Training helps officers deal with dangerous situations

Wheeling Police Chief James Dunne, a Brooklyn native and 31-year police veteran, has been with the village of Wheeling for 1½ years. He formerly was chief with Prospect Heights for six years.

Among others duties, he is responsible for overseeing officer firearms training on the "Shoot-Don't-Shoot" video simulation program, owned by the state of Illinois.

It's a $150,000 video and software program shared by police departments in the region. It's a major training tool to help officers rehearse dealing with emotionally charged life-and-death situations.

"Officers get the chance to tackle high risk/low frequency lethal force events" and learn to understand the real-life circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force, Dunne said.

The interactive video simulator uses 100 different scenarios to train officers to face authentic hostile settings. In its simplest form, the program forces officers to consider whether to shoot or not. The scenes are then carefully replayed and critiqued by an experienced training officer.

The program is required of all new recruits, along with experienced officers. It is opened annually to a limited number of Wheeling residents who participate in the Citizens Police Academy, a popular citizens/police community relationship building program.

Above all else, Dunne emphasizes the use of de-escalation tactics to defuse potentially violent or deadly situations. Wheeling has a use-of-force continuum, which triggers different responses to varying levels of threat to citizens or officers in an effort to lower the adrenaline levels and prevent loss of life.

Wheeling Police have had no officer-involved shootings in the last five or more years, which the chief attributes "to the high level of police training and the low incidence of violent crime in Wheeling."

Firearms and Range Training activities are headed up by Sgt. Paul Hart, a 35-year veteran. He believes strongly in the "Shoot-Don't-Shoot" program because, as the trainer, he can intervene after the scene, offer criticism and provide alternatives for the trainee to consider.

The program "gives the new recruit the feel of street-level threat, circumstances and events an officer faces on patrol," he said.

He hopes that his officers never have to face that decision. But they will be prepared if they do because of their training.