A Wonderful Day of OC Spray

We had the opportunity to learn about OC Spray in the academy. We learned about it's history, components, and how to use it. Oh yeah...then we got sprayed in the face with it to learn how it feels. The following pictures and captions will show what we had to accomplish after getting sprayed with OC.

The effects of OC vary from one person to the next and it does not even affect some people at all which seems incredible. I could hardly open my eye that was exposed for what seemed like 30 to 45 minutes even though I tried to open it as much as I could and blink as instructed. Part of my face felt like it was on fire for about the same amount of time. Water reactivates the effects of OC so when I showered later I experienced it again but to a lesser degree. I tried my hardest to avoid washing the OC onto to my body because it burns. By the same evening I was fine and it was completely gone by the next morning.

I don't tell you about this to scare you but to prepare you if you want to become a law enforcement officer. It is important to know what this is like as we will potentially be exposed to it by a criminal or even another officer who is deploying it near us. We must fight off our physical reactions and mentally continue regardless of our lack of vision and discomfort. I learned two things from this experience: One, getting sprayed is not fun and two, if I do get sprayed as a deputy while in a bad situation, I know I will overcome the negative effects and win the battle.

We got to cover one eye but couldn't stop the stream of OC Spray coming at us

The OC burned instantly but we had to go fight a dummy for about 20 seconds

Next we ran a short distance to give verbal commands to a mock criminal and handcuff him

Then we faced another mock criminal and had to decide to shoot him with simunitions or not

All of us had a partner for the entire time to direct and help us

Finally we got to rinse our eyes and face with a hose for some relief

Home on the Firearms Range

Firearms training has been a great part of the academy so far and will continue to be. For many of the past weeks we have gotten to go to the range and shoot our guns twice a week. I am one of the few without much experience but I have definietly improved from the first day of shooting. It is awesome to think that we are actually getting paid to shoot for 4 hours at a time. We also get to shoot lots and lots of ammunition that is provided to us in the academy.

The foundation of firearms is safety, which has been engrained into us. Before we shoot each time, we recite the four basic firearms safety rules out loud as a group. This helps us to always be mindful of the potentially deadly weapons we are handling. Another basic concept we have learned about guns is to keep them clean. We are required to clean them after every time we shoot so they will be ready to go for the next time. We are held accountable to this by an inspection of our guns each day we shoot them. I was guilty of having a gun that was not as clean as it should be a few times, but I have now learned how to properly clean it.

We have learned and practiced shooting standing up, kneeling, and lying down. We have gotten to shoot at targets as well as other metal objects that fall when hit. We have done timed shooting in which we have to shoot a certain number of rounds within a specified amount of time. Moving in different directions while shooting, positioning ourselves behind cover while shooting, and making quick decisions while shooting have also been essential to our firearms training. We have even gotten to shoot during the light of the day and the dark of the night. We have great instructors who put in lots of time and work to help us be prepared to use deadly force if necessary during our careers as cops.

Thanks to Deputy Ackerman for the pictures.

On the line getting ready to shoot


This recruit shows good technique as he locks on target

Shooting below cover while lying down

Traffic Control

We had the opportunity to learn how to direct traffic and then actually do it in real intersections. We divided into two groups and went to different intersections where we turned off the traffic lights to practice. On a side note, it was cool to me that the Sheriff's Office has the power to literally control the traffic in the county. Many of us will get the chance to direct traffic during accidents and community events throughout our careers. It is an important skill to have as a law enforcement officers. So we put on the yellow and orange vests that we have all seen and got to work (in the heat of the afternoon). We were told that there would be drivers who would ignore our signals but the good citizens and workers of Golden, Colorado were very respectful and obedient to my group of rookies.

The Town of Ward may not have many or any traffic lights but their Marshal Recruit did awesome!

Be sure to obey all signals from Officer H. if you live in Arvada


It was nice to have Deputy Joselyn out on the pavement to help us

Cheering on the other recruits while waiting for our turns

I did not let the close vehicles passing by or the sun faze me