8 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 28, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Citizens walk in the shoes of NYPD offi cers in Queens
BY DEAN MOSES
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e saying goes that no individual
can truly be understood unless someone
walks a mile in their shoes. With that
in mind, the NYPD is working to give
the public a few steps inside their shoes
through the Citizens Police Academy.
Th e expansive New York City Police
Academy in College Point serves as the
training ground for raw recruits who
undergo rigorous physical and intellectual
exercises in de-escalation, communication,
stressful emergencies and more.
Th e academy also off ers private citizens in
the Citizens Police Academy a six-week
course, one four-hour shift at a time over
six weeks, to give participants a glimpse
behind the blue line.
“It’s a truncated program
where they take the
recruit curriculum,
trained by
Police Academy
staff , so you’re
getting the same
instructors that
the offi cers are getting,”
Inspector Maximo
Tolentino explained. “Th e
program was established in
1993 as a way for the police
in the community to have a
better relationship.”
Aft er an extensive instructional
process in a classroom
setting, the citizens are engaged
in lifelike scenarios that a typical
offi cer would encounter
on any given day. Instructors
roleplay as
potential criminals,
emotionally
disturbed
persons or even
bystanders. The
exercises are made even
more lifelike thanks to
convincing sets, similar
to something you’d
fi nd in a movie studio, where the drills
take place — including multi-room apartments;
streets lined with parked cars, fi re
hydrants, stores and banks; and even a
train station with a carriage.
Although these sequences are undertaken
in a controlled and safe environment,
participants say the stress they
feel as they attempt to make split-second
decisions is very real, which showcases
the life-and-death situations offi cers face
every day.
“It was nerve-wracking. But now it gives
me a better feel of what the offi cers go
through. I appreciate them even more
because you know you hear all this stuff
that, or they’re rude or, you know, they’re
very aggressive, but now I see fi rsthand
what it is like, even though I’m not actually
out there. Yeah, but it does seem very
real,” said Delise Ramirez, a citizen in the
program.
During the scenarios, the trainees faced
armed suspects; an emotionally disturbed
person threatening suicide; and a domestic
dispute call. In each scenario, they are
required to use what they had learned
at the instructional seminars to determine
use of force, potential danger, innocence
and more. Th anks to the acting talents
of the instructors and recreation of
city space, several pupils said they experienced
tunnel vision which saw them
become overwhelmed with the task at
hand.
Th e citizens also had a surprise
observer during their exercises: Police
Commissioner Dermot Shea. Th e commissioner
snuck in amidst the trainees to
watch the exercise.
Although Shea was jovial, even laughing
with those undertaking the training,
he took the time to tell amNewYork Metro
that while this training is realistic, nothing
compares to what offi cers are charged
with facing in real life.
“We ask a lot. We asked them to make
split-second decisions when their life is
on the line, and they’re not perfect, but
they do a very good job. Th at was a realistic
scenario, but to make it more realistic.
Let’s throw another 200 people on the
call. Let’s have alcohol involved, maybe
some people using drugs, maybe the person
is wanted for a crime, and now you
have to kind of determine why are they
acting a certain way,” Commissioner Shea
said. “You can’t assume he has a weapon;
maybe he’s acting that way because he had
a bad day, maybe he’s under the infl uence
of something. So, all of this in a split second,
it’s not as easy as you think. And I
think the people that are here kind of get
a new appreciation for it.”
Delise Ramirez tries a belt on
for size.
An offi cer answers questions after the exercise.
Photos by Dean Moses
A suspect attempts to make an escape from the citizen police force.
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