Woo! Almost over!!

Actually, the academy part is over as of yesterday. We took the Captain's final exam yesterday morning--which counted for 35% of our final grade. And, I managed to hold onto my lead and score the top score, so I'm going to be graduating #1 in my class. [happy dance]

These last couple of weeks have been seriously hectic though (as I'm sure you've realized from the dearth of entries.) We've had a large number of written and physical tests (oh, and I think I came in #2 in Fitness in my class--I did 52 pushups for my final PFT. And those are real pushups too, not girly pushups.)

But the fun stuff has been all of the practical exercises. Last Wednesday we had lecture in the morning on Domestic Violence, and then in the afternoon the Academy had a number of actors come in from the local community theater so that we could do actual scenarios. That was a lot of fun, and very useful, because we really had to employ all of our people skills and tactics to defuse the situations. (Since the actors were civilians, we were told we couldn't do anything physical with them.) But it was doubly fun for me, because I used to be very active in the community theater, and so I knew most of the actors. The first scenario I went into was a fight between two lesbians--and I could barely keep a straight face most of the time because I've known both of the participants since I was about 12 years old. But even with me knowing most of the actors, it was still good practice, and I wish we'd been able to do more of that sort of thing.

Friday was the really big day, though. That was the day we did Redman and Simmunitions. Redman is called Redman because the instructors and students pad up in these big red padded suits, and then go into various scenarios and fight. Actually, not every scenario is one where you end up having to fight; it's possible to talk your way out of some of them. But, the majority of the scenarios we were presented with were ones where we got our asses kicked. The one I did with my partner was a bar-scene, where we were supposed to remove a drunk from the premises. The classroom was all set up for this, with padded mats all over the floors, but when my partner and I went in it was almost completely dark, and there was music blaring--simulating a real bar scene environment. (No smell of smoke and stale beer though!) Well, within about 3 seconds of getting inside, we both got bum-rushed, and from then on it was rolling around on the ground, trying to get control of the 3 people attacking us. It's an incredibly intense experience, because even though everything is padded up, you're still fighting all out, and your heart is racing, and adrenaline is pumping, and you get to experience all of the stress symptoms that we've been warned about for the past 12 weeks, like tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, and elevated heart rate. I think our fight only lasted about five minutes before we managed to get things taken care of, but I was drenched in sweat at the end--and it was freezing in the classroom.

After we recovered somewhat from Redman, we went on to Simmunitions. Like the name implies, Simmunitions are simulated rounds--sort of like paintball, but smaller, harder, and they come out much faster. Real guns are used that have been modified for Simmunition rounds, and participants wear head and neck protectors, long-sleeved shirts, and gloves. (I'm the one on the left in the above picture, padded up and ready to rock.) The first scenario we did was a building search--again completely dark, so we were having to use flashlights. (This was done in an old bunker that had been converted into a simulated building, with doorways, and closets and all sorts of areas for us to clear. No, we weren't shooting in the classrooms!) Again, the stress level was high, the heart was pounding, and we both sounded like Darth Vader on speed, breathing through the headgear. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you look at it as a good experience for learning from mistakes) my partner and I got shot by a crack addict who'd been sleeping in the building. (Don't worry, we shot him too!) My partner took four rounds in his vest, and I got winged in the forearm. Basically we were too slow to respond to the threat, and it was a good lesson in how quickly force needs to be escalated when a subject doesn't comply.

Funny thing, though, is that while I was only shot in the forearm, I was the one who ended up with an actual wound. (Nothing serious at all, just barely broke the skin--usually the simmunition rounds just leave big welts--but since my partner took his rounds in the vest, he didn't feel a thing.)

So, the academy portion is over, and this morning I take the state POST exam--100 questions that will tell them that I know all the shit I need to know to be a cop.

And then tomorrow morning at 9am, I graduate. About damn time.