This is the second of three related stories by Victoria B次元官网网址 multimedia journalist Nicole Crescenzi. She participated in a version of the Reality Based Training (RBT) engaged in by Victoria Police Department officers, and writes about the stress and potential danger members face on an almost daily basis dealing with calls involving violence or threats.
I felt the weight of a police officerB次元官网网址檚 heavy utility belt for the first time recently.
Armed with pepper spray, a baton and a gun loaded with coloured pellets, we ran through stressful, reality based situations involving actors wielding weapons of various kinds.
In the first scenario, I was led into a dark room by control tactics co-ordinator, Const. Kris Greffard.
B次元官网网址淓yes left, eyes left, eyes left,B次元官网网址� she said, leading me in, my gun drawn.
She looked at me reassuringly.
B次元官网网址淒eep breath in, deep breath out,B次元官网网址� she said, her teal eyes gazing at me, calming me. B次元官网网址淲hen you turn around I want you to address the subject in front of you, do you understand?B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淵es,B次元官网网址� I replied.
I turned around, feeling like IB次元官网网址檇 rolled into a slow motion scene from a movie. I saw a man dressed head to toe in black with a mask. He reached to his side, pulled out a gun and shot me. I shot him back, but I was already hit.
| The Victoria Police Department conducted a series of reality-based training exercises, including de-escalation scenarios. (Arnold Lim/Black Press) |
In a second situation, the same man was facing a wall. I ordered him to turn around, I asked his name and told him to put his hands up, because I noticed him holding something. My gun was drawn, but I saw he was holding a mug. I put my gun down.
In another scenario, the man had something in his pocket. He dropped it B次元官网网址� it was a phone B次元官网网址� but he dove to grab it and I told him to get up slowly, with his hands up. He reached for something else and I shot him.
B次元官网网址淵ou saw it was a phone, why did you still shoot him?B次元官网网址� Greffard asked.
I didnB次元官网网址檛 know he wasnB次元官网网址檛 armed with something else B次元官网网址� everyone has a phone, I said. Still, I felt sick and so guilty. Should I have shot him? Did I kill an innocent man?
Of course he was an actor, one of VicPDB次元官网网址檚 own participating in the training. What if he had been a real person?
Action is faster than reaction, we were told. Do they have the ability, the intention and the means to cause grievous bodily harm or death?
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We ran through more drills in teams, searching hallways as men brandished bats made more deadly with contorted nails. A neighbor appears, checking to see whatB次元官网网址檚 going on. Is she safe? Are my fellow officers safe? Am I safe? Is he going to lunge at me with the bat? The man is drunk and slurring and heB次元官网网址檚 very, very angry. The neighbours are also angry, theyB次元官网网址檙e yelling. The suspect lunges towards us, and he gets shot.
B次元官网网址淚 got that all on film! Police brutality!B次元官网网址� an actress yelled.
A great deal of focus in RBT is on de-escalating a situation.
B次元官网网址淲e carry weapons with us, but our greatest tool is communication,B次元官网网址� Greffard said.
Read the person, read their body language. Talk to them, ask open-ended questions. By applying these techniques we were able to calm down and arrest a man wielding a crowbar.
De-escalating man with crowbar. with full story on training with
B次元官网网址� Victoria B次元官网网址 (@VictoriaB次元官网网址)
Most of the time, Greffard said, police tactics are not violent.
B次元官网网址淥f all the reports I reviewed, specifically in 2017 because those are the ones that IB次元官网网址檓 going off that are most current, approximately one per cent of police interactions with the public resulted in force above compliant handcuffing,B次元官网网址� she said.B次元官网网址漌hich, in the grand scheme of things, is pretty low.B次元官网网址�
Many police officers no longer choose to wear a baton on their belt, and while all carry OC spray B次元官网网址� commonly known as pepper spray B次元官网网址� it was used only 13 times by VicPD officers in 2017.
Still, police need to prepare for the worst.
In a sad nod to todayB次元官网网址檚 trends, another scenario dealt with an active shooter in a busy building.
B次元官网网址淧olice officersB次元官网网址� main tactics are defense,B次元官网网址� said Const. Dylan Bruce. B次元官网网址淏ut in situations like this, the main goal is to stop the killing.B次元官网网址�
He listed four possible outcomes: the suspect committing suicide was by far the most likely, at 40 per cent. Given the goal of preventing more deaths, itB次元官网网址檚 considered a positive outcome, Bruce said. Another outcome is the suspect going after the police, which is also seen as positive as it achieves the goal of diverting attention away from the public. Others include the suspect giving up or trying to flee the scene.
ItB次元官网网址檚 important, we heard, to gather as much information as possible about a situation and report to your team. B次元官网网址淪ometimes police get into trouble because from an optical view, weB次元官网网址檙e just standing around doing nothing,B次元官网网址� Bruce said. B次元官网网址淏ut weB次元官网网址檙e actually getting information and setting up our team.B次元官网网址�
Other times, officers go in blind.
| Nicole Crescenzi (centre)with media personnel Brishti Basu (left) and Katie DeRosa (right) participate in a police training exercises where media were taught how to use a gun, and put into controlled scenarios with actors mimicking potential police calls. (Arnold Lim/Black Press) |
Despite the violence of the scenarios, it was still imperative that we assessed the situation and try to remove the emotion.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 not easy if youB次元官网网址檙e walking over the bodies of children,B次元官网网址� Greffard said, painting a grisly picture. B次元官网网址淥r, if the shooter is a child themselves.B次元官网网址�
We walked into a situation in the same hallway as before, were told an active shooter was inside, but not given any other information.
An actor played a dead police officer, while another was at his side screaming in fear and anger, B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a shooter in here!B次元官网网址�
The hallway was dark, there were many doors and the rattle of firing bullets played off of a speaker. My heart was pumping and my team moved forward, checking doors, finding people hiding in rooms.
Third room in, we found the shooter, who fired at us and we fired back.
B次元官网网址淜ings scene!B次元官网网址� Greffard yelled, indicating the end of the scenario.
Guns were holstered and the lights came on. I let out a breath with relief, and a new-found understanding that officers must be prepared to face these type of situations every shift.
And now putting what we learned into practice. In front of the cameras.
B次元官网网址� Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada)
In a split second, police must take in the many moving parts of a scene: who is in trouble? Who is a threat and how much? Should I draw my weapon; which weapon should I use? Should I kill this person? Will this person kill me? Will they kill anyone else?
I found it nearly impossible to resist shooting a person I felt was threatening me or the team. Of course, I had a fake gun with a fake enemy and the consequences were far less devastating.
Police officers can be forced to make these calculations every day, and they often face criticism over their actions B次元官网网址� whether they saved a life, took one away or both.
The weight of the surrounding world rests heavily on their badged shoulders.
For me, the weight of responsibility left as soon as I removed the utility belt from my waist, with nothing left but a slight bruise on my hip.
