From responding to an accident to being called into a dangerous stand-off situation, police have to train for a wide range of calls. Members of the Sioux Falls Police force will tell you they never know what a new day will bring when they're out in the line of duty. That's why they say realistic training is a key part of their job. Sioux Falls Police Officer Sam Clemens says, "The more realistic we can make it the better training is going to be for not only the officers but also recruits going through it as well."
Sioux Falls Police spokesman Sam Clemens says officers are put through different types of training at their indoor range at the Law Enforcement Center in Sioux Falls. Officer Clemens says being it's an indoor range they are able to create all types of different training scenarios.
I start the Force on Force training with basic gun handling with training officer Brent Booth. He takes me through the details of a simulated Glock handgun. It has the same re-coil and same function as a real Glock but it fires special marking cartridges instead of live ammunition. Officer Booth has me step up to the range to fire some practice shots. He tells me that anytime I'm done shooting I need to take my finger off the trigger and come down to the ready position. That way if I were to fire another round it would shoot down to the floor.
After practice, everyone who is going to come into the training room has to put on protective gear. We cover ourselves from head to toe. The officers not only remove their guns, but they double check each other to make sure our training area will be a safe sterile environment. It may be a safe environment with no live ammunition but the idea of raising a weapon at another person is still very stressful.
Officer Sam Clemens says, "You forget about the safety equipment. You forget about the checks we did out front. You're in a situation dealing with that bad guy and everything else is put aside.
To go through this type of training I step to a mark with my back toward my trainer. With my simulated Glock in hand I'm told to turn around and deal with whatever I see behind me. In the first scenario I turn and see a gun being raised at me. I fire back, taking down my trainer, but I did hesitate to fire. I in return was hit once with a marking cartridge. Next I turn and again I see a gun, so I fire. But my heart sinks as I realize it's a toy gun. "They are replicas. They look almost identical. The difference is subtle. At this distance you have seconds to decide if that's a real or fake gun," Officer Clemens says.
Next I turn to find my trainer running at me with a fake knife. I did fire but hesitated to pull the trigger. Officer Clemens says officers need to be prepared to respond with deadly force if their life is in jeopardy.
My time with these officers just skimmed the surface on all of the different training they go through. It did show me first hand the stress they deal with everyday and why their training is so very important.
