ROCKLAND, Maine — “Officer” Debra Andreasen had to make a split-second decision when responding to a “fight” between two men. As she got in the middle and instructed one of them to stay put, the second pulled out a gun and shot her.
Fortunately, this was a role-playing exercise held as part of the Citizens Police Academy, a program put on by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office to allow the public to see what officers have to deal with on a daily basis.
The first session of the Citizens Academy in Knox County concluded Tuesday evening after 10 people participated in the nine-week program that met once per week for three hours.
“There’s been a lot of negative publicity across the country about police,” Knox County Chief Deputy Tim Carroll said. “This is a way to show [local citizens] why we do what we do.”
The class was taught by Sgt. Lance Mitchell, whom Carroll said taught a similar class for another department. Each week, students were educated on various police operations, policies and procedures by Mitchell and guest instructors.
Sessions included a tour of the jail and patrol offices, ride-alongs in a cruiser and instruction on traffic accident investigations, criminal law, use of force and restraint techniques.
During one of the first classes, Kelly Sweet, who has served in the National Guard and has an interest in law enforcement, learned there was an opening for a dispatcher with the regional communications center.
Sweet applied and announced at Tuesday’s final class that he will begin his new job there Nov. 30.
Shelly Martin of Cushing, another student in the Citizens Academy, went on a ridealong with a deputy during the program and was in the cruiser during a chase on the Bog Road in Rockland.
“I was just interested in what they do for the community,” Martin said. “I have a new respect for what they do. They put their lives on the line everyday.”
For the final class, the students were taken out behind the sheriff’s office building at night and asked to handle different situations, such as how to respond to a suicidal person or how to deal with two people fighting.
The participants wore protective gear and were given handguns that fired paintballs.
Sheriff Donna Dennison, who attended the final class, said that in her years in the department, officers have never had to fire their weapon at a suspect. But she told the students that deputies have to respond alone at times to calls when backup is miles away.
“I’ve been in some scary situations,” the sheriff said.
In the fight scenario, Mitchell advised academy participant Andreasen after she was shot by two paintballs that an officer does not get in the middle of a fight while alone with suspects. He also said an officer never wants to have his or her back to a suspect while speaking to another.
Mitchell said another session will be planned to begin in March. Area residents will be able to apply online through the sheriff’s department website at knoxso.com to be in the program. The only requirement is that potential students must not have felony convictions.