Story and photos by Brooke DeLong
It seems ironic, but the very society police officers swear to protect can be the same people that put a target on their back. The atmosphere is changing for law enforcement across America as violence against police escalates. Some local officers recently attended a training to help ensure their safety while on the street.
Seventeen local officers with the Sapulpa Police Department spent a day training with Five-O Tactical, learning how to save their own life. They practiced applying painful, bruising, life-saving tourniquets, as well as drawing, discharging and reloading their weapon with their non-dominant hand while holding a tennis ball in their dominant hand, shooting from inside a vehicle where officers can spend up to 90% of their time and firing with a slippery, soapy hand (meant to simulate blood—it’s not uncommon for an officer to be shot in the hand).
The Sapulpa Police Department welcomed Chuck Smith, founder of Five-O Tactical and a nationally certified instructor. He brings his expertise of 26 years of law enforcement into more than fifty sets of curricula he has authored to train law enforcement officers, military personnel and civilians, teaching thousands of individuals. His heart is to equip people to not only protect others, but themselves as well.
Smith set up real-life scenarios for the men and women, drills many had never done before. He is half-trainer and half-motivational speaker, with a bit of a drill sergeant mixed in. He yelled, “You’re not going to die today, I won’t allow it,” in an officer’s face while discarded rounds were flying through the air. He encouraged the peacekeepers to think of their motivation every single day: their loved ones at home and life goals they may have. He believes good skills are nice to have and should be practiced, but mindset is absolutely everything.
Police officers receive limited gun training at Police Academy and CLEET. It is up to each individual agency to train their officers whether they have a trainer on staff or choose to contract the training out. It’s absolutely imperative that officers train while wearing their gear. They learn what works, what doesn’t and can make adjustments. For instance, during a drill a rookie’s whistle got tied up in the tourniquet he was trying to apply to his arm, which needed to be put on in under thirty seconds.
Jay Mobley, the field instructor for Creek County Sheriff’s Office stopped by during the session. The officers had never shot from inside a vehicle and he timed them. They had to draw their weapon from a seated position and shoot a rubber dummy near the hood of the vehicle. Seconds were shaved off their response time from just two drills. In a shootout, two seconds can mean life or death. The Sheriff’s Deputies will be doing force on force training later this year.
Chuck is so passionate about the importance of training officers that he volunteered his time with these two classes. He says his motivation is losing too many officers, many of them friends, who died while in the line of duty. With the sun beating down after an intense day of training, he talked about the struggles officers face in their personal and professional lives. How relationships are affected, the scenes they will endure and the many adrenaline dumps they may feel in one day. Unfortunately, law enforcement suicide rates remain steady. “You are never alone,” he tells them. “Call me in the middle of the night if you have to.”
A job well done by our local police department and these officers who trained hard to be the best for their families, community, agency and themselves.
“For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Romans 13:4
