Making ‘split-second decisions’

The adrenaline, sweat and nerves are real; the gun and bullets are not, yet the situations mimic actual calls a law enforcement officer could face on a daily basis. Situations where you have to make a decision that could result in the loss of lives ... maybe even your own.

Two Ohio County Times-News staff members joined members of the Ohio County Sheriff’s office when they took part in training utilizing the Multiple Interactive Learning Option (known as MILO) Range on Monday at the Community Center.

“Obviously, we train because the objective is for all the deputies and civilians to go home safely,” Ohio County Sheriff Adam Wright said. “Anytime, when you run through these scenarios, it helps you better deal with them while on duty. It keeps (deputies) on their toes and it betters the community and it betters the department.”

The interactive program helps officers’ decision-making skills in situations they could, and likely do, face on a regular basis. The system uses realistic guns that fire laser beams at a screen that detects hits as well as misses. Prerecorded scenarios with multiple options determined by the officers’ reactions are all part of the training. The program is designed to prepare officers for similar encounters on the street. The goal is to train them in what to consider and analyze when making split-second, life-changing decisions.

Calling it a “split-second” decision isn’t an understatement, especially for those of us who have no law enforcement training, as a mistake – a bad decision, a hesitation or slow reaction – resulted in a tragic ending on the screen. For officers, those same real-life mistakes could result in the loss of real lives.

Wright said training is key for law enforcement officers as it is an ever changing job.

“As officers, you can get complacent after so many calls where you go to the same house for the same call, the same domestic, the same situation with the same people. You think you know what to expect and all of the sudden with just that one call everything changes,” he said.

Sgt. Nick Eskridge, with the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, sets up the program in the county every year not just for the OCSO but for other local agencies as well.

He said usually around 30 officers go through the program’s training and run through the different scenarios. The training is free of charge for the department through the Kentucky Association of Counties and available in Ohio County for a month.

“There are four of these systems throughout the state. Two in the west and two in the east,” Eskridge said. “All we have to do is send an e-mail to get it and they drop it off and set it up. This should be the last year that we do this (program) and then we will be switching over to a virtual reality setting that will be more responsive.”

After an hour spent running through scenarios that law enforcement officers have to face daily, the OCTN staff (after making several poor split-second decisions) decided they would stick to writing about the events and leave the actual situations to the trained professionals.