The streets were packed, people were walking over normally vehicle-filled bridges and a line of attendees snaked around their bus.

"We were shocked by that," said Lt. Dennis Dudley, commander of the inauguration detail.

The department was one of several agencies asked by the Metropolitan Police Department to help provide security during the swearing-in of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Frederick Chief of Police Kim Dine said he has received great feedback internally and from residents who attended the historic swearing-in regarding how his officers performed.

"I believe it was an honor and a privilege to participate in this national event," he said.

Participating officers had to volunteer, meet certain requirements and not already be scheduled to work in order to be chosen by supervisors, Dudley said.

While there were many officers away, the city was still well-protected, Dudley said.

"We did not want to reduce coverage in the city at all," he said.

The officers were in charge of crowd control and keeping people off the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue and Third Street.

"They like interacting with the crowd," he said.

Everything went smoothly, save for one incident involving a purse.

An attendee found an unattended purse and tried to give it to an officer, Dudley said. The officers were instructed not to take anything from the crowd, and the purse was dropped between two sets of barricades. Because that area needed to be clear, the purse was dubbed suspicious and had to be checked out. The crowd was moved back, and the purse was cleared.

"The little incident was an excellent training opportunity," he said.

One perk of working the inauguration security is you get a great view of the president and the vice president.

Obama is "very personable," Dudley said. "You can tell it. He looked right at you when he went by."

The officers also got to meet former presidential candidate George McGovern, who came through their section of the parade route.

While it was a cold day and the officers worked long hours, Dudley was happy to have been involved in the historic day.

"Regardless of who the president is," he said, "it is very special to be a part of that day."

PARTICIPATING OFFICERS The following Frederick Police Department officers participated in Inauguration Day security: Lts. Dudley and Shawn Perry; Sgts. Greg Gautney, Dwight Sommers and Wade Brown; Cpls. Steven Patswald, Sam Bowman, Eric Stanley, Michael Pue, Greg Stocksdale, Thomas Pfarr and Michael Lee; acting Cpl. James Brown; and Officers First Class Doug Ames, Matthew Carrado, Matthew Irons, Kevin Myers, Darrick Scott, Douglas Stephenson, Marlon Alvarez, Adam Anderson, Charity Johnson, Kenneth Mogle, Matthew Trageser, Jonathan Shatlock, Michael Auge, Jason Essel, Aaron Lapp, Brian Payne, John Pigott, Scott Pyon, Michelle Cassady, Kevin Forrest, Gregory Loftis, Mark Pecor, Dale Renninger, Simon Temple and Thomas Tokarz.