Virtual training prepares Marana police officers for real-world situations

MARANA, Ariz. (13 News) - The Marana Police Department is going virtual when it comes to training officers.

The department is working to make sure its force is ready for real-world situations before they happen. All to keep you and the officers safe.

Officers at MPD go through simulations of different situations they might run into on the street to learn about de-escalation.

Officers learn how to calm someone down in tense situations without anyone getting hurt or killed.

The training works by putting officers in a room surrounded by screens to simulate a threat or situation coming from any direction.

The trainer will then program different responses in each training to see how the officer responds to different scenes like, hostage situations, traffic stops and kids who might be spray painting a wall or doing something else they aren’t supposed to do.

“We can never see or come up with every type of scenario out in the real world,” MPD firearms coordinator Jerry Ysaguirre said. “Things are very fluid and rapidly changing in the real world so the more training we can actually put them through builds those base layers so they can revert back to it whenever they do come across something similar to it.”

MPD says officers go through this training when they are hired to see where they stand and then there is weekly and monthly training after that so officers can stay prepared for whatever may come their way.

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