Academy course was rewarding (10/20/2008)

I will do almost anything for a free T-shirt. That was one of the incentives for the six-week Citizen Sheriff's Academy course that I recently attended.

They started by telling us the basics of what the local sheriff and deputies did all day. They mentioned repeatedly how grateful they were to their wives for allowing them to do a job they loved.

They told us that we were free to ride with any of the officers and most, if not all, of us took them up on it and had exciting tales of our own to tell as a result.

The second week we toured the jail. What impressed me the most was the smell. It was the aroma of despair, disappointment, loneliness, disillusionment, anger and the previous day's meals. If that wasn't depressing enough, the lighting was dim and stayed on 24 hours a day.

The cells were small and there were people sleeping on the floors. We didn't see any inmates due to having to respect their privacy. Still, it was enough to make most of us wonder how people could live like that for any length of time.

It was obvious that the sheriff's request for a new jail was based on need and not just desire. It was also obvious that our justice system is focused on punishment and not rehabilitation.

One week we were witness to a demonstration by the police dog, Fritzke. I would not want to be on the receiving end of that bite! Yet, when I was allowed to pet him, he seemed like any other dog. He even did the back leg thing when I scratched behind his ear.

I was amazed at how well he responded to his commands. All his orders were in Dutch. He is very well trained and Deputy Hankins makes sure he practices frequently.

We were treated to a talk about drugs. In the binders that were our workbooks was a series of pictures of a particular woman who kept getting arrested for drug offenses. The change in her was astounding. She went from being a pretty lady to looking barely human. I wonder what kind of pain she was trying to numb by her choice of lifestyle.

I admit, I was not looking forward to the drug talk, preferring being able to "do something" instead of just sitting and listening. It was the fastest two hours of the entire course. We were allowed to hold a kilo of cocaine that was wrapped in pink plastic wrap. Most of us had no idea what a kilo was other than an obscure unit of weight.

I noticed that Matt kept a tight hold of the methamphetamine that he showed us. I thought it looked like fine sugar that sparkled. He explained that the sparkle indicated purity. He told us what the stuff was made of and the thought of inhaling any one of the chemicals, let alone a combination was repulsive to me.

We were invited out to the rifle range for a shooting demonstration. After we were suitably impressed, they allowed us to try. Balloons were stuck to the targets and we were to shoot them.

I managed to murder my balloon after two warning shots. My co-worker only gave her balloon one warning shot. Then they let us try the rifles.

It has been 36 years since I last shot a rifle. This thing they gave us was clearly not meant for left-handed people as it ejects the spent shells to the right. I never did get the sights lined up but I pulled the trigger anyway.

The most fun was the last night. They took us to an empty building and showed us pressure points used to take down suspects. They demonstrated Tasers. Fascinating. Most of us were brave or stupid enough to let the Taser touch our arms. I was the only wimp who yelled, "Ouch." It felt like five or six bees stinging all at once.

Then we got to play cops and robbers. We were distributed through several empty rooms. The SWAT team broke in. It was dark and all I could see was a light and the end of a rifle belonging to a guy who ordered, "Get down on the ground. Don't move!" The girl I was with and I dropped immediately. Scared the bejabbers out of me!

It was over much too soon. We went back to the jail for cake and stories. Then we all went home wearing our free T-shirts.

[[In-content Ad]]