Using a federal grant, the New London Police Department purchased a virtual reality police training simulator.
Putting on a headset and strapping on a backpack, New London police officers stepped into a virtual world Friday. The immersive simulation brought the officers to the scene of a domestic incident, a mock police call that was designed to mimic real life.
"Extremely intense, extremely," Officer Vibaldy Luna said as he took his virtual reality headset off. "It is definitely the closest thing to real life that I’ve ever been in."
Using a federal grant, the New London Police Department purchased a virtual reality police training simulator. The new training tool has several benefits, according to the department's chief, but the main focus of the simulator is to help improve de-escalation techniques.
“You have the opportunity to go through an experience without being in an experience," said Chief Brian Wright. “It allows us to work on de-escalation, but it also comes into play with crisis intervention, communications between officers, as well as work on tactical skill sets and things of that nature.”
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During the simulation, officers are dispatched to a call. A separate officer acts as the operator and controls what happens during the simulation.
“For every simulation, there is a moral to the story every time. We are not just dong random things. We are always doing stuff that is relevant to what we experience in New London," said Sgt. Matthew Cassiere.
The system uses four sensors to track the officers' movements along with the movements of their weapons, which are designed to replicate their real weapons. They aim to carry out the simulated calls as they might unfold in real life.
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"So if something similar does happen, you’ve had the chance to work through it," said Chief Wright. "But, more importantly, we are able to come back, look at it, dissect it, and say how can we do better. Because this is a job where you always want to do better.”
The state's police accountability law tasks officers with engaging in "reasonable de-escalation measures prior to using deadly physical force." The NLPD says this training helps them accomplish that.
“This is basically designed for de-escalation. That's the officer using different kinds of tactics -- interpersonal skills, talking to somebody, body language," said Sgt. Cassiere. "Different means of de-escalating a person to basically try to get (the officers) to not have to use force."
According to the chief, New London is the first department in Connecticut to use this training system. Though, other departments in the region are invited to use it as well.
