ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO Belvidere Republican
On request, the graduating CPA class removed their facemasks for the picture (some of them may have held their breath as well). With them are Com-munity Policing Coordinator Officer Tim Blankenship, Deputy Chief Matt Wallace, and VIPS member Jan Hinz.

By Anne Eickstadt

Begun Feb. 12, thrown into a pandemic hiatus, and eventually resumed on Aug. 12, the spring Citizens Police Academy held their final class on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Previous class feedback had resulted in a hands-on Defensive Tactics session with Officers Matthew Shook and Ryan Davenport being added to the course.

After running over the training rules to maintain safety for everyone, Officer Shook provided tips for staying safe in everyday life. One should maintain Situational Awareness to prevent becoming a victim. You use your eyes and ears when getting in (check the backseat) or out of the car or entering a room. Scan the area for exits and listen to learn the baseline, normal sounds, of a room. If you are at a firing range, you expect to hear gunfire so it will not alarm you. If you enter a library, you do not expect gunfire so a gunshot would be alarming.

Identify the weapons in a room for defense if necessary or should an unfriendly decide to attack. What is in the room that can be used as a weapon? Kitchen – knives, forks, cast iron fry pan, water battle, and so much more; Living Room – lamps can be thrown, chairs, your keys … Many people keep their guns in the Bedroom – notice these things.

Be aware whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don’t know. If someone is approaching, look at their face to assess their intention, watch their hands, which will carry out their intention, and their waist for movement and/or weapons. However, just because someone has a weapon does not mean that they intend to use it on you.

“Manage your space,” Officer Shook said. “Do not let people get into your personal space. I interpret that as two arms length to protect myself from punches. I want him to have to take a step before he can punch. Be balanced with your head over your shoulders, which are over your hips. Where the head goes, the body follows. Do not put your hands in your pockets – they might snag as you pull them out, losing you a valuable instant of time to protect yourself. Keep them free for defense or attack.

“I teach my kids this. They think it’s fun. If a bad guy throws a punch, what can you do? ‘Cover the pretty.’ Bring your shoulders up to give your neck some protection. Bring one hand up to cover the ear on the same side and the other hand up to cover that wrist. That protects your face and ear. At the same time push in towards them, get inside the punch, and crash into them. Keep moving forward and keep the pressure going. This will give you the element of surprise and push them off balance. Go all the way in or all the way out.

“Another thing you can do is call them out on their intention. Make sure they realize that you are not an easy target. Stay aware because, often, if there is one bad guy, there is probably a second one nearby. Stay aware and keep scanning. Anyone actively fighting is not easy to take down.”

Officers Shook and Davenport then demonstrated a few tactics to get the upper hand on the attacker. Three of the CPA students joined them on the gym mats to practice the moves. Facemasks were knocked off during the scuffles but everyone was confident of the healthiness of the others and accepted the bare face conditions.

The next demonstration was on how to use handcuffs.

“Cuff the right hand, the dominant hand, first,” Shook said. (Most humans, 70 percent to 95 percent, are right-handed) “Odds are that people will fight as the handcuffs go on. Get compliance before you pull the handcuffs out of your belt so you do not lose control.”

“Do you always cuff people with their hands behind their back?” he was asked.

“That is standard procedure,” he said. “Unless they are too large or pregnant. Some people are so large we have to link two sets of cuffs, and in one instance, three sets. If their wrists are too large, I call the sergeant to make the decision to use ankle shackles on their wrists. Some people are so large that they do not fit in the back seat of the cruiser. The sergeant has an SUV we can put them in. Once we had to call for an ambulance because the suspect would not fit even in the SUV.

The group enjoyed practicing putting the handcuffs on Officer Davenport until they got it right.

This being the final class of the 10-week Citizens Police Academy, Mayor Mike Chamberlain and Police Chief Shane Woody had joined the class. Mayor Mike spoke first.

“Police arrest the bad guys,” he said. “Bad guys don’t like to be arrested so they complain about the police. I believe in excellence and we have excellence in all departments, including the police. This is validated when we have citizens who are willing to take the time to learn things about the police and help out as VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service).

“This Citizens Police Academy is the prerequisite for citizens to become VIPS. The VIPS save the city thousands of dollars each year because with the volunteers’ help, the city does not have to hire back officers on their days off to assist at events. I have a number of very large checks in my office showing the monetary savings the VIPS are able to give the City of Belvidere.”

When Mayor Mike was finished, Police Chief Woody addressed the group. “A lot of work goes into making this Citizens Police Academy possible. A lot of logistics are involved and Deputy Chief Matt Wallace and Officer Tim Blankenship do a great job.

“I like to see the community getting involved and learning about your police department. A lot of people don’t understand why we do the things we do. We need people who are willing to learn. We actually want the nay-sayers to come to this class. There is total transparency about the BPD here.

 
 
 
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