Co-op City Information Network

Administrator
Contact Me
Admin Group

Co-op Public Safety begins simulated firearms training

A Coop City Public Safety Department officer participates in a drill simulating real life police scenarios projected on a screen. The new system is designed to practice life and death decision making capabilities in the time of a crisis. All Coop City Public Safety officers will go through this training over the next three months.



Beginning earlier this month and continuing through the end of March 2016, each Co-op City Public Safety officer, detective and supervisor will be practiced on how to best react to a wide array of real life scenarios where split second decisions must be made as to if and when to use a firearm to protect the lives and safety of the public and themselves.

The system is known as the Firearms Training System or F.A.T.S..

Captain James Keappock explained that this interactive training system is intended to measure and improve an officer's ability to react to, rapid and changing, situations involving persons with weapons. It is a system that has been used to train thousands of police and military personnel around the world, the Captain explained.

The electronic, interactive systems involve a pre-recorded scenario being played on a large screen in front of an officer who is told to react to what he or she sees just as if the officer is the first responder on a scene.

A qualified firearms instructor oversees the entire training exercise process. The officer is given a simulated handgun which has been modified to generate an electronic signal to the screen and the subjects on the screen. Instructors set up objects for use as cover and concealment. The officer is then briefed on what is expected during the drill. Once the instructor begins to play the scenario on the screen, the officer must observe closely an react accordingly, closely following their training while also relying on instantaneous decision making skills. The scenes employed as part of the training may include people running from stores, people walking in the street, people exiting from cars on the street or in garages. Usually, a wide variety of scenarios can be presented involving members of the general public whose safety may rely on the judgement of the responding officer.

Scenarios used include, but are not limited to, domestic violence, robberies in progress, disputes, fights, shoplifting and many more real life scenarios that officers around the nation are required to respond to on a daily basis.

Captain Keappock said the the most vital function of this system is its ability to guide the officer on the proper and improper use of deadly force. "In the street, officers are held to split second decisions and then criticied afterwards by people who have had the opportunity to examine the incident and review all the information when the officer only had that split second to observe, analyze and react," he said. "That is a reality of the job that all officers know. The more we can simulate these situations and give our officers practice at responding effectively, the better prepared the department will be when facing life or death situations in the real world."

Each officer is given five to seven scenarios to work with and is judged instantly on their decisions. Critiques of their actions are then given and the officer undergoing the exercise is given a chance to try again; taking into account earlier mistakes that might have been made. Follow up instructions are designed to correct those mistakes during follow up drills.

"We have been pushing for years to acquire this system for our officers," Captain Keappock added. "It gives us the ability to introduce the officer to some degree of stress, while measuring their ability to make quick decisions in the street. This training system has contributed to significantly reducing agency liability in officer involved shootings. Chief Apollo and I are thankful to President Cleve Taylor and the Riverbay Board for their support and for funding the use of this valuable training system."

By Bill Stuttig
Coop City Times is now online

Read more Co-op City news

Reply To Co-op Public Safety officers begins simulated firearms training

Name:

Email:

Phone:

--

Avatar:

Enter your url path to your Gravatar.
Get your Gravatar url

OR

Select Avatar

Select Avatar ▼

Reply:

Security Code:

 Load New Code

Please enter the Security Code exactly as shown in image format.
Cookies must be enabled on your web browser.
Your post will be publicly viewable.