Column: Guest Column

So week two of the Citizens Academy was a little less hands-on. Sometimes I feel like the officers are unknowingly giving us some pointers for becoming law-breakers, but at the same time they’re also giving us many, many reasons we wouldn’t want to.

They’re not really teaching us ways to break laws, but they do like to joke once and a while about things dumb criminals have done. Before I could get any fantastical ideas about how to get away with crimes we jumped into all the various equipment police officers have to foil such crimes, and believe me, they’re prepared.

 

Equipment demonstration

For their own personal safety they have body armor that stops some weapons. Officer Steve Charboneau said some police departments (not ours) have cameras mounted on the officer’s body to tape what happens during their entire shift.

Then, of course, officers have weapons to use when they need. We’ll learn later in a class on use of force what situations they’re allowed to use these. Officer Adam Conn said that officers get verbally abused a lot, which is an instance they’re obviously not allowed to use any force.

In the pre-Taser era many officers carried mace and batons, while now most officers have one or the other and their Taser. Both Conn and Charboneau said batons and mace are more for backup as even the threat of using a Taser works in most instances. Conn said when the Taser was first issued people didn’t think the officers would use them; he said “people tested us when we first got these, so we used them.”

They spoke a lot about the Tasers they carry, which are unique. They’re unlike versions that consumers can get. Charboneau said the Taser measures when it’s used and for how long, information that can be used in police reports and in court. He demonstrated the Taser by shooting it at the ground, and said two copper wires shoot out that connect to the person being Tased.

Another weapon is obviously their handgun, which are Smith & Wesson M&P, which stands for Military and Police. It’s loaded with one bullet in the chamber and they have three magazines with 15 rounds each, for a total of 46 bullets. In the squad car they have a Remington 870 tactical shotgun and a DPMS, or Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services, M4 rifle.

Other tools at their disposal are handcuffs. Charboneau said he carries three pairs since he’s been in situations where he’s needed that many. Most carry two and have the option of using plastic ties when needed. Other tools are flashlights, latex gloves, handcuff keys, a knife, notepad and pen and cell phones. Most of these all attach to their belts.

Both Conn and Charboneau said they like their new radios, which were purchased when the area switched over to the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response, or ARMER, system. It allows officers to reach each other, dispatch and other law enforcement agencies, as well as receive weather updates and supply them with a panic button that would alert that an officer needs help.

Squad cars are another important tool, which also carry other tools like radar and miscellaneous large equipment in the trunks. The Albert Lea Police Department’s fleet has eight squad cars for patrol: six are class A, meaning it has the light strip on the roof, one is an unmarked class B and one is a marked class B. Each of the four lieutenants has a squad car: three are marked class B and one is an unmarked car. The chief has an unmarked squad car, there are two vehicles for community service officers and three unmarked cars for detectives and investigators.

The cars all have mobile data terminals, which can access the Internet. Conn said there have been times when dispatch can send them a photo of a person using this system. A classmate of mine asked if they ever look up information on Facebook, and Conn said they “get a lot of information off Facebook.”

There’s also the in-car camera system that is manually activated when the lights or sirens are used. Other tools in the car are what they call “stop sticks,” which blow out tires when placed across a road. There’s also the “noose,” which can safely subdue animals. First aid kits complete with an automatic external defibrillator, breathalyzer, window tint meter and more. That’s a lot of tools at their disposal! As a resident, I’m glad they have so many high-tec instruments to use like cameras, AEDs and in-car computers. I wouldn’t want the people investigating crimes to have anything less.

 

Officer training

The second part of our class Thursday was to learn about how officers are trained before they’re able to go out on their own. For this officer Jason Taylor, a field training officer, or FTO, spoke about the department’s qualifications and own training program.

He said most officers have a two-year or four-year degree, and it doesn’t necessarily even have to be in law enforcement as long as a person goes through all the other training needed. That includes police officer skills training and passing the POST test. If after all that an officer is hired by the department, then he or she must go through a 14-week training period with the department. Taylor said this is different from many years ago when a college, or even just high school, grad would be hired and given a gun, badge and squad car keys.

As an FTO Taylor rides along with new officers and teaches and observes. He said some of the most important things new officers learn are to have instinctive responses, focus without getting tunnel vision and backing up other officers. Charboneau, the newest officer on the force, said the department’s willingness to back each other up is important. Taylor said it’s department policy to back each other up, even on traffic stops because they never know what might happen.

Through training with an FTO, the new officer will get to handle more and more calls on their own, work on various shifts to see the differences and continually be trained and tested by the FTO.

The last topic was continuing training, which Taylor said the department does a lot of. He said because of Chief Dwaine Winkels’ leadership style of wanting officers to be trained in many different things, the department is proactive with training. Taylor said he’s “never been turned down for a training.” Because of that, he’s an FTO, trained in bike patrol, one of two officers in charge of the evidence room, on the SWAT team and more.

After last Thursday I feel pretty sure that our police force is well-trained and that they have the tools they need to do an effective job. This week we learn about the school resource program (which is being cut from two officers to one) and DWI enforcement. Stay tuned!

 

Kelli Lageson is the special projects editor at the Tribune. She’s enrolled in a weekly Citizens Academy put on by the Albert Lea Police Department. Email her at kelli.lageson@albertleatribune.com.