Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, March 20,2019
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
DCSO unveils new Judgmental
Use of Force training simulator
Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
Lt. Chris Murphy practices the Georgia law enforcement qualification course on the firearms
training simulator that was recently installed at the Dawson County Sheriff's Office.
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
In a pitch-black room that was
once the day room of the old jail
now sits a brand new, state-of-the
-art training tool that is helping
the officers at the Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office hone
their skills without firing a single
live round.
Designed by Meggitt Training
Systems, a company based in
Suwanee, the FATS 100LE fire
arms training system is a simula
tor designed for practicing fire
arm qualification courses as well
as running through real-life sce
narios where officers must deter
mine what amount of force is
necessary.
It was purchased for approxi
mately $85,000 with residual
funds from the 2018 budget.
“If you do it correctly, it’s a
good training tool,” Capt. Ray
Goodie said. “It obviously
doesn’t take the place of firing
live rounds or anything like that,
but it is something to supplement
a live range.”
With the simulator, officers can
practice qualification drills and
receive feedback that will improve
their aim, accuracy and technique
before firing a live bullet.
Sheriff Jeff Johnson
announced at a recent Dawson
County Chamber of Commerce
Luncheon that the office’s new
simulator was up and running,
allowing officers to continually
train without going to the range.
“From an officer safety perspec
tive to reducing county liability, this
simulator should serve to increase
our overall effectiveness,” Johnson
said. “Having this system is another
step in building upon the autonomy
of our office. We now have the abil
ity to train more thoroughly and
more often, all in order to better
serve our community.”
Law enforcement officers in
the state of Georgia must run
through a qualification course on
a live range once per year. They
must shoot a total of 30 rounds of
ammunition with specific instruc
tions at various distances ranging
from three meters to 25 meters. A
score of 240 out of the possible
300, or 80 percent, is passing.
“If we can bring them in here
before we go out there we can
work on fundamentals, we can
work on the basics, we can get
them used to transition and iden
tifying the target before they ever
fire the first live round and all it’s
costing is the electricity to power
the machine and air to power the
magazines,” Goodie said.
The system works by project
ing a simulated range or real
video footage of a scenario on a
large screen. Officers then use
Glock pistols, an M4 rifle or
Tasers that have been retrofitted
with an internal laser and maga
zines filled with compressed air
to shoot the targets on the screen.
Because the cordless BlueFire
weapons from Meggitt Training
Systems were once real firearms,
they maintain the look, weight
and feel of the firearms the offi
cers currently use.
After shooting the targets on
the screen, the computer displays
the analytics from the weapon
that shows exactly where the offi
cer was aiming prior to and after
firing and provides feedback and
tips to improve technique.
For the training officers, the
simulator helps them assess prob
lem areas and provide more indi
vidualized feedback in a con
trolled environment.
“On a live fire range if you’ve
got three instructors and 12 firing
lines so you don’t get a lot of
one-on-one but here you can sit
there and say ‘OK you’re antici
pating the shot, you’re doing this,
you’re doing that, check your
grip,”’ Goodie said.
The simulator is something that
has been on the office’s radar for
a couple years, Johnson said.
“The courts have long recog
nized that traditional firearms
qualification does not equate to
training,” Johnson said. “This
system allows our officers to truly
train, in addition to their required
annual proficiency testing.”
Beyond honing marksmanship
skills to pass the annual qualifica
tion course, the simulator also
offers the “Judgmental Use of
Force” mode where officers inter
act with filmed scenarios such as
high-risk warrant searches, air
port security, traffic stops, active
shooter and hostage scenarios.
Real video footage is displayed
on the screen and the officer must
call out commands and make
decisions as he interacts with the
scenario. The training officer, sit
ting in the command center con
trolling the scenario, can change
the scenario based on what the
officer decides to do.
“It has a bunch of scenarios but
not every scenario ends in deadly
force so it gives them options,
and it actually lets you take the
officer and put them in different
situations to see how they react,”
Goodie said.
When the scenario ends, the
training officers will ask why cer
tain decisions were made to get
an idea of the officer’s judgment
and provide feedback.
“You’re really looking to make
sure they’re not doing anything
super unsafe,” Goodie said.
“Obviously you want to make sure
they’re not doing anything with
excessive force type stuff, but at
the same time you don’t want to
beat into them so much that they
don’t use the necessary amount of
force to stop the threat.”
The simulator room is still
under renovation, but Goodie has
plans to make the scenarios feel
as close to the real thing as possi
ble.
The projector will be installed
on the ceiling to allow officers free
run of the room. A rubber floor
will be installed to prevent damage
if officers drop magazines.
Furniture, car doors and other
items to simulate rooms and
streets will also be brought in to
train officers to be aware of their
surroundings as well as to take
cover and shoot from behind
objects.
To further simulate the real
world, the system can also simu
late weapon malfunctions, ran
dom noise distractions, weapon
recoil, weapon reloading and
lowlight searches and shooting
with flashlights.
Without current access to a live
range, the simulator is a good
supplement for training that only
costs electricity to run.
Until recently, the sheriff’s
office utilized the Pickens County
Sheriff’s Office range for training
and qualifications. With that no
longer an option, the simulator
helps to provide training for offi
cers while the office works with
the board of commissioners to
establish a live range in the county.
Participants in the upcoming
Citizens Law Enforcement
Academy will get a chance to run
through the simulator. The pro
gram will be held on six consecu
tive Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9
p.m. beginning April 9. For more
information or to register, please
contact Anne Martin at (706)
344-3535 or email annmartin@
dawsoncountysheriff.org.
Participation is free for Dawson
County residents.
CITIZEN’S LAW
ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY
APRIL 9TH- MAY 14TH
The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office
invites you to join the 2019 Citizen’s
Law Enforcement Academy.
Join us every Tuesday evening, April
9th - May 14th from 6-9 pm.
This six week course introduces
participants to various responsibilities
required of the sheriff’s office.
As an attendee you can choose to
participate or observe hands-on
exercises designed to increase
your knowledge of law
enforcement operations.
The academy is free of charge and is
open to Dawson County residents only.
A light meal is provided.
ENROLL TODAY!
For details on eligibility requirements
and registration, contact Anne Martin at
annmartin@dawsoncountysheriff.org or
telephone (706)344-3535 ext 20451.
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