Training Day – Part 2

Police Officers put their lives on the line, every day, to serve and protect.

We’re getting a look at how they prepare in part two of the three part series “training day” News Channel 3’s Chris Alvarez shows us how Cadets learn to make arrests and defend themselves at College of the Desert’s Public Safety Academy.

I got the chance to experience what the wrong side of the law looks and feels like.

Lead defensive tactics Instructor Jeff Covington teaches Cadets how to defend themselves appropriately. “We have rules that we are governed by even though the bad guys don’t have rules.”

Recruit Rusty Harling shows us how to handcuff a suspect in this case, me.

“Mr. Alvarez I’m going to place you under arrest… bring your hand around, cuff you there, I’m going to put a pinky in there… called the pinky test make sure it’s not too tight there you go, is that comfortable? “

Comfortable it was not… it’s the worst feeling in the world.

Recruits practice the correct technique while instructors watch.

The second component of the class is self defense.

Covington explains the importance.

“Some of them have never been in a fight before, they’ve never had to defend themselves and obviously in our profession there is bad people out there that want to hurt us.”

“The students really want to be here and you see it, you see the drive you see their eyes wide open you see them that freshness, the knowledge, the newness.”

“So the cat and mouse game may have heard of is the fact that they are trying to keep up on whatever techniques we are doing and we are constantly changing our techniques in law enforcement to make sure that they are fundamentally sound, safe and work.”

“If I can give them the emphasis of how important it is even the smallest things, the smallest level if one of these folks, one of these students can come out and later tell me hey something you taught me help me get through a bad situation, than I’m ecstatic.”