Lined up and ready to draw
Two of the best going one on one
Two of the recruits, Tyler and Mark, from Wheat Ridge did awesome in the competitions. Their department will get some very skilled officers soon. The importance of firearm safety has been driven in to us from the beginning of this training and we have learned many rules that apply whenever handling a gun. I am one of a few who has little or no experience with guns. Almost all of us have no law enforcement experience, but many have grown up shooting. Don't worry if you come to the academy without experience with guns though because there are many knowledgeable instructors here to help. I had to rely on them a lot and appreciate the feedback and help they gave to me.
We received training in CPR and First Aid on Wednesday. We were able to practice CPR on dummies of both adults and babies. We learned how to use AED devices as well.
Proper form is necessary
Teamwork is helpful with two rescuers
For the First Aid portion of the class, we got to go outside and participate in some real life scenarios that were given to us by the instructors. We learned that, as law enforcement officers, we will often be first on a scene that requires immediate medical attention such as a car accident. We will have to assess each situation and prioritize the treatment we begin if there is more than one person injured. During this time, we need to constantly be aware of safety at the scene and manage any distractions. We also learned how to treat different injuries on our classmates.
Recruit Todd got a pen in his eye
Head injury and arm injury
We had an officer from the area that was involved in a shoot-out come in and speak to us and answer questions. He had been out of his academy for less than a year when it happened. He is truly a hero and I want to thank him for talking to us about it. What I ultimately take away from these classes is that we must always be prepared to save lives.....of members of society, fellow officers, and ourselves.
