ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Altamonte Springs police officers know that on any given day, they may be forced to make a split-second decision.
“It’s very important, that’s why we train,” said master police officer Deana Dipaola.
Part of their training Tuesday at Decision Tactical in Seminole County took them to an apartment with several scenarios, including a man who reaches for a gun.
They got more hands-on training in facing a gunman, perfecting their target shooting and learning more about de-escalation.
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“You want that in your toolbox, that they know how to verbally interact with society and with our community,” Dipaola said.
One officer’s gun even malfunctioned during the scenario.
“He did exactly what he needed to do, he racked it, it didn’t work, he put his next magazine in and he went,” Dipaola said.
These scenarios provide perspective when it comes to officers forced to make a split second decisions
Decision Tactical is not just for police training, civilians can also get a chance to walk a mile in police officer’s shoes starting next month.
“For civilians, appreciation of the police officers’ challenges and for police officers to get better training to better take care of our community,” said CEO and co-founder of Decision Tactical, Remo Eyal. “When a civilian walks through some of these scenarios and walks a mile in a police officer’s shoes they really start to gain the full understanding.”
He said though they’ve been training officers here since November, the idea to open was birthed back in 2018. The facility will be open to civilians on Feb. 9.
In all, there are five courses here including a range course and a competition course. To learn more about Decision Tactical, click here.
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