Greg Tries Out Use of Force Simulator

(GREG TALKS TO AN ARMED MAN HOLDING A HOSTAGE IN A SCHOOL BUILDING)

Many civilians speculate as to what they would do should they face use of force scenarios faced by law enforcement personnel. Our Greg Sapp had the opportunity to test what he would do, in a simulated setting.

Jeremy Kyle is the use of force simulator instructor for the Effingham County Sheriff's Office. He spent much of Monday working with officers utilizing a simulator from the Mobile Training Unit based in Carbondale. During the session, Greg got a phone call from Chief Deputy Sheriff Paul Kuhns to see if he wanted to try the simulator. He did.

The training took place at the Emergency Operations Center on Miracle Avenue. In the training, you are presented with different scenarios. Two of Greg's were domestic disputes, the third was a shooter in a school building. All three scenarios involved armed individuals. Greg was a police officer intervening in the situations.

(GREG TRIES TO TALK DOWN AN ARMED WOMAN IN A DOMESTIC DISPUTE)

Greg was given the opportunity to try to defuse the situation and had a taser, pepper spray and a gun available to use. He ended up using the gun in all three scenarios. Kyle and Kuhns showed where Greg could have used the taser and the pepper spray. As to whether Greg fatally wounded anyone, that wasn't discussed. 

As for Greg, "I gained a much greater appreciation for the emotions involved and how to have to set them aside to correctly deal with the situation. Decisions have to be made so quickly."

Kyle said the officers who took the training had responded well, falling back on the training they've received as to how to handle such situations. When it was mentioned that we are fortunate not to have so many scenarios as these in our area, Kyle said, "We need to be small town police officers, but ready for big city problems."