Week 14
August 18, 2023
Week 16
September 1, 2023
Week 15 of the 21st Session Training Academy was an intense one. The trainees completed building clearing and rapid response training; a course designed to prepare our deputies for an immediate response to ongoing, life-threatening situations.
Their training started in the classroom, where they learned the proper way to clear a building and de-escalation techniques. Next, the class traveled to a remote location to begin their hands-on training.
At an abandoned house, designated to the academy for training purposes, the trainees practiced proper building clearing. They participated in drills, clearing rooms of all shapes and sizes in both two- and four-man “stacks” (a term used to describe the single file formation used when entering a room).
The academy staff then acted out real, on-duty scenarios that deputies experience every day, including evictions, repossessions, and potentially dangerous interactions with disorderly members of the public. For example, one scenario takes place in a public location like a convenience store. During this scenario, the trainee is picking up a cup of coffee on their way to work, when an argument erupts in the store. The trainee must de-escalate the situation while factoring in the safety of the other shoppers, and the added pressure of a customer live streaming the situation on their cell phone.
Rapid response training ends with an active shooter drill. This scenario incorporated everything the trainees learned earlier that week (i.e. building clearing, room entry, de-escalation, victim rescue, and active threat isolation).
Next week the trainees will complete their final LawFit assessment, a physical fitness standard they must meet in order to graduate.
Only three weeks to go, 21st session!
