Week ten- Always, each and every time, consistently...

Another bitter sweet week.  This was the final week at the range; the bitter part.  The sweet part is that we are over the halfway point of the academy.  On our final trek down "the hill" at the range we all laughed remembering our very first day at the range.  We were wet behind the ear recruits.  We have come far.  Now, all decked out in our duty belts loaded down with newly issued equipment and vests our first day is only a memory.  That first day we must have looked like little kids at Christmas opening our new gear, but no idea how to wear it! Now hopefully we look like we know what we are doing. 

This week we learned a lot about contacting a pedestrian.  As simple as some of this might seem, there is so much more to it than meets the eye. We are taught that the unexpected is always the normal.  We cannot let our guard down.  At the same time it is important that people we contact are treated with respect.  Often there is a fine line.  It is vital that we remain true to who we are and not try to be someone we are not.

We did some more report writing and although not near as exhilarating as the shooting at the range, just as important.  The repetition we are getting with our report writing is very helpful and every report is getting a little easier to write as we learn how to "tell a story" in each report.  The goal is not to reduce the time taken to write as every detail is needed in the report.  Ultimately the flow should be smoother.

Many of the things that are getting smoother could easily be done quicker, but that rarely gets you anywhere.  For example, cleaning your gun should be to perfection constantly, shining your boots should be perfected every time, doing Cross Fit workouts should be done with full range of motion on every exercise consistently.  Reports should be spell checked and revised without fail, ironing your uniform should be to a nice crisp crease always, arrest control should be done with attention to detail every time, etc.... 

We learned more moves in arrest control that could save our lives one day if ever needed.  I am amazed every time we have arrest control at the new holds, escapes, and take downs we learn.  My dogs are not too impressed with the take downs I practice on them but I tell them to be grateful they do not have thumbs or wrists otherwise they would get the cuffs.

We all did great on the test which always makes Fridays more enjoyable.  There is a huge relief around 9 a.m. every Friday once we know we have all passed the test.  We are each other's biggest fans and we all want to see each other do well.  I have an awesome little study group that I have worked diligently to find.  Thank goodness we found each other because it has been so helpful to learn from other people and hear what they learned from each presentation.  We all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses but each of us is an important part of the puzzle.

Next week....vehicle stops and a guest blogger!

Week nine-Scenarios

Recruit Shaira shared a little about our ‘dim light shooting’ but I have to elaborate a bit more...   Obviously the shooting is a blast... the time our group spends together at the bottom of ‘the hill’ before we start class has become where we loosen up a teeny tiny bit.  We are outside, have just eaten lunch (or only had time to down an energy drink) and anticipate shooting our guns soon.   We sing, dance, tell stupid jokes, and make fun of each other--in a light hearted way of course.  Those twenty minutes are the best minutes of the day.  We done our range baseball caps, put on our eyes and ears, duty belts, lather up with sunscreen, and load our pockets with bottles of water.  My secret is a stash of macadamia nuts in my secret pocket.

Anywho... ‘dim light shooting’ was a blast.  Like recruit Shaira said at the end of the night we all got a little cranky.  All we could do was laugh because no one was getting to bed before midnight and everyone was getting up the next morning before 6 a.m.  Not only was it different shooting at night, it rained the first night!  Always expect the unexpected.

This week was intense.  We had our qualification test for Firearms at the range on Thursday.  We have shot this course many times, but it's natural for nerves to kick in when you hear "today is the day."  A handful did not pass on the first day but that is the reality of it.  If it were easy anyone could be in law enforcement.  This career is not for everyone and most of us, if not all of us, have been in positions where we have had to ask ourselves if this is truly what we want to do.  I feel the instructors put all of us in those positions intentionally so we DO ask ourselves that very question.  That thought has come and gone and been gone for a long time for all of us.  We are here to the end.

On Friday we had our week's test first thing that morning.  We all passed then off to the park.   At the park we were divided into groups.  Those groups went around the park to different scenarios.  Each scenario consisted of instructors role-playing as suspects, and victims. They did an incredible job and we were so appreciative of their patience.  Going in to a scenario you must mentally rehearse but sometimes that gets thrown for a loop. You must count on your common sense and your training to complete the call.  In a nutshell I would describe the day as...WOW.  All the laws, arrest control, decision making and pedestrian contacts we have learned in the classroom thus far were all utilized at once on these scenarios. 

It was interesting to see my peers in a different role other than playing ‘Gary on the kickdrum’ from the movie The Break Up.   It was cool (it's better than saying neat) to know you're partner had your back on these calls.  You absolutely have to trust your partner whether you are contact or cover.  This is tough for some because of similar personalities wanting control but you find a way to work together because it’s a necessity. 

At the end of day I put my brain to bed.  It was done.  I was done.  I didn't even make it to Dateline at 9 p.m.!  I felt like someone snuck something into my drink.  It was as though two elephants were sitting on my eyelids.  For the life of me I could not put words together to make sentences.  I swear I saw llamas sitting in my living room. And I could not move any of my limbs.  I was exhausted.  That is a good day at work, let me tell you.



Week eight- Guest Blog- Shaira, Wheat Ridge PD



It’s Monday morning of Week 8 and there I stand, all 5’4” of me in front of a class of 40. My arms are stiff at my sides as Sergeant stops in front of me, all I can see is the middle of his chest. “Any issues?” he asks me. Issues? I think, forgetting everything everyone has told me in the last 5 minutes. (he has this skill of resetting my “oodaloop” like nobodies business.)

This was how Monday started for me but if there is one thing I’ve learned so far it was to let things roll off your back. Our weekly theme for the week was “shower well“, which, understandably caused a few chuckles from some of my teammates. We all knew we could smell pretty bad after our PT sessions but to name a theme after it? Luckily for us this wasn’t the case, “shower well” simply meant to let the unfavorable things that happened to us, roll of our backs so we could start the days, the hours, the minutes with fresh starts.

Keeping this theme in mind, I told myself every morning that the day was fresh. That my team needed me to come in without the baggage of life so I could help lift them any means possible. We are a team after all, one giant family of blue that learns together, shoots together, works out together and most importantly puts each other in twist-locks until the muscles in our forearms throb and ache (for you folks at home, that was sarcasm).

All kidding aside, we had a rough week ahead of us. Tuesday and Thursday we had dim light shooting that lasted until 2200 hours, with early mornings Wednesday and Friday. Though shooting is fun, it was obvious that patience was wearing thin towards the end. People had families to go home to and dogs to feed but everyone did the best they could.  I know that I personally, wanted nothing more than a bone crushing hug from my goofy, loveable and understanding husband.

If there is one thing I want to share with my team, it’s that he is the only reason I haven’t gone completely mental because, let’s face it, I’m 20% there and I hope every night that every single person in my class has someone to get that hug from. Without him, there would be no one to split the nightly duties of ironing, shining boots and gun cleaning. No one to cry to or laugh with. Don’t get me wrong, we have our moments where we argue but we’ve managed to find that middle ground where we understand that we CAN’T understand the stress of each other’s life and it’s not worth trying to one up each other. Instead we goof off, say ridiculous things to each other and occasionally sneak up on each other and see how it turns out.

 

That being said, I could have more to complain about to my husband but instead I find myself telling him about how proud I am of my team mates and how lucky I am that they give 100%.  It was an honor being Class Leader and I can’t wait to see my brothers and sisters in blue out on the streets. And remember; “and maybe remind the few, if ill of us they speak, that we are all that stands between the monsters and the weak.” 

Week seven- Black and White

Many probably think that being in Law Enforcement involves a lot of drawing your weapon and arresting people and all the other cop stuff you watch on tv but we learned this week that 90% of what we will be doing in this job is...report writing.  I am an English minor and never had a problem writing so I enjoyed this week.  It sure beats doing math 90% of the time.  

We can take notes all we want but the second we were given practical senerios it changed everything.  Talking to people is not black and white and there are no two conversations that will be identical.  That is why we all got into this profession, because every day is different.  Every day is full of something new.  Every day we get to interact with people, we get to talk to people, and we get to take bad people of the streets. 

We are at the end of week 7 and we are getting a lot better at multi tasking and finding a way to live off of fewer hours of sleep but I will say it again...there is NOTHING more any of us would rather be doing.

Our team/unit/family gets stronger every single day and this is the brother/sisterhood I signed up for.  I live for this.  We all make our mistakes here and there but we are in this together and we all pick each other up.  There is not a greater feeling than knowing you have 40 other people who have your back.

Week 7 down...week 8 here we come!