Ledger-Dispatch

By Scott Thomas Anderson (sanderson@ledger-dispatch.c= om)=20

An Amador County Sheriff's deputy draws = and fires=20 inside the Modesto Police Department's Force Option Simulator. The = virtual=20 reality training system was loaned out to Amador County peace = officers=20 throughout last week.

Photo by: Scott Thomas=20 Anderson
It happened in a flash.

A = deputy=20 from the Amador County Sheriff's Office walked into a bar and ordered a=20 high-stakes fugitive to surrender. All at once, there was a frantic rush = of=20 skin, a wheeling movement of steel and the sudden glint of a barrel = craning=20 upward. It was an eye-blinking instant where life and death hung in the = balance=20 - and the deputy shot first, nailing the fugitive in the = neck.

The shots=20 that were fired Thursday afternoon in Jackson were live rounds from an = actual=20 40-caliber pistol; but the suspect who went tumbling back was a = photo-real=20 digital projection created by a new tool meant to keep peace officers = alive at=20 all costs.

Owned and operated by the Modesto Police Department, = the Force=20 Option Simulator is a state-of-the-art steel-lined trailer where members = of law=20 enforcement can practice using their own sidearm, and judgment, in = extreme=20 situations. The unit's computerized projection system allows an officer = to be=20 confronted by more than 80 different scenarios in which he or she must = decide=20 what level of force to use. If the highly realistic mirage-like drill = turns out=20 to be a situation requiring deadly force, the officers quickly learn = whether=20 they can draw fast enough and shoot straight enough to save themselves = and the=20 people around them.

"One of the major benefits to this training = is that=20 each officer is being forced to react to high stress situations with the = weight,=20 sites, feel and recoil of the actual sidearm they use on the job," = explained=20 Amador County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Mendonza. "The bullets we use in = here are=20 made of zinc compound, which is still deadly but turns into complete = dust when=20 they hit the steel wall inside the unit. As the impact happens, a = sensory system=20 picks it up and we see exactly what targets the officer hit and=20 missed."

According to Mendonza, replaying the drill in slow = motion in=20 order to see exactly what actions were taken by the officer - and the = simulated=20 suspects - is one of the most valuable elements of the = training.

"This=20 unit is not designed to be a kill house," he said. "It has many = scenarios where=20 the officers shouldn't fire their guns at all. And that's the point: It = throws=20 fast, unexpected things at an officer and forces him or her to study = their own=20 decision-making process. Not only can we examine what shots were fired = and when,=20 but we can reflect on how the action played out."

The Force = Option=20 Simulator was purchased by the Modesto Police Department with the use of = a=20 grant. POST allows the department to travel to various counties in = Northern=20 California so other agencies can offer training mandated by the state. = For the=20 last week, the unit has been parked at the Amador County Sheriffs=20 Office.

"Having this tool here is really a huge benefit," said = Amador=20 County Sheriff Martin Ryan. "It prevents us from having to spend all the = money=20 it takes to send our officers out of town for training. Plus, all of the = law=20 enforcement agencies in Amador have had access to it while it's been = here. So=20 it's a win-win for everyone."

In addition to Ryan's = officers, law=20 enforcement personnel from the Ione Police Department, the Jackson = Police=20 Department and the District Attorney's Investigation Unit all received = training=20 in the simulator. The unit's operator, Modesto Police Department veteran = Bob=20 Bashaw, was able to tailor many of the scenarios to the exact duties the = participants have.

"I have a number of courtroom situations that = are=20 designed for bailiffs and jail transport officers," he observed. "I have = other=20 scenarios that range from what patrol officers typically deal with to = what a=20 point man has to go through during a raid."

Bashaw was quick to = point out=20 that all trainees get two full hours of classroom education regarding = state and=20 federal law as it pertains to the use of deadly force before they go = into the=20 simulator. Participants also spend a good deal of time reviewing case = histories=20 before they get to the shooting phase of the training.

"We talk a = lot=20 about the real situations other officers have found themselves in," = Bashaw said.=20 "We think about those things and then we come into the simulator and see = what=20 happens.

"Sometimes the officers realize they need to do = something as=20 simple as adjusting where their holsters sit on their belts in order to = draw=20 faster. Other times they come away thinking about how to approach = certain kinds=20 of suspects. The most important thing is that they get a chance to make=20 split-second decisions the exact way things play out on the = streets."

Scott Thomas = Anderson