High-Tech Use of Force Simulation Training for Local Law Enforcement

About a month ago, I stumbled across this trailer sitting in the public parking of Capitola Village, humming away. The sign read “High-Tech Use of Force Simulation Training for Local Law Enforcement. After much digging, I found it was being used for training, in some areas in conjunction with Homeland Security and Local Law Enforcement.

What it was doing in Capitola Village I am unsure. There was an event in San Jose where this trailer was used for display purposes months prior. I found nothing about Capitola Police using this trailer for any “use of force training”. It seems many departments are now using very High-Tech simulators for use of force training situations. The simulator even fires back and tells when an officer has used excessive force.

Anyone familiar with the Capitola Police knows - they are well versed in excessive use of force.

“The use of force simulator put the participant in front of a large screen testing to see how one would deal with certain scenarios. If the participant-fired shots, a police academy instructor was able to track on a computer and show on the large screen if excessive force was used or if it was justified”.
Nima Pakravan, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, participated in the use of force simulation.
" It got very tense in there," Pakravan said. "It feels very real in there. I can see this training being a very useful tool that every officer should have."

“Agencies are legally obligated to create stressful force-decision scenarios. These scenarios must demonstrate the officer on duty is capable of the same processes under duress. The documentation of this training should be considered discoverable, meaning it must be presented as evidence when requested. Range officers should be meticulous about these records. The only time they will be called for is when they will be scrutinized.
“Force decision scenarios
Both training and qualification should have force decision scenarios. These scenarios place the officer in situations where he must apply the correct force option in a correct proportion. When using electronic range simulation equipment, this is called branching. Branching is when the officer reaches a point in a scenario where he must make and execute a decision. Based on that decision, the scenario continues”.

http://www.theacademy.ca.gov/?p=corporatetrainingcourses