pointing at a man walking in a crowd.

As Foster pulled up next to the group, the man holding the beer looked over at Foster with a surprised look, throwing his beer into the bushes.

"Obviously you know about the open can ordinance," Foster yelled, dashing out of his unmarked patrol car.

Because the man was of age, Foster cut him a break.

At 11:12 p.m., this is only the beginning of a typical Saturday night on duty for Foster, a Penn State alumnus.

"I heard last night was really busy, so we'll see how tonight goes," he said.

Foster has been a State College Police officer for two years and rotates between night and day shifts.

"I like nights better. [There are] more things in progress ... fights, assaults, trespassing," Foster said.

Foster's assignment for Saturday night was DUI charges, however he responded to other incidents that occurred in the downtown area.

While he waited for calls to come through on the radio, Foster watched for traffic violations, which could lead to DUI arrests.

As Foster patrolled the Beaver Canyon area at 12:04 a.m., a call came through the radio about a patron at Gingerbread Man, 130 Hiester St., causing problems.

Foster arrived as G-Man staff members were restraining a man on the floor of the bar entrance with a large crowd watching.

Foster picked up and handcuffed the man, who was missing a shoe and had his shirt and pants ripped. He was then placed in the back of Foster's car and taken home. Foster continued to patrol while listening to the car's scanner. Calls came in about underage drinking at a fraternity and an alcohol overdose victim.

"Stupid people ... as long as there's alcohol, I'll have a job," Foster said.

However, about 15 minutes later, Foster received a call that the G-Man patron who he had just taken home had returned to the G-Man demanding to get his coat back.

Foster and three other police vehicles responded and arrested the intoxicated man, who was then taken to the "drunk tank," one of the three holding cells in the police station's basement. He was released once his coat and keys were found.

"He's looking at about $1,000 in fines now," Foster said.

As Foster was driving down an alley, he spotted a man going behind a business to urinate and cited the man with disorderly conduct.

"A pet peeve of mine is public urination," Foster said.

While the volume of calls usually increase after bars close at 2 a.m., Foster had not caught any drunken drivers or encountered serious problems by 2:12 a.m.

Foster then got a call on the radio about an intoxicated man that had fallen asleep on the back stairs of The Saloon, 101 Hiester St.

Foster and a Centre LifeLink ambulance responded to the scene and handcuffed the man when he started getting aggressive toward Foster and two Saloon staff members.

The intoxicated man, 24, was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center, where a team of doctors and nurses were waiting for him. The man refused to cooperate with the staff and wanted to leave the premise.

"Just let me be," the man yelled.

The man was eventually strapped face down to the hospital bed, after the medical and ambulance staff and Foster failed to convince the man to voluntarily lie back on the bed and get his vital signs checked.

Once everything was under control with the patient, Foster went back to patrolling the downtown area.