Graduation

This is my last blog. The academy graduation is at the end of this week. I would like to take this opportunity to express to you in a few short statements regarding my overall opinion of the experiences that I have been fortunate to have at this Academy.



This experience has been amazing. If you decide to move into law enforcement and are fortunate to enter the Jefferson County Sheriff Academy, I want to be the first to tell you that you will be challenged in many ways that you have never before experienced. It is very tough mentally and physically. It is difficult, but most important things in life and, especially in law enforcement, are.



The academy staff did a great job in laying the foundation of what is to be a career for all of the recruits at this academy. We by no means know it all. But as we gain experience it is obvious that the foundation that has been created here at the Academy will make us excellent law enforcement officers.



I hope that my entries have encouraged people who were thinking of entering a career in law enforcement to follow their dreams. Being a police officer will be a unique and rewarding career. The individuals with which you will be working are simply the best. I have had a great time, have gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience. And besides the PT, being maced, tased, being on the receiving end of loud and forceful correction by the various instructors, being put in a constant state of stress, and all the other situations I have been exposed to, I am really looking forward to the experiences I will be gaining in law enforcement, using the information gained in the Academy.


I want to thank all of the instructors and staff involved at the Jefferson County Sheriff Academy for a great experience. I want to thank the recruits for the friendship, the bonds and living to the creed that “Those that go through sh*t together, stick together” that has been created during the last four to five months.


Welcome to the brotherhood of cops. And as was indicated in one of our first classes and described in an earlier blog, we are all sheepdogs at heart and we are the protectors of the innocent.


Congratulations to Academy Class 2009-2

Court

We ended our court session yesterday. This was one of the best exercises that we have done at the Academy. One had to apply everything learned in the academy and use it to present evidence from interrogations, questioning, and evidence gathering in a courtroom situation. We got an understanding of what it feels like to be testifying in a courtroom. It was nerve racking at first, but as was investigating the crime scene fun and exciting so was presenting the information in court.

There were two representatives from the District Attorney’s office with us today. One acted as the District Attorney while the other played the Defense Attorney. Each read your report regarding the crime investigation and started poking holes in your investigation to create what would amount to doubt in the minds of the jurors if this was a real case. It wasn’t personal, it was business.

Once the two representatives started doing their thing, it was easy to see where the weaknesses of each individual report existed. Under their cross exams, it was easy to see the weaknesses with the investigation as well. Like almost everything we have done in the Academy, this was a great learning experience that I will never forget. The mistakes I made I hope never to repeat. These are the concepts and experiences that one must learn to create the professional law enforcement officer that we all want to be.

Taser Day

We had “Taser Day” last week. This was the epilog to the macing experience from several weeks ago as described in this blog. The experience is something you should look forward to. In reality, the bad news is that being tasered is probably the most horrible physical pain you may experience in your life. The good news is that the intensity only lasts for about 5 seconds or so; a much shorter time period than the eternity of discomfort that one experiences with being maced. All your muscles tense up and you can’t move. You can think, you are aware of your surroundings, but you cannot move. If, in the future you decide to enter the Jefferson County Academy, you too will have the opportunity to add this experience to your life, if you choose. Being tasered is uncomfortable but it allows you to experience what an individual feels when tasered and how the process can incapacitate anyone, including a police officer. As a police officer on patrol, being tasered allows your weapons and whatever you are carrying to be available to anyone because it is very plain that one would be unable to prevent anyone from taking those items after the taseing.

I will tell you the experience is very uncomfortable but you will survive it.

Until next time……..

Mock crime scenes

Last week, prior to the Thanksgiving break, we started a new exercise called Mock Crime Scene. The exercise is conducted by the instructors. The instructors and recruits were split into five different groups. The goal is to get the recruits to apply the techniques and knowledge that has been learned throughout the academy. The instructors made everything as realistic as possible. Everyone involved, especially the recruits, proceeded through the exercise as if this was a true crime scene.

All recruits conducted interviews of potential suspects, victims and witnesses, writing search warrants, collecting evidence, and arresting the individuals that were responsible for the crime. Each suspect, victims or witness within the scenario is played by an instructor. Once the investigation was completed, the remainder of the day was spent writing reports and completing all of the paper work necessary to bring the case to trial. On Wednesday, all recruits will attend a mock court dealing with each scenario.

This experience was amazing. There were many mistakes made by all recruits. However the experience gained and what we learned from this exercise is very valuable. As stated, the next step of this exercise is the mock court. We will see how that goes.

Until next time…

Evidence Collection

This week has been spent covering evidence collection. We are learning how to document different types of evidence. It is very interesting and in its own way kind of exciting. The first question you will probably have would be “Is it like CSI?”. The answer is sort of but not really. There are similarities but a lot of what is seen on TV is to keep the audience’s attention. Especially true is that the time span and documentation is nothing like on TV. TV shows tend not to represent real life situations. Solving a complicated crime scene in an hour is not realistic.

Only two weeks left until graduation and so much to do and learn.

Driving

Sorry for the delays in making new entries. I have been very busy.

We had driving training all last week and I spent all of my time up at the track. I have to admit that driving is a real kick. Everything you wanted to do (and probably did) as a teenager but here it was legal! As usual our instructors were great.

We worked on turning at high speeds, steering, backing, avoidance braking and threshold breaking. This is fun stuff. Imagine doing all of these things, stopping, and being told to do it again. This is probably the only place where you can literally, on purpose, lose complete control of your vehicle, and spin out. Imagine that upon completing all of this and returning to the group, the instructor will ask “what went wrong?” You give the correct answer and he says “Good job and now go back out there and do it right.” Notice the phrase “slow down!” does not appear. Sweeet!!!

However, if you are losing control due to excessive speed you will be told that you need to slow down. I never have had so much fun driving. It was fun to test the limits of the vehicle, your reactions, and discovering where “the line” is.

It was fun but you need to keep in mind that you are training for high speed pursuits. Cones are set about the course representing pedestrians, children, vehicles, etc. The fun was locating and establishing that acceptable level of speed and and as always, civilian safety.

Good Day on the Job

Something very special happened to our academy class the other day. We had just completed having our pictures taken and were in formation marching back to the parking lot from the Red Rocks Amphitheater. As we approached the parking lot, there was a group of elementary students standing off to the side watching the formation. As we marched passed their location all the students fell in behind and marched with us. This group of students marched with us, in pretty good formation and with good discipline, all the way to the top of the parking lot. Upon reaching the parking lot, the students ran past the formation and got out in front of us. Every single police officer and deputy sheriff had to pass the student group. All of the young kids cheered and waved to us, and most chanted “You guys are awesome.”

This simple action meant a lot to both the experienced officers and recruits. I have always been proud of what I am doing and what I want to become as a deputy sheriff. However, this was something special to all of us. I can’t really explain it. It was a simple action by a group of youngsters that produced a memory that I will never forget. I and my fellow recruits, police and sheriff officers would like to thank the children for their actions and hope they maintain that attitude towards law enforcement in general.

Sexual Assault / Crimes Against Children

This was an 8 hour class and presentation. After sitting through this class, if you are anything like me, you will be depressed, angry and want to take all of the woman who are important to you, to a place that will keep them safe from this element of society. However, it is these types of crimes that determined why I wanted to get involved with law enforcement. This type of crime increases my motivation to be the best I can be. One day I hope to work my way into investigations and this is the type of crime I would want to investigate. Many ask me why this type of crime? The answer is simple: I want to be the person that catches these predators, stop this behavior from happening to innocent women and especially innocent children. I want to be part of the solution that removes individuals like this from everyday society.

The class was very well taught. Discussions of all of the laws relating to these offenses, the elements, the stories and studies related to sexual assault and crimes against children. The most memorable and disturbing are the pictures. Many of the pictures are very graphic causing the sadness, anger and desire to put a stop to this activity. It is a heavy class but very important. You are subjected to information that you cannot imagine an individual doing to another human being including what date rape drugs do to the body and mind and how to identify if drugs were involved. The instructors also showed us how to conduct a preliminary investigation on these crimes and how to document the situation and evidence. I can’t stress how much I learned but you have to prepare yourself for what you are going to be dealing with. Again this class enhanced my desire to be a cop.

Vehicle Contacts

We just finished a class on vehicle contacts. We worked on the procedures in pulling someone over in a traffic stop. I can’t stress this enough: Pulling someone over is a lot more then just walking up to the driver and writing a ticket. In my opinion this is actually one of the most dangerous aspects of being a cop. My reasoning is based on all of the unknown factors regarding this person. You don’t know who they are or what they are doing. The situation regarding weapons is unknown as is the drug situation. Thus, it is important to keep your officer safety procedures as the number one priority. It is important to remember and plan everything from preparing to stop an individual to your approach and your professionalism.

These are just a few things to keep in mind. Those of you applying will learn this but seeing hands of the individuals is a very important aspect of making a vehicle stop. Movements are very important. The instructors are great and I gained an amazing amount of knowledge in just one class. There are a lot of things to keep in your head, but the most important is to never, ever, become complacent. No stops are routine and one must always prepare themselves to be as safe as humanly possible.

Arrest Control: Choke Holds

We have done choke holds and how to escape from them during arrest control. Being choked will usually cause enough for most people to panic. When under duress, such as being choked, one still must remain calm and think about the situation. The first step, like most everything in law enforcement: Don’t Panic. Think of what must happen in order for you to escape.

As I have said before, when discussing training your mind, one must immediately come to the realization that if someone is choking you, they are trying to kill you. This is not martial arts class anymore. This is about your life. What I have learned is not to panic and to work yourself out of the situation. This means anything and everything is fair game to change the conditions of the situation. This person is trying to kill me and what am I going to do about it? My answer is what I have been taught from day one: WIN, NO MATTER THE COST! Again we don’t get paid to tie or lose.

Officer Survival

We recently had a class on officer survival. That class is geared in how to survive when things go bad. This class explains that having the right mental approach can save your life. Always maintain distance, know escape routes, always be ready to use force if necessary, and never be lulled into a state of being less than total aware of situations by apparent cooperation. We were taught that a truly prepared officer can depend on the fact that winning a violent confrontation is about 75% mental.

The most important piece of information I gained from this class is always stay aggressive and never quit. By staying aggressive you are more likely to wear down your opponent and win the confrontation. This dovetails with what we have had drilled into us since day one: we are not being paid to tie or lose fights. We are paid to win. For those of you who are going to apply and want to be police officer, my advice to you is to get into that mental mindset now and live by that statement. The other statement to set your life by is “lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.”

I would also highly recommend practicing being observant, practice identifing potential threats, practice looking for cover and concealment, and always play the “what if” game in your head as you go through life. An example could be what if someone walked in to the restaurant, pulled a gun and shot someone. What would I do? Where is the cover? How do I get to the shooter if possible? Little games like this will condition your mind to react when something happens.

Defensive Seating

We just finished a class regarding officer survival. The class was geared more to how to survive in a firefight and the mindset you must have in order to survive. You get to hear the facts that the majority of cops are killed when they are alone, usually shot with a hand gun and usually within 10 feet.

The class presented information regarding the different awareness levels of being a cop. It is important for those applying with any law enforcement department that you can never be oblivious as to what is going on around you. You must always be searching for potential threats, exits and must be aware of the people around you and their behavior.

I have found that with a girlfriend, and this new found knowledge, it has become customary to have discussions with your significant other about where to sit when you go to restaurants. What I mean by this is, as a cop, you always want the defensive seating arrangement. Meaning you want to sit with your back to a wall and hopefully in a position that will allow you to be looking out at the customers within the restaurant. This would also include the entrance to the restaurant, giving you line of sight to all that are coming and going.

Now, every time I go to a restaurant, I notice that my girlfriend takes “that” seat. In which case, I ask her to move. This usually results in “The Look.” Those of you with a significant other probably have been the recipient of “The “Look.” I have been told that over time, significant others will start to learn about “The Seat,” therefore avoiding the public rendition of "The Look."

Guest Blog: Reid!

My name is Reid, I work for Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and was asked to do a guest blog and wasn’t sure what I should say. I became interested in being a police officer when I was a kid, I always liked watching the old movies with the cowboys and the sheriff, I have since learned that you can’t do most of the stuff that is in those movies.

Now that I have grown up and know a little more I think this is one of the most incredible jobs, where else do you get so much responsibility and so much freedom? So far my favorite parts of the academy are the Arrest Control and Firearm days. We have been able to shoot over 1,500 rounds of ammo; shooting on the tactical range is the most fun for me. I have done a lot of shooting where you sit or stand still, but getting to shoot while moving at steel targets is awesome! We have had countless hours of arrest control, I have learned some Judo in the past, but this is more aggressive, we are not paid to lose. I have had more fun getting this training than I could have imagined.

If there is one thing that I want anyone trying to get hired by a department to know is that you have to stick with the applications, keep trying, it usually takes several tries. I had the support of my family, when I wouldn’t get through a testing process they were there to tell me to keep trying. So don’t give up, you can make it as long as becoming a cop is something you really want and you work for it. Overall my experience at the Jefferson County Regional Academy has been an amazing journey. I look forward to learning more, not just in the academy but after I graduate.

Firearms

In Firearms training we have been doing a lot of qualifications and training with movement shooting. I have to say this is so fun. Now I am no means an expert in shooting firearms but I feel like Jefferson County has the best instructors. Last week we had to run up a hill and conduct strikes and kicks on a pad. Basically it is a simulated fight. After the instructor deems you are tired he yells at you to come over. He then proceeds to tell you a scenario. You must then proceed to eliminate threats in the scenario. I have to tell you my mistakes for those of you applying. I rushed through the scenario and missed all my shots. What I learned is you must take a deep breath, take your time and remember your mechanics. When I did this I found that my accuracy went up. It was a great experience and I learned a lot.

Guest blog: Baloo!

Hello,

I was recently invited by Kevin (a.k.a. Sunshine) to share a bit about myself, my perspective about the academy, and share a few words concerning something most people don’t like to think about when deciding if law enforcement is the right career for them.

I attended college in Minnesota, married my lovely wife, and moved to Nebraska for graduate school. During this time, I had the opportunity to train as a post-collegiate athlete, and finished my athletic career in the finals of the 2004 USA Olympic Trials. Following graduate school we moved to Colorado, where I spent a few years in the insurance industry. For those of you who may be reading this from a cubicle, you will easily understand why I decided to leave insurance behind and focus on a career in law enforcement.

Overall, the academy experience has been a very positive one. Every day brings the constant challenge of trying to learn new information, while attempting to retain all of the other “stuff” taught from day one – this can be difficult and frustrating. If you have a competitive spirit, you can only imagine sometimes how discouraging this can be when you want to know it all, yet fail miserably! The reality of the academy life is that you do the best you can, take the punches when they come, and then get up and keep trying to improve – NEVER QUIT! One of the great things about a law enforcement career is the variety. There are some days you feel on top of the world and others when you wonder if you’re going to have a job at the end of the day.

This brings me to an obvious point: “This is not an easy job!” Not only is the training physically and mentally challenging, but it is important to acknowledge and consider what will be required of you besides “just helping people.” I imagine that every person has somewhat different motives for choosing law enforcement. For some of you, you may see an investigator on television that gets to a crime scene, evaluates it, processes it, and solves the crime in less than an hour and think, “Wow, that’s cool, where can I get me one of those suits, a gun and badge?” Others may not be quite that naïve, but still don’t have a full understanding of the sacrifice that law enforcement officers make to serve their community. Let’s evaluate some realities of the job that we discuss in the academy, and see if we can take an honest look at what you may encounter on a day-to-day basis.

First, after successfully completing the 20 week training academy, you may spend some time working in the jail. It is important to know that you will work every day with people who have violated a law, or two…or ten. These crimes range from murder, rape and assault, to failure to pay child support. These individuals may want to harm you and/or your family, and will most likely try to manipulate you, and/or see if they can compromise your professionalism over days or years. You will be directly exposed throughout your career to bodily fluids (i.e. blood, urine, spit, poo, puke, etc.), funky smells, ‘R’ rated images, death, and drugs. It is possible that your life will be in jeopardy at least once in your career, and that you will be attacked, assaulted, and/or harassed to varying degrees on more than one occasion. There will be times when you will be required to work long hours, work by yourself in secluded areas of the county, and face off with pit bulls, or even Chihuahuas! And for those of you who want to become an investigator, or work in a specialty unit, you will get the privilege of carrying a pager, which allows you to be called back to work at all hours of the day or night.

According to the psychologists that visited our academy, 75% of all male law enforcement officers will be divorced at least once, and for the females out there…well…if I remember right, that number rises to about 99.9%. Pretty crazy, huh?

So, now that I’ve provided you will a little reality, do you still have a desire to begin the long journey required to become a Deputy Sheriff of Jefferson County? I hope so, because it has the potential, beyond the seemingly dismal reality :), to bring an incredible reward. The truths of what we may encounter day to day are intense, but the pride, honor, and potential to influence others at a critical time in their lives are worth the risk and sacrifice. May you be blessed as much as I have been on your journey to becoming a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Crowd Control

We had a class about riots and crowd control the other day. I have included some pictures. But it is important to note that in order to be good at crowd control, it helps immensely if you have experience as a member of a marching band. As a secondary note it will become instantly known to all if you were lucky enough to have been born with any rhythm or as in most of our cases……not.

The idea behind crowd control is trying to maintain order, or to reestablish order, during a riot. There are many slow movements with the need of many officers being in synch (or rhythm if you prefer). The hard part of crowd control is people are yelling at you, throwing anything they can find at you, and as always, trained officers must maintain professionalism at all times. The picture below is the recruiting class practicing the movements and commands. It was fun in a practice mode, but until I do it for real, I really won’t know if the fun will transfer over. Probably not.

Guest blog: Katherine!

Hi everyone! My name is Katherine and I am a recruit at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office academy with Kevin. He’s been a good friend to me for the last 13 weeks (even though he kicked me through a wall), so when he asked me to write a little bit about my experience I knew I couldn’t turn him down. I also come from a pretty different background from most recruits and think it’s important for people to see that all sorts of people can find satisfaction and pride in police work.

First thing about me: I’m not a native Coloradoan. I grew up in a really small farm town in Michigan. I just turned 29, and yes, I’m a chick. I had very little contact with any of the local police growing up: a few minor speeding tickets and one car accident. No one in my family has ever been a cop and I don’t think I’ve ever really known one personally. I didn’t form much of an opinion on the profession from those few run-ins and certainly never would have thought that I’d end up pursuing this career! I worked at a large sporting goods store all through college selling skis and snowboards and ended up moving across the country to the Colorado mountains to be a snowboard bum in 2003. I had various retail and customer service positions in Beaver Creek for four seasons, ending up as a dispatcher and driver for transportation around the resort.

After putting in a couple of great years at the Beav I was ready to really settle down and start working towards a long lasting career. I’d looked at the ads for 911 emergency dispatching in the newspaper for years and realized how similar it would be to dispatching for the resort, but with the added opportunity to feel proud of my involvement in my community. I knew I could make a positive difference in people’s lives when they needed it most. I applied in the fall of 2007 and have worked dispatching police, fire and emergency medical services since. It was the career that I’d been searching for and I was hooked!

It wasn’t long though before I realized that my real strength would be out on the street as an officer. I fell in love with the excitement and random experiences of police work right away, but my favorite part is digging through information to answer questions and solve crimes. I’ve always enjoyed puzzles and brainteasers and am really happy that I’ve found a job where I can do those things in order to benefit my community. I look forward to working on the streets for a couple of years to learn as much as I can and then working as a detective. I also really enjoy customer service and teaching and can’t wait to become a field training officer in a few years.

I think the most important thing to understand about this career is that any type of person (even with very little law enforcement experience) can find success, pride and happiness through hard work. There are so many specializations and opportunities, and no matter which ones interest you, you can find satisfaction in making your community a better place!

OC

Derek being sprayed with OC

Last week all recruits got OC’ed. OC, for those of you that do not know what the acronym stands for, we got pepper sprayed. I would have to say, after careful consideration and comparisons to all the other things I have done and all the things that have happened to me during my life, this was truly the worst.

Stephen punching the dummy for 30 seconds after being sprayed

As part of the drill the recruits must face three continuous simulations under the influence of the pepper spray. After being sprayed in the eyes and obviously the face and other exposed areas, the first simulation was to react to a simulated fight by striking a dummy for 30 seconds. This is followed immediately by a combat walk down the side of a building and arresting a suspect. This is followed immediately by a simulated reaction to a bad guy with a gun. The suspect might give up, releasing the gun, or give up and not drop the gun or may turn and attempt to shoot the arresting officer. This simulation is done with a paint gun.

Jamie punching the dummy for 30 seconds after being sprayed

The whole event was done in a very controlled environment. The purpose of this simulation is show each recruit how it feels to be OCed and to know how to react to various situations under the effects of the spray. Each of us now know that we will be able to fight through a pepper spray incident. This situation is no longer an unknown and therefore is not a fear to be conquered. We have already done that. This, in itself, is very important. To have the confidence that if this happens, you know what it feels like, you know it is going to be uncomfortable but you also know that you can react and function under the influence of the spray.

Baloo after being OC'd

Now for what being OCed really feels like. Everyone reacts a little different but for me, it feels like a sun burn that you get when falling asleep on the beach without sunscreen but maybe a little oil on your skin to intensify the action of the sun. Everything burns and your eyes shut involuntary. Now this intense burning experience last for a total of about 30 to 45 minutes. Then, and here is the real treat of OC, the chemicals on your face get reactivated when mixed with water. Therefore, every time you take a shower you get to relive the wonderful experience all over again. In other words, it is the gift that keeps on giving.

It took me about 3 to 4 showers before I had absolutely no sensation of burning on my face, eyes or any where else the OC spray had reached, either directly or indirectly through washing. Not to mention that once the water used to clear your eyes and face comes into contact with the pepper spray, whatever that water touches gets OC on it and the burning starts over in different locations. I will leave it up to the reader to create a mental picture of the potential problems that this redistribution of the contaminated water over, shall we say, the more sensitive portions of the male and female body, poses when you are taking a shower.

For all of you future recruits or others that might be inclined to put themselves in opposition to law enforcement, trying to earn the possibility of being OCed, you have been warned.

Until next time…..
Kevin

Photo

Here is another addition. In the picture is "Full Speed" or you can call her "Mini Hulk". The picture was taken in arrest control. We were doing a push-back kick, creating more distance. Unfortunately she was close to a wall.

Arrest Control

Hi all.

Well it is been a long time since my last entry mostly due to the fact that the recruits have been out of the classroom and working on arrest control, firearms, test and quizzes. I will explain arrest control. We have gone over pressure points and wrist locks to make individuals comply with demands by the officers. We also learned about different kicks and strikes. All of this is done in a safe setting. For those of you who want to prepare for arrest control, Jefferson County Academy uses the FBI arrest control techniques and methods. It has been fun because you work on technique with a partner. After each session I feel like I have been mauled by a bear. That is understandable because our first day I fought the human equivalent of a bear. His nickname is Baloo. I included a picture below. It is fun to go up against different types of people. Everyone has a little different approach and that is what makes it fun and that situation creates new experiences for you.

In this type of fighting, everything we are taught is to gain compliance with an individual. If the individual complies, the pain or strikes will stop. This is very important to know. In addition, this class teaches the force continuum. During this type of training you are taught to recognize what types of force should be used based on what the individual does. This means that the officer does not dictate the type or amount of force that should be used. The individual you are dealing with will dictate the amount of force based on their actions and reactions.

I will keep you posted on the other contact lessons as they come up. An additional high point for this week will be the opportunity for all recruits to experience the OC application (peppered sprayed). I will be writing about this experience once I have managed to remove the materials from my eyes and nose.