It seems to be a common theme in the academy…we just don’t have enough time. I feel as though the days get longer and the hours I sleep get less and less. I am learning how to survive on roughly 5 hours of sleep a night. It feels like the schedule is getting not only tougher, but there’s a lot of stuff to get ready for. While I was writing this blog, my mom called. She wants to know why I don’t call her and let her know what is going on with my training. It’s hard to tell her…I just don’t have time for her. I am sure my family and friends are all tired of hearing the same thing come out of my mouth…”I am sorry, but I don’t have the time to come over…I have to study and get my uniform ready for tomorrow.” I should just tape record this saying and leave it as my voicemail announcement. I know for the most part they understand my dedication, but it is hard when I am both physically and emotionally unavailable.
To recap week 13 may be hard to do, because we covered some many different areas of law enforcement. We started out the week with death investigations, which for me is a no brainer. I have investigated over 350 deaths and it was actually nice to just sit and listen to a lecture and not be pressured to learn new material. I had some of my classmates approach me with questions about the material that was presented and which was really cool. I like to teach and if I can help them through a death investigation, I would be honored.
On Tuesday, we did some hands-on work with vehicle contacts. This was very interesting and a lot of things to remember. Vehicle contacts are basically what we have to do when we pull a vehicle over, for a traffic violation. We not only have to remember what to do with our vehicle, but what to say to dispatch, how to approach the citizen’s vehicle and…how to make the vehicle stop safe for everyone. I can honestly say…this will take a lot of practice to get comfortable. I actually made it to dinner with some friends on Friday night (don’t tell my mom) and one of my friends is police officer. I was picking her brain about traffic stops and how she does them. She told me…they do get easier…but to always be cautious when approaching any vehicle. She graduated from this academy a couple of years ago…so I know I can go to her for advice…which is always a nice thing.
Conducting a traffic stop
In the middle of the week…we had a lecture on building searches and traffic direction. The lecture on building searches is just the foundation (no joke) on several things we will do in this job. Building searches in law enforcement are not only done by the SWAT team, but they are conducted by whatever officers arrive on scene first. They are also conducted when there are alarms set off in a building. We have the responsibility of doing a search to make sure it is all safe and no one is inside. As you can see…there’s a lot to know and a lot to be aware of.
Then there was the lecture on traffic direction. It’s basically standing in the roadway, directing traffic. These techniques are used when the traffic lights are out, or there’s a major accident or if we need to divert traffic another direction. Now what better way to practice these techniques then to…shut down a couple of intersections in Jefferson County and practice? We shut down the intersection at 44th and McIntyre and I-70 and Colfax. WOW!!! This was actually a lot of fun. My group had the intersection at 44th and McIntyre, which included the train tracks that come from the West and head towards downtown Denver. The instructor we had for my group was Deputy Campbell and he was great. He turned the lights off in the intersection, told us what he wanted us to do and when we felt comfortable he stood with us as we directed traffic. We all took turns and it all went well. Deputy Campbell kept telling us if a train comes through the intersection, we will definitely have to work harder. Thankfully, the train came through just as we finished up…so we got off a little easy.
Time to get out of here, as the train approaches
This week we also had firearms and arrest control. We are really working hard at the firearms range. We always practice timed drills, tactical shooting and of course the qualification rounds. The unnerving things about the qualification rounds are…no matter how much I settle down and think about what I am doing…I seem to just miss that perfect score. I know someday it will come…I just hope it is next week when we do the “Real” qualification round. I have to talk a minute about the tactical range. This is the side of the range where we shoot at targets that are approximately 4 inches in diameter and are made of metal. The purpose behind this type of shooting is…when we hit the target, it falls. So it is a way of determining “Under Pressure” how we are shooting. The instructors tell us…anyone can shoot a paper target and score well…it’s another thing to think through a scenario and shoot a target that is very small and sometimes moving. We have been shooting these discs for a couple of weeks now…but this week was different. The instructors attach the discs to a metal stand that spins…that’s what we call the “Texas Star.” There are 5 discs on the star and depending on how you shoot the discs…the faster the star spins. It’s almost like a carnival game…however it’s all timed and the instructors are literally in your face…yelling at us to shoot the target. Like I have said before…NO PRESSURE!!! The instructors do this for several reasons…to see how we react in a chaotic environment, how to think through the yelling and also how to communicate to our partners. Just on a personal note…I don’t like the Texas Star…no offense to Texas. I will leave it at that.
Last but definitely not least…we had a very somber, but memorable day on Friday. We were invited to attend the Law Officers Memorial ceremony at the Colorado State Patrol Headquarters. They were honoring the Colorado police officers who had given their lives in the line of duty. Unfortunately there were 4 names added to the memorial wall. Three names were from the early 1900’s and one name was from 2008. What really made this day special was…we were the only law enforcement academy to represent the newest breed of police officers. We were all dressed in our Class A uniforms and went there to pay our respects and to represent Jefferson County Sheriff Department academy with pride.
I have attended a handful of police officer funerals and this was by far one of the best ceremonies I have been to. It is almost a guarantee that my eyes will well up with tears when the bag pipes start to play Amazing Grace. Not to mention the 21 gun salute and of course the playing of Taps. But the one thing that hit home for me…was seeing the family of the police officer who died in 2008. This particular officer was only 30 years old and only got to serve his community for 9 years, before he died in the line of duty.
Marching back from the Memorial
We are the newest breed of police officers and deputy sheriffs. We are the people that will be protecting the streets and upholding justice. We want to serve our communities with pride and honor…but there’s always the reality that it could end with just one routine call. We have been training for 13 weeks now and we hear over and over from our instructors…there is no such thing as routine in this job. We have to always be ready for ANYTHING. So yes…all the training we are doing is intense and time consuming. No, I don’t get the chance to spend a lot of time with my family. But in the end…it’s this training that could save my life someday. So instead of being upset about hitting the Texas Star, or getting the perfect score on that qualification round…I need to concentrate on doing a good job on every call and most importantly…not having my name added to that memorial wall too soon.
