‘Laser Shot’: Local law enforcement train using virtual technology
The simulation uses gun molds of the weapons used by the department.
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is using technology to train deputies for the field.
The simulation system, Laser Shot, gives participants situations that could happen while deputies are on duty.
Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said their goal is to be ready for any situation.
In the field, deputies sometimes have to make split-second decisions.
“It’s called laser shot and basically it’s a virtual training system. It has several different modules that we can use for training and the module can be changed. The outcome of the module can be changed so when the officer is going through the scenario he doesn’t know if it is a shoot or don’t shoot situation,” said Hawkins.
From a drunk person at a bar to a home visit because of a child abuse call, Deputy Noah Wright went through the scenario to determine which actions to take.
“Everything can change in a split second so you are just paying attention to the suspect with the gun and what his actions are because he is dictating what is happening,” said Wright.
“That suspect may have a knife or a flashlight or a cellphone and the officer has determined what that is in just a split second and decide whether to de-escalate that situation or is it a shoot situation where he has to take action and shoot that suspect in the scenario. It’s realistic scenarios to help officers when they are out in the field,” said Hawkins.
The simulation uses gun molds of the weapons used by the department.
The fake guns even have a functioning slide, so the deputy will know how the gun reacts when they pull the trigger.
After the session, they can go back and analyze their shots.
While the scenarios played out, deputies were encouraged to talk and give commands as if it were an actual incident.
After watching a few rounds, they even had WCBI’s Kealy Shields give it a shot.
When the inside simulation was over, Training Instructor Brian Jenkins let the training begin outside.
“I am getting ready to let you [Shields] shoot me with a simulation round, these are rounds that we shoot for force-on-force training, so it’s the closet thing we can get to without using a live fire on each other because we don’t want to shoot each other,” said Jenkins.
When asked what the ultimate goal of each training, Jenkins said: “Never have to do it.”
The department is working to get everyone trained on this system.
Hawkins said it is even handy on rainy days when they can not use the shooting range.
