Police Academy Trains with State-of-the-Art Simulator

Scott Tenney, 38, and Joseph Geiser, 25, recently headed to a local burger joint for lunch. Walking into the popular restaurant, they were met not with a friendly smile but a robbery in progress. Customers were hovered together screaming as the bartender scrambled to remove the cash from the drawer. In an instant, shots were fired, stopping the threat.

Tenney and Geiser did not hesitate. They identified themselves as police officers and fired their weapons the minute they saw the threat. Luckily, it was not a real life-or-death situation.

Rather it was a training exercise for the two Police Officer Training Academy cadets taking place in a classroom at the Kalamazoo Valley Law Enforcement Training Center on Kalamazoo Valley’s Groves Campus. The scenario was projected onto a wall in 3D and HD through the use of the MILO Range Training System, a state-of-the-art training tool now being used at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Police Officer Training Academy.

The college partnered with Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to bring the training system to the academy. “We are one of the first academies in the state to use this type of scenario-based training. It provides the practical experience the cadets need,” said Director of the Kalamazoo Valley Law Enforcement Training Center Paul Bianco. “We’re hoping to get mental health professionals and law enforcement on the same page when it comes to dealing with certain situations.”

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and Grand Rapids Police Department both utilize the training system with their officers.

“It gives our cadets the additional training they need and goes above and beyond all state requirements,” Bianco said. “We are lucky to be able to provide it at the academy level, before they become police officers.”

The interactive video training simulator, originally developed for the military, comes equipped with more than 800 different scenarios, Bianco explained. Through the simulator, cadets are immersed in true-to-life situations — the kinds of situations they will face as police officers.

From domestic disputes and traffic stops to robberies, drug raids and school shootings, the training tool gives the cadets the opportunity to assess the situation in real time and take the appropriate action.

“It’s like you’re part of a movie,” Bianco said.

During the training, instructor Derek Weldon, a 10-year veteran of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and member of the training academy staff, changes the scenario’s outcome based on how the cadet responds. For example, one time the subject may charge with a knife and another time he may comply with an officer’s commands. The system recognizes and records each type of response, whether it’s with a taser, pepper spray, a gun or verbal interaction.

When the scenario ends, Weldon debriefs with the cadets – using his years of experience in the field – to discuss what was done correctly, what was done incorrectly and what could have been done better. Together, they go frame by frame through the situation, analyzing not only their movements but the movements of the suspect and what is going on around them.

“Being a police officer is your life, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Weldon, who now serves as the Executive Officer of the Law Enforcement Training Center, after retiring from KDPS in 2016. “We run through everyday situations that officers encounter. The worst decision is indecision and these scenarios teach that lesson.”

The 14 cadets in this winter’s academy welcomed the additional training through MILO.

“We’ve watched videos and talked about situations but this is the first time that we’re actually a part of it,” said Tenney. “It’s so realistic. It really teaches you to stay alert and stay ready because you never know what can happen.”

Tenney will graduate from the Kalamazoo Valley Police Officer Training Academy this month. Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety sponsored him along with eight of the other cadets. They will all begin working as public safety officers for the city of Kalamazoo following graduation.

Ninety-two percent of Kalamazoo Valley Police Officer Training Academy alumni find work in law enforcement – the highest in the state – compared with a statewide average of sixty nine percent.

The next Police Officer Training Academy begins August 21. For more information, contact Director Paul Bianco at 269.353.1261 or visit www.kvcc.edu/police.