To draw or not to draw
Firearms simulator helps prepare members of Liberty Lake force
Liberty Lake police Officer Brad Deines exchanged gunfire with multiple suspects and was shot twice in the knee last week.
Lucky for him it all took place in a trailer equipped with a Firearms Training Simulator system, something like a cross between a video game and virtual reality.
All the Liberty Lake officers took turns going through the simulator one day last week. Each was confronted with four different scenarios and had to decide whether to use their gun, rifle, Taser, pepper spray or baton to respond. And just to keep it interesting, the system fired back to encourage officers to keep hidden behind objects. “It shoots rubber pellets,” said Sgt. Clint Gibson. “They sting when they hit you.”
The officers go through the simulator training once a year, which is provided for free through their insurance carrier. It is part of the 16 hours of firearms training and 12 hours of shotgun training required each year. Deines, a former reserve officer who has been with the department full time for a year and a half, came in on his day off to go through the simulator for the first time.
All the weapons used in the simulation look like real weapons, but they are electronic so a computer can record how many shots are fired and where they hit. Deines’ first scenario involved a vehicle being stopped for not having license plates. The car accelerated away, flipped a U-turn, and tried to run him down. A replay by the computer showed that Deines fired seven rounds, which all hit the car, but the driver was unharmed.
After each scenario Deines’ performance was critiqued by the system operator, a longtime firearms instructor who sits in a small cubby in the trailer with walls lined with uniform patches from police departments around the state. Everything from how Deines held his weapon to how he gave commands was analyzed.
His “wounds” came in a scenario where Deines and other officers were searching a house, finding several people armed with guns and knives along with some innocent bystanders. After he left the training trailer, Deines said the pellets hit a fold in his baggy pants and he was spared the stinging impact.
“It was very realistic,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. It’s a confidence booster.”
Even the department’s administrative assistant, Bobbi Anderson, took part in the training. “It was interesting,” she said. “I’ve never shot a pistol before. The first one went really badly. I think I let the guy run me over.”
She said she also learned why her kids never listen to her. Anderson thought she was authoritative, but when her scenarios were played back her commands came out too quiet and nonthreatening. Still, she was pleased by the end result. “I did good,” she said. “I was surprised. No one died who wasn’t supposed to die.”
She said she asked a lot of questions and learned a lot, but her newfound knowledge might cause problems. “I’m really glad I did it,” she said. “But now I’m going to worry more about (the officers). I’m a mom.”
Anderson also found out she’s pretty good with a pistol. “My first shot went right between the eyes,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”