Students from the Criminal Justice Frat Club were able to experience a day in the life of a police officer by 
handling guns and shooting at simulated videos.
At the El Paso Police Academy, six students participated in the Fire Arms Training Simulator, which consisted of a pull-down screen that featured real, dramatic scenarios and training Glock 17 guns.
Students tested their judgment in the three to five-minute scenarios, which involved traffic stops, domestic disturbances, suicide attempts, hostage situations, criminals charging the officers with guns or knives and fleeing the scene.
“The hardest thing about being a police officer is controlling that adrenaline, because it could wipe you out and lead you to a lot of mistakes, even fatal ones,” said Officer Jeffrey Brockhoff.
As the students shot their .44 Magnum or Baretta guns while yelling police tactics, such as “Get your hands up!” or “Drop the weapon!” red dots of their gun shots showed on the screen, indicating the location of shots fired.
After each scenario, a summary of results followed, displaying the amount of shots fired and how many were lethal and non-lethal.
“Why did you shoot?” or “What would you do in that situation?” were frequently asked questions by Officer Rodney Liston. As students answered, they also asked questions such as the effectiveness of shooting a suspect’s weapon, particularly a gun.
“That’s not a good tactic, because the gun can go off and turn into many tiny pieces, which could be dangerous,” said Liston.
The officers also described justifiable cases of shooting under the Texas Statutes Penal Code such as when the suspect has his or her back turned toward the officer or when a suspect is within 21 feet from the officer.
“What it boils down to is how you felt about that situation,” said Liston.
The second part of the session, involving taser guns, had Officer Allen Edington, who has experienced the jolting effects of the weapon 18 times, lecture on how it operates, when to use it, how it affects the human body and the non-lethal aspects of it.
“It’s like lightening in a bottle, but it does not kill. So many medical tests have been conducted and no one has died from it,” he said. According to Edington, false accusations have been made on the characteristics of taser guns, which releases 50,000 volts. He said that the reasons why the suspects, that have been shot with a taser gun died, are due to their intoxication of alcohol or drugs, not from the gun that pierces a ¼ inch into the skin with metal, needle-like probes.
That is why, he said, taser guns have a built-in tracking system that measures the victim’s heart rate and temperature to prevent the officer from being liable.
“It’s very, very painful. It’s like taking a 50-pound sledgehammer and smacking it on your elbow, but the pains goes away, like turning off a light switch. It’s unlike the effects of a pepper spray which takes hours to wear off. There are no lasting effects. You just lock up like a statue, but are still able to listen and respond,” said Edington.
After showing police videos of suspects being shot from taser guns, the session ended. Brockhoff, who is also a recruiter, has regularly visited the Criminal Justice classes and invited the club to the academy on Feb. 13.
“We got to expose them to our job and hopefully they’ll have a career with us,” said Brockhoff.
Up-coming trips for the Criminal Justice Frat club includes a tour of La Tuna prison (March 4) and a National Criminal Justice Association conference in Kansas City, Mo.
The club is also involved with the Girl Scouts and Skills USA.
