Tonight was our graduation from the Carmel Citizen’s Police Academy. As a class, we are so grateful for the Carmel Police Department who have been so gracious to us and have allowed us to be a part of their family (and we hope that continues!). Special thanks go out to Ann Gallagher, Patti McAllister, and Major Barlow. Thanks to Chief Fogarty, Assistant Chief Green, and all the divisions that taught us throughout these ten weeks.
Our graduation was a lot more than I had expected, mostly because I didn’t expect a graduation. Ha ha! We had a great dinner, gave out awards, and talked about what we liked about the class. It was a great wrap-up and was most definitely appreciated by all of us in the class.
It doesn’t end there though. Those who have taken this class before us have formed an alumni association, so we’ll be seeing each other again… not as often, but we’ll be seeing each other. I greatly enjoyed this time at Carmel PD and if you live in Carmel and are interested in taking the class, visit the Carmel Police web site. I know that other departments offer this too, so check your local department’s web site.
Well my friends, that’s all for now. Here’s our class picture, it was great getting to meet these great people!
Ahhh, week ten. We made it! I think that this week had to be one of my favorite weeks, just because it was more hands on. And when I look back on it, it feels like we just started yesterday!
Today we mostly talked about traffic stops and did “simulated traffic stops.” When you think about it, a traffic stop is typically the way most people encounter police officers. It’s also a good chance for the officer to find people doing things they shouldn’t: drugs, smuggling, driving without a license, etc.
Anyway, simulated traffic stops. We set up our little course behind the bank and paired up. We were told how to perform a traffic stop, what to look for, what we can/can’t do, etc. It was actually pretty fun having Ann (our leader) and the officer’s wife play the “bad guys.” We had a great time and instead of boring you with facts (which I find interesting, you may not), I am going to leave you with a couple of videos along with some photos. Enjoy!
UPDATE: Per department policy, I removed some of my pictures and video. Sorry!
Hi friends! Sorry about not posting an entry last week. We got introduced to the SWAT team and while there were a few cool things, I didn’t really find much to photograph.
We spent this week down on the Carmel PD shooting range, which if I had paid attention, I would’ve found it the first time I drove by it. If you’re ever by the wastewater treatment facility on 96th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway, you just might see the range north of that. Surprisingly, it didn’t smell that bad. God must have made the wind blow south instead of north towards us.
We started talking about the different types of force, how it’s used, etc. The rangemaster shot a couple tasers for us to show how it works. I think most of us were excited for the Laser Shot training simulation. Basically you stand in front a screen and a video plays a scenario. Watching the person, you decide when and if it’s the right time to shoot.
My first scenario was kind of a bust. It was a courtroom with a beligerent man not wanting to go back to jail. He shoved the bailiff and came running at me, I shot him three times in the chest cavity. Whoops! Turns out he didn’t have a weapon in this particular simulation… thanks alot Major Barlow! Ha ha!
The second simulation was a bit more difficult, it had me walking through a hallway of a school with multiple shooters… children shooting at me! The version that Carmel PD owns seems like a fairly simple version of the Laser Shot system. They take a Glock and put a laser sight in it, so when you shoot at the screen, it registers where you shot (think of it like a high-tech version of Duck Hunt). I was browsing through YouTube and found this video showing a more advanced version of the software used by the Army….
Well, that pretty sums it up. Next week we’ll be doing simulated stops, so we’ll get to drive a squad car and pull people over, it should be good times… now what did I do with that taser? Ha ha!
FUN FACT: Did you know that there’s a civilian version of the taser gun like the police use? It’s the Taser X26C. In Indiana, it is considered a deadly weapon if a civilian uses it without proper training.
Today we talked about Emergency Vehicle Operations (EVO) and was also introduced to the K-9 unit. The EVO portion of the class was pretty straight-forward and he went over a lot of basics.
I was most impressed with the K-9 Unit presentation. I found out that a lot of police dogs are actually imported from around the world. One of the dogs was from the Czech Republic, another was from the Netherlands, and one from Germany. Apparently the blood-line from those countries are of a much stronger breed which makes them excellent hunting/narcotics dogs. The K-9 trainer at Carmel PD prefers German Shepherds because they are the easiest to train and have more control.
We learned that you never want to mess with a police dog, as they’ve been trained very well. One time a man walked up to the K-9 officer and extended his hand to shake the officer’s hand… apparently the dog took this as a threatening move and bit the guy. The dogs are also very protective of their human partners. Let’s say the officer is doing a traffic stop and the person gets out and starts attacking the officer. The officer carries a remote with them that can pop open the door and release the dog.
The dogs do a lot. There was one time in Cicero where a suspect was hiding out in an attic. They had the dog sit on a SWAT shield and two officers lifted the dog up into the attic to search for the suspect. Can you imagine that? Hiding out in the attic and all of the sudden you see a dog’s head pop up? Ha ha!
Unfortunately I forgot to bring my video camera, so all I have are still pictures. But I did find a video produced by the NYPD which can give you a better idea of the K-9 unit and show them in action. So enjoy the video and enjoy the pictures!
Today was a pretty good day for those of us in the Citizen’s Police Academy. We had our official class picture taken with the chief and assistant chief of police in front of the famous Carmel fountain.
After that we walked over to the Mobile Command Vehicle which they had set-up behind the firehouse. It was pretty interesting to hear about, as it has some pretty nice capabilities. I guess the best way to describe it would be to call it a mobile office. This thing is decked out with mobile communications which allows them to get work done without being tethered to their office or patrol car.
Need to have a video conference? There’s a camera in the back part of the vehicle. Need internet access? Plug in your computer and you’re connected. Need to set up a separate radio dispatch channel for an emergency? There are radios and room for dispatch to work.
The city bought this vehicle as a shared resource between the Carmel Police Department and Carmel Fire Department. Other agencies in the area may also request the vehicle as well, but Carmel has priority. You can find it at big events such as CarmelFest, Rock the District, PGA Golf Tournament. But it is more intended for times when Carmel PD or Fire may need to remain on the scene for a few days: major accident, homicide scene, crisis negotiation, etc.
The vehicle is essentially divided up into four sections. The front is obviously for the driver, the second part is for radio communication (and coffee, ha ha!), the third part is a noise-isolated room, and the fourth section is a conference area. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:
The last half of the class was dedicated to the complaint process and special investigations/drug enforcement. The complaint process was pretty straight-forward, if you have a problem with an officer you can file a complaint and they will investigate. A lot of times the complaints are unfounded, for example, someone was mad they were pulled over. Of course, citizens can always file a complaint with the city attorney if they feel like the police department didn’t handle it appropriately. Basically, I learned that there are checks and balances within the system, but it’s important to know where to turn.
The special investigations division/drug enforcement was pretty fun to listen to, because when you’re listening to someone who has had years of undercover narcotics under his belt, he has some great stories. We learned a lot about the different types of drugs that are out there, their street names, effects, etc. He also passed around some of the different drugs so we’d know what they’d look like… and yes, we were careful and everything was accounted for.
Perhaps what I learned most from the officer telling us about narcotics is that it’s a problem, more in Indianapolis than Carmel. Indianapolis used to be a dot on the map for drug distribution, meaning that it would get to Indianapolis, but it wasn’t a big player. Indianapolis is now more of a hub, meaning it comes straight from Mexico to here… really makes you think.
Well friends, I had a lot of stuff thrown at me tonight and SO much information. If you want to learn more about drug enforcement and drug education, I’m sure you can search for it on the internet and come across some handy sites. As for me? I am off to bed. I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures and a little bit of insight!
I will not be doing a post next week, since our class isn’t meeting due to spring break. But, stay tuned because our next class will cover Emergency Vehicle Operations and K-9 Demonstrations (I’ll try to take some video… we’ll see!). Take care!
Today we talked about Emergency Vehicle Operations (EVO) and was also introduced to the K-9 unit. The EVO portion of the class was pretty straight-forward and he went over a lot of basics.
Today was a pretty good day for those of us in the Citizen’s Police Academy. We had our official class picture taken with the chief and assistant chief of police in front of the famous Carmel fountain.
