Stepping Up

Please welcome, one last time, Recruit Sarah. She and her classmates graduate on December 10th. Sixteen weeks of field training is ahead for the Lakewood Recruits. Successful completion of that stage will mean they are full-fledged Agents, taking their places among the men and women who serve the city of Lakewood. It will have been ten months since they first walked into the classroom. Please join me in congratulating the Combined Regional Academy Recruit Class 2015, and wishing them well. Sergeant Greer, LPD Training Unit.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”   -Lao Tzu

It is with mixed feelings I write this last blog. Life at the Academy has been a constant whirlwind of information, learning, and stress. From sun up to sun down I have either been at the Academy or thinking about the Academy. After 20-plus weeks, things are finally coming to an end. I find myself spending time now thinking about how the Academy has changed me.

My civilian-to-agent makeover is best epitomized through the firearms program. I showed up to the Academy with next to no handgun experience. I’m not even sure you can count my previous interactions with this tool as “experience”: my uncle shoved a Glock into my hands and had me fire it a few times. The first day at the range started with an hour of drills without any ammunition. My hands were unconsciously shaking throughout. I had an odd mixture of excitement and fear pulsing uncontrollably through my body.

The astute instructors noticed and I was whisked away during the first break to fire off a few rounds before the rest of the recruits. They said it was to “take out my nervousness.” To me, it felt like an indication of weakness. After the first bullets flew down range, any illusions of grandeur that I might be a natural prodigy at firearms quickly evaporated. As I pulled the trigger holes appeared sporadically at least 15 inches from where I was actually aiming.

Midway through the firearms program, I had made some progress. When I fired, the holes were now starting to group closer together. The instructors often reminded me to not look at the targets of my neighbors. Many recruits had arrived at the Academy having shot a handgun for much of their lives. The instructors wanted each recruit focused on their own progress, not how they looked compared to a neighbor. This was easier said than done.

When performing drills from the 50-yard line, I was unfortunate enough to shoot next to my friend (one of those recruits who basically grew up with a gun in her hands). After firing 12 rounds down range we walked up to our targets to see how we did.

On my friend’s silhouette, eight headshots. Headshots. From 50 yards. Eight of them. Like it was nothing. I really should never have looked.

Then there was my target. It appeared as if I had fired a shotgun from five yards away. Holes were everywhere, with next to no pattern. Next came feedback from our instructors. I will never forget one of the range sergeants complementing my friend on her excellent silhouette (she really is a tremendous shooter). When he looked at my target, his initial comment revolved around my hits being so spread out he had no idea what to say to even begin to help. As he walked away, he turned and added, “but not bad for a math teacher.”

Before anyone gets the wrong idea… I came to law enforcement after several years teaching math. I love teaching. I love math. There is, believe it or not, a lot of math in law enforcement. There are also a lot of calculated mind games, meant to help us shift our self-perceptions.

 But, yikes. I had made progress, but the experience left me highly motivated to be more than just a math teacher with a gun.  I had more work to do on my transition from civilian to cop.

Fast-forward a few months later to the Top Gun competition and there stands a recruit unrecognizable from the first. I had spent hours practicing drills at home. I even managed to weasel my way into extra time at the range. I knew that the best way to improve was to practice constantly AND get as much time with the fantastic instructors as possible.

Now the moment I’d been waiting for: the Top Gun competition used to determine the best shooter in the recruit class. My hands were now steady, my mind calm and confident at the thought of firing a gun. At the sound of the beep, I moved with fluidity only repetition can foster. My gun was out of the holster and shots down range before my competitor each time.  The delightful sound of a bullet hitting steel confidently met my ear round after round.

I wish I could finish this story with a big, “I won!” I didn’t win the competition, but I did surprise myself. I was the last female recruit standing as well as one of the last from Lakewood.

My life at range is much like my experience through the Academy. There have been a lot of things I’ve been awful at. Yet, taught by content experts, I have been given the opportunity to study, learn, practice, prepare, fail, and succeed. The hard work I put in to every course, every drill, every minute has paid off in the end. I exit feeling more confident in my abilities than I ever thought possible. I am self-assured and competent with the many tools of my profession, knowing when and how to use them and, equally important, when not to.

Leaving the Academy, I know I have come so far and relished many accomplishments. Yet, in reality, I recognize that I have only taken the first step in my “journey of a thousand miles.” The Academy was only a brief beginning.

Now it is time to learn how to run in Field Training. Heaven help the Field Trainers (or at least whomever is tasked with me).

Plank Owner

Please welcome back Recruit Sarah. In this entry she discusses the demands of physical training, especially when PT doubles as an incentive to improve. Conditioning can not only be important for dealing with the physical demands of the job, but can assist officers in dealing with the long term effects of stress.

 

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” ~Winston Churchill

Chaos.

People are shouting all around me. Instructors are aggressively imploring the recruit class to “keep our butts down!” Fellow recruits (those that are actually able to breath at this point) are yelling encouragements: “It’s all in your mind!” “Push through!” “We can do this!”

Normally an encourager, I am not contributing much at this point. The muscles that control my ability to breath and speak concurrently, and the parts of my brain controlling same, are preoccupied with keeping my body parallel to the ground.

It’s Friday.

It’s 5:15 pm (1715 for all the recruits that mock me for not speaking in military time).

It’s raining.

The recruit class is proned out in a plank position in the Academy parking lot. We are being punished “motivated” by the steadfast, insistent Physical Training (PT) Instructors.

Most weeks of Academy include 2-3 sessions of PT. The classes are based on CrossFit® principles. Being an officer, our bodies must be honed for multi-functional (as opposed to singular, repetitious) movements. We might have to go from sitting for hours to an all out sprint across unpredictable landscape, scale fences and then be prepared to engage an uncooperative person bent on escape at all costs. Our fitness will be tied to possible life and death outcomes.

The PT Instructors are all current police officers. They live daily the challenges that I can only imagine. They chose to spend their time at the Academy to make us better, urging us to challenge our perceived limits. Each PT session is intentionally planned to ensure we are physically and mentally prepared to face the rigors of a career as a police agent. Do we occasionally need some extra “motivation” to get the point the PT staff is trying to drive home?

Most certainly. Case in Point:

It is Friday of Week 5:

- Already 15 minutes past the end of the workday

- Plank position

- Asphalt digging into my forearms

- Rain soaking my clothes (did I mention it was raining?)

- Ab muscles screaming at the exertion of resisting gravity

Why are we in this position? Not all of the recruits had completed the workout correctly. The PT instructors have been trying for weeks to send the message that we must be attentive to details (keeping track of all reps) and make sure we don’t cheat ourselves.

During a ten-second rest between planks, the recruit next to me drops to the pavement. “This sucks,” he mutters, gasping for breath. I can only smile. My response? “All you can control is your attitude, stay positive.” His facial expression clearly communicates this was not a welcomed comment. For me – reprimand PT is fun. Epic, even. Don’t ask why.

Yet, it is true. My locus of control during Academy starts with my attitude. Planks should suck! A lot. I normally hate planks. My body has no problem telling me it hates planks, too. But, with the right attitude, planks seem much more palatable.

Planks will forever invoke this memory of my muscles screaming, alongside the other recruits. Rain pelting my back and dripping down my face. It should have been an awful feeling. Instead, it was galvanizing and invigorating. Forty-four of us meeting an obstacle head on and surviving the motivational moment together. Perhaps this is a preview of what it will be like to work as a team with our future departments (hopefully without the need to plank…too much).

“If you are not enjoying the journey, you probably won't enjoy the destination.” ~Author Unknown

Finding Time

Please welcome Recruit Brian, writing about transitioning to a new sleep schedule...for now.

When I accepted the job offer to become a Lakewood Police Agent, I knew I signed up for some heavy duty lifestyle changes.  At the top of that list, I was concerned about the impact it would have on my beloved sleep.  Most times, I fall asleep quickly and wake up refreshed, adrift with the quiet sound of the radio alarm playing in the morning.  Until this point in my life, I have been fortunate enough to sleep soundly throughout the night. 

For the past 7 years I worked from my home and made my own schedule.  As a result, sleep has been on my terms. Generally I awoke at 7 AM after a restful 8 hours of sleep.  Perhaps, if I got into an intense television viewing marathon (“Chopped” – a competitive cooking show) and didn’t get to bed at 2 AM, I could wake up for a 6 o'clock meeting knowing that I could catch an afternoon nap.  Unfortunately, whether I liked it or not, things were about to change. 

At the start of the police academy, I learned quickly that waking up at my “normal” time was not going to happen.  In order to be successful I would need a new sleep schedule - lights out by 2200 hrs (what most of the rest of America calls 10 PM) and awake by 0500.  Even though class starts at 0800 and ends at 1700 (5 PM… Well, you get the idea – I’ve begun the art of employing a cumbersome math equation whenever I tell time) there were many things that needed to be accomplished outside of class that would take up the majority of my free time.  Gone were the days of relaxing on the couch for an hour, watching TV and eating a leisurely dinner.    

Without a strict schedule, I would fall behind on my number one priority of studying.  Following closely behind were the little but equally important tasks like boot polishing, uniform pressing, street memorization and just plain staying awake through 8 hours of PowerPoint-driven lecture.  I also knew that intense instructor scrutiny of our fundamentals at the gun range, and technique learned during arrest control were about to steepen the learning curve.  Shooting our pistols accurately and searching suspects for deadly weapons are just two of the many areas that require extreme mental clarity.  They were also two disciplines where lack of sleep could lead to catastrophic consequences.    

For the most part, my strict sleep schedule has worked out as planned and I have been much more productive.  Before class I study or review techniques and after class I stay late to send emails, finish reports or get a workout in while going over notes from the day.  Best of all, I avoid rush hour traffic which helps maintain my sanity.  But with all of this change came some pit falls and there has been one major downside to my newly found regimen.  

Without fail, my internal alarm wakes me up between 5 and 30 minutes before 0500.  In a strangely sadistic way, it’s always the perfect amount of time to make going back to sleep completely worthless.  During the week, I have grown to reluctantly embrace the extra minutes, utilizing it for extra study time.   Unfortunately, this happens on the weekends when I could be catching up on some much needed beauty sleep.  Invariably my eyes will open around 0500…there I go again, even when referring to “my time”…and unless I am going on a skiing or fishing trip, I can’t think of one good reason to be up before the sun rises on a Saturday or Sunday morning. 

Now that we have hit the halfway mark, I have comfortably settled into my new routine.  However, in just three short months all of this will be turned on its head.  What started out as a conventional “8-5” (0800 to 1700, to be precise) schedule will become chaos as I take the headfirst plunge into the world of rookie police work.  Ten long hours plus overtime on graveyard shifts, working in the dark morning hours and then attempting to sleep while the rest of the world is wide awake and going about their lives.  I don’t anticipate that it will be an easy adjustment and potentially it will be the most difficult of the changes to come my way.  Perhaps with a little bit of luck and some semblance of routine, I will be able to sleep soundly through the day.

I... Failed?

Please welcome Recruit Vanessa. In this entry, she discusses the high level of academic achievement required  of each recruit.

I sat in my assigned seat during the first week of the Police Academy and listened to the policies and procedures over and over again. Virtually every week there would be an exam. Passing is 80 percent. We were told multiple times that it would be highly frowned upon to flirt with an eighty, let alone get a lower grade.  We would be required to attend remedial sessions if we failed a test. We would also be subject to expulsion from our agencies if we stumbled more than a time or two.  As a recruit we should “strive for perfection, accept excellence,” and we are reminded of that every day by the plaque that hangs in the room.  The instructors drilled this into our heads over and over again; I thought to myself “that will never be me.” I would never fail a test, and I certainly would not forget anything.

The following Monday morning we sat down to take the test. I felt very comfortable and confident. I had studied a good amount on my weekend and I felt ready.  I answer all 50 questions and hit the green FINISH button, expecting to see “Congratulations, you passed.”

Nope. Instead, it stated something along the lines of, “I’m sorry, but you did not answer enough questions correctly.” My stomach sank. I was devastated.  I wanted to cry, but “there’s no crying in baseball” and there is certainly no crying at the Police Academy.  The realization sets in….. This Academy is going to be hard. I might actually fail.

I was sad and embarrassed that I did so poorly on the first test.  I knew the grades were going to be posted in the classroom, so there was no reason to hide from my failure.  Instead, I learned from my disappointment and knew that I needed to change.  I needed to adjust my studying skills and change my time management.  I knew that I could not do everything, and I knew now that I could not do it alone.  Who came to my rescue? My colleagues and my significant other.

I was always a person who never asked for help.  I always wanted to do everything on my own.  I thought that I was going to be able to give more time to my family at home.  But, I learned that, with the hour drive there and back from the academy building I was very short on time in the day.  I could no longer keep the house as clean as I would like it.  I could no longer make dinner every night.  I could no longer sit and watch my favorite shows.  I learned that these small indulgences in my life, ones that made me happy and made me feel useful, would be set aside for a while. 

 

My boyfriend saw my frustration.  He saw me going to bed at night exhausted.  He took it on himself to start doing more chores around the house. He started helping with the dishes, the grocery shopping, and the vacuuming.  I have learned that life doesn’t stop when you enter the Police Academy.  If anything, the six hours that I used to be able to spend on “my life” is now squeezed into two hours.  Having the support of my family to help me manage my “life” is priceless.

To tackle the academic issue, I went to the recruit who received the highest score on the test.  I asked her if we could have a small study group on Saturdays.  Without even a second thought she said, “Of course.”  Since the first week, a small group of recruits meet in a library every Saturday and go over course material.  With their help I have been able to dominate the tests.  The other Lakewood recruits have also helped me to stay positive.  We all seek each other out after the tests, making sure that we all passed.  The group of Lakewood recruits watch out of each other.  We have even started a “friendship dinner.”  We all try to meet up once a month for dinner with our significant others.  We are truly starting to become a family.  We will not let each other fail, and I am thankful for each and every one of them. 

A Fish In A Big Pond

Please welcome Lakewood Police Recruit Loren. He compares and contrasts his military experience with the rigors of civilian police academy training.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”

― Heraclitus

It has been nine years since the last time I attended a police academy. I was only nineteen years old then, young, inexperienced, and with the exception of high school, I hadn't really done much. I graduated from Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy, but following graduation I decided to put my law enforcement dreams on hold.

Recruit Loren during his Army years

I worked odd jobs here and there including a handful of security positions, professional mixed martial arts as well as a few years delivering furniture. I eventually went back to college at the University of South Florida and earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice while concurrently being part of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. I felt a deep calling to serve my country so I signed a four year contract with the Army and was commissioned as an officer. The next handfuls of years were an absolute blur; a metaphorical tornado of time, mixing pain and awesome memories in a nearly indescribable whirlwind of maturing.

During my military tenure (Light Infantry) I jumped out of a few planes, learned how to thoroughly PowerPoint stuff, and lead people in stressful conditions. I learned a lot about life and myself; while also trusted with extreme responsibility and millions of dollars of equipment. I met amazing people / leaders, worked long hours, and carried heavy weight long distances in unforgiving terrain. Looking back, I wouldn't trade the experience for the world. It was the uncomfortable path of the warrior and there is nothing I am more proud of in my life so far. (Especially knowing that I made a difference as a Platoon Leader).

Fast forward four years and I was promoted to Captain. My Army contract was about to be up and I knew it was my time to move on. The Army was great to me while it lasted, but I knew my next career step. I wanted to become a peace officer. I was a different man than when I was nineteen.

I resigned my Army commission and focused all my energy on getting hired. After researching all the departments in Colorado, Lakewood looked to be everything I was looking for.

I wanted to surround myself with top notch, like-minded people who are there to make a positive difference. People who strived to be the best and Lakewood was without a doubt it. After months of withstanding strenuous hiring testing got the awesome news. I was offered a position as a recruit at the Combined Regional Academy class 2015-03. I can't begin to explain how lucky I felt and still feel today. There were hundreds of initial applicants and eight of us got the conditional job offer in the end. Enough incoherent recruit rambling...off to the academy.

Arrest Control Classroom

Week zero – All Lakewood personnel came in a week prior to the official start date in order to ensure we were ready to start the following week. In my opinion, this prep week speaks volumes about the department. The academy hadn't even started yet and the instructors were doing everything in their power to set us up for success.

We got sized for uniforms, completed admin / benefits paperwork, received various blocks of instruction, and got issued temporary identification badges. After day two, I realized I made the right department decision. Every person that I met was intelligent, ethical, humble, and genuine. The best part of all was that they all had common sense. We also got that Friday off for admin time. This was a great time to buy the only four items that are not provided by Lakewood - duty weapon (your choice of Glock 17 or M&P 9mm with optional mounted light), holster, magazine pouch, and black boots that need to be shine-able.

I purchased the Glock 17 (from Neves), TLR1 light, Safariland Level II 6280 holster, Safariland Model 79 magazine pouch (from Amazon), and Danner boots (the department generously contributes $150 towards boots).

As for the academy instructors, they were wealths of knowledge and innate teachers. There was no yelling, no mind games, and no one was hoping that you fail. You were given enough time to eat lunch casually, breaks every hour and if you stay late you actually got compensated for it. I went home to my awesome wife and dogs with a huge smile on my face every night. Having a set schedule is amazing compared to what I was used to.

Tip - From the date of conditional hire to week zero - You should STUDY LAKEWOOD GEOGRAPHY (Street Rotation attached). You are expected to know the full street rotations by heart. If I could do one thing different, I would have started studying geography months ago. Once the academy starts your primary focus will be on the weekly tests. Study geography before this happens. I currently feel like a hypostomus plecostomus (sucker fish – remember, I’m from Florida) thrown into a tank full of algae. It is going to be awhile before I don't feel like an overwhelmed rookie in this million gallon figurative fish tank of law enforcement knowledge.

Week One - Academically it was like drinking from a fire hose. There were forty-four of us, all from different walks of life, and all there to accomplish the same dream.

Right place, right time, right uniform, right attitude, week one was easy stuff in my opinion.

Typical days start with inspection formation at 0745 and conclude at 1700. During the first week we learned the rules of the academy, were personally welcomed by the Chief, got issued / ordered our gear, conducted physical training, and had eight blocks of instruction. The overall quality of people truly surpassed my expectations.

I do remember throwing up (a little, I’m not gonna lie) as a result of attempting to win the PT test. Unfortunately, I ended up getting 2^nd, but no excuses.

Tip - Week one - Prepare for the PT test / acclimate your body to the high altitude. The PT test consists of a quarter mile run, 40 air squats (you sit on a medicine ball to ensure proper form), 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 pull ups. You take this pt test three times total throughout the academy and the first one is on day one. Most of the work outs are body weight crossfit workouts with minimal running.

We have a lot more training to look forward to. It will be interesting for me (and, I hope, you) to see how a couple more months has changed, tempered or reinforced my initial impressions. Check back!

Shine Your Boots

 “Shine your boots.”

Please welcome Recruit Sarah, a member of The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and Lakewood Police Department Combined Regional Academy. She has completed four weeks of training, with eighteen more to go.

It sounds so simple. I didn’t give it much thought during orientation week. My brain, built to prioritize tasks, immediately dismissed the chore of “shining my boots” to the bottom of my mental to-do list.  Little did I know that this would be my first obstacle to overcome at the Academy.

This year’s Combined Regional Police Academy consists of 44-recruits sent from 10 different agencies. For the eight Lakewood Recruits, we were selected from a pool of over 300 applicants. The message is clear from Academy staff: hundreds of people want to be sitting in your seat; don’t waste our time if you are not willing to give Academy 100%.

The first week of Academy is about laying the foundation for the 21-weeks to come. I came in with the expectation that I’d be spending much of my time on the “sexy” police skills (driving, shooting, and fighting). My eyes were opened to the multitude of “other” topics necessary to becoming a well rounded, community police officer. Academy will include topics like stress awareness, equipment care, knowing criminal code, crisis intervention response, and victim rights.

The night before Academy officially began; I sat at home the proud owner of a new pair of Danner Boots. I thought I’d be done shining them in an hour. How naïve of me.

Five hours later, I was covered in shoe polish, my bathroom was stained black, and my boots looked even duller than when I had started. Is that even physically possible? There is nothing more disheartening than to be completed dominated by a menial task. Panic began to set in.

Sucking up my pride while sporting a pair of dull boots, I spent the first week asking my fellow recruits for help. After getting 43 different methods that would “guarantee” a shiny pair, I made it my daily mission to get it right. Each night I would spend a few hours trying one strategy after another (I do NOT recommend involving the element of fire when you’re a novice no matter how much your fellow recruits assure you it’s the way to go).

“Recruit Sarah, those are some shiny boots.” Those words from an Academy instructor might not have meant much to most of the recruits. Yet, to me, they signaled overcoming my first obstacle and commencing on the journey that is the Combined Regional Police Academy. I never thought my path would start with something as simple as shining my boots.

Introduction

Hello. I am Sergeant Greer with the Lakewood Police Department. Our jurisdiction is located at the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains in Colorful Colorado. We serve a community of about 145,000.

Lakewood Police officers - called agents - receive their initial training at the Jefferson County Sheriff-Lakewood Police Department Combined Academy. Recruits from a number of agencies attend classes, are taught practical skills and graduate after having accumulated 880 hours of instruction. Successful completion of The Academy leads to 16 weeks of field training and, we hope, certification to work solo.

The Police Academy is demanding, requiring the men and women attending to dedicate many outside hours of study and preparation. What follows are personal insights from recruits attending the 2015-3 academy. We hope that you enjoy their writing, and that this gives you a notion of just how much work goes into their training. Each of them must earn not just the trust of the staff, and the department. They are working to gain the trust of the community they serve.

Please enjoy these essays. If you have any questions or comments, or you are interested in receiving recruitment materials, please feel free to contact me at jimgre@lakewoodco.org. I