Weeks 18-21 - Recruit Sebastian

First off, I would like to apologize for my absence, but I have been beyond busy the last few weeks.

Starting with week 18, we had two written and one practical test. We were finally able to put the arrest control skills we learned over the past fifteen weeks to the test and had our practical as well as written final. Everyone passed with flying colors and it was amazing to see how far we have come since the beginning of the Academy. Additionally, we were taught how to search cars for contraband, when we can search them, and where the most likely hiding places might be. Friday morning marked written test number 13, which everyone also passed and a class on IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices). It was fantastic to see what the Jeffco bomb squad had in store for us and they were very knowledgeable to say the least. Aside from the fact that anything can be made into an IED (i.e. toys, remote control cars, teddy bears, etc..) the power that these small items have was astonishing.

Week 19 began with courtroom testimony and hostage/crisis negotiations. Unlike in the movies, the likelihood that there will be a crisis negotiator on scene within minutes is highly unlikely. The first responders, i.e. us, will be the first on scene and the probability that we would have to talk with the subject for an extended period of time is almost guaranteed. On Tuesday, we were given our study guide for the POST exam by Director Baca (all 400 pages of it) and ended out the day with a class on domestic terrorism. For the rest of the week, we spent our time learning how to do Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST’s). The first day was all classroom based with some time spent on practicing the nuances on how to apply them to a suspected drunk driver. The next day, we all passed our written and practical test on the subject.

On the same day, some of us were tasked to write a report based on dash cam footage from a real traffic stop. The next day, they were given the chance to defend their reports on the stand at the Jefferson County Court house. Several ADA’s (Assistant District Attorney’s) were gracious enough to play the role of the prosecutor and defense attorney. I think they had more fun than we did when they destroyed our observations on the stand. Afterwards, we drove to the Jeffco fairgrounds for our wet labs, i.e. other people get drunk and we get to perform our SFST’s on them, at which we have to decide whether or not we would arrest the subject for drunk driving. Let’s just say that we all had a great time.

Week 20 began on Tuesday, after a long weekend thanks to Memorial day. Tuesday was rightfully named Taser Tuesday as we finally had the long awaited Taser day. Unfortunately, I cannot post any pictures, but suffice it to say that I have never felt so much pain in my life after being tased. People say that they would rather be tased than pepper sprayed, but for me, the jury is still out on that one as we have our OC day next week. On Wednesday, we had our Fitness Challenge at Red Rocks and the name does not do it justice. The average time to complete the workout was about 60 minutes and the 85 degree weather at 0800 did not exactly help. I was still sore two days later. The rest of the day was spent on POST review. The next day, we had our CPR/First Aid class with some smaller scenarios thrown in. Friday marked Test #14, with an average Recruit score of 95 (only one more to go until the big one) and some more POST review in the afternoon. You can tell that everyone is doubling down on studying from the high grades. Due to the off day on Monday, we spent half a day each (split into our respective squads) at the CSP track performing high speed maneuvers. Another fun day, but unfortunately a short weekend before our return on Monday.

I think I have talked enough. Only one and a half weeks to go until our POST exam and hopefully graduation the next day. Nobody from this Academy has failed the POST yet and none of us plan on being the first one. On to week 21.