California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2018_Spring Magazine_Final | Page 20

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
BUILDS TRUST
By Chief Manuel Rodriquez, National City Police Department
Most police departments do an outstanding job of serving the community. One of the
challenges to our noble profession is that we often do not communicate enough with those
we serve about the rigors of our profession and the difficult and often split-second decisions
that are made. To try and mitigate this challenge, many departments have instituted Citizen’s
Academies that provide community leaders an orientation to police departments operations;
this transparency and community engagement is commendable.
The National City Police
Department has been hosting an
interactive Use of Force workshop
for the community since 2006.
Community leaders, college students,
media members and many others are
invited to participate. The participants
are instructed on the various force
options and then role play as officers
with actual officers’ role playing the
suspects. The scenarios are typical
radio calls officers respond to on
a daily basis (Domestic Violence,
Traffic Stop, Mentally Ill, and
Suspicious Persons). The idea behind
this interactive training is to give
community members a perspective on
the seconds (and nanoseconds) officers
have to make life and death decisions.
These decisions may ultimately impact
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the officers for the rest of their lives.
The workshop provides
community members an acute
awareness of what an officer may
experience while protecting the
community in which he or she
serves. It also provides officers with a
morale boost since most participants
often empathize with officers;
participants thereby acquire a greater
understanding of how officers place
their lives at risk every day.
The initial idea and concept for
this type of interactive workshop
materialized in 1999 following
two controversial police shootings
involving the San Diego Police
Department. The training delivered
during the workshop underscores
the recognition that police officers
respect the value of human life and
have to make difficult decisions when
evaluating force options.
The participants are given a
vest, face shield, inert Mace and
practice Taser, gun belt and an Air
Soft gun. Scenarios include a traffic
stop, domestic violence situation, car
burglary, mentally disturbed person,
firearms awareness and video-based
shoot/don’t shoot role play. In the
traffic stop scenario, participant’s
acting as officers have commented,
“You really don’t know what you’re
walking up on.” “Even though I knew
it was a scenario, the adrenaline was
intense. It’s quick decision-making.
You don’t have a lot of room for error.”
This workshop has been extremely
helpful in providing community
members a greater awareness of the
difficulties of police work and building
trust and understanding as we
progress into a new era of community
involvement and engagement. As the
saying goes "You never truly know
someone until you've walked a mile in
their shoes."  ■