Weeks 12 & 13
I have been absent for a week; however, week 12 was rather
uneventful. Aside from firearms on Tuesday and Thursday, we spent the entire
week in the classroom. During arrest control, we learned how to manipulate our
wooden as well as extendable batons. It was extremely fun and we were taught
how to defend ourselves should the need arise. Wednesday was entirely
contributed to report writing and I can say that it was eye opening as there
were only two scenarios, yet there was plenty of paperwork. For the robbery
scenario alone, 4 pages of paperwork along with a three page report and
separate warrantless arrest affidavit were necessary. When all was said and
done, a thirty minute scenario turned into about three hours of paperwork.
While you will see a lot of unique things in this profession, most of your time
will be spent on documenting what exactly happened. Monday and Friday of week
12 were allocated to Traffic Accident Investigations. There was a lot of
information and we all now know how to diagram an accident, calculate skid
marks, and reconstruct an accident based on the evidence presented to us at an
accident scene.
Week 13 started surprisingly with a refresher on search and
seizure on Monday morning with Director Baca due to a scheduling issue. The
afternoon was spent learning how to deal with civil disputes. Tuesday began
with arrest control in the afternoon for my squad where we continued to work on
our baton skills. The evening was once more spent at the range for another
night shoot. Some scenarios were thrown in towards the end of class which were
more difficult than expected. We had only seconds to decide whether or not to
shoot at a given scenario. Everything changes at night and many of us had some
trouble to identify what type or if the individual had a weapon.
Wednesday was extremely fun as we got to direct traffic in
the morning and early afternoon. After a short stint in the class room, we were
thrown to the wolves at a major intersection (South Wadsworth, just south of 6th
Avenue) to help out at a ‘malfunctioning’ traffic light. Everyone did a great
job (even though some motorists tended to disagree) and we did not cause a
major accident. We were also the first academy class that did not receive a
complaint from the public. Some pictures of our adventure are attached for your
viewing pleasure. Wednesday afternoon marked another day at Red Rocks for a
torturous workout courtesy of our Academy staff J.
Thursday ended with some arrest control scenarios and
another night shoot. You can start to tell that while there are still small
kinks during the various scenarios (forgetting how to properly slap the cuffs
on for example due to the adrenaline), we are all improving and starting to
even out our personal weaknesses. Oh and before I forget, most of us passed our
POST firearms practical with a few exceptions. There was a remedial class for
those who did not pass on Saturday and everyone successfully completed the
standardize course at that time. Everyone also passed test #11 on Friday and
the day ended with us learning about emergency management systems. A rather dry
class made fun by the Captain from the West Metro Fire Department.
