Written by Amanda Coers – I have to admit, when I first heard about the Brownwood Police Department’s Citizen’s Police Academy, I had a few mixed ideas of what the course would entail. I grew up watching the hilarious Police Academy movies, as well as all the Lethal Weapon movies, and a steady stream of COPS on television. And while I realize my idea of police work is hollywood-ized, I was secretly hoping we’d all be issued our own bullhorns on the first day.
About 20 Brownwood area residents met at the Law Enforcement Center on Tuesday, February 7th, for an introduction to the 9-week course offered by our local police department. We didn’t get bullhorns, but we did get snazzy name holders for our seats, and the promise of snacks in the sessions to come. And we also got an explanation of what really goes down with our local men and women in blue.
Assistant Police Chief James Fuller and Lieutenant Randall Krpoun
There to greet us were Brownwood Police Chief Terry Nichols, Assistant Police Chief James Fuller, and Lieutenant Randall Krpoun. After a welcome from the chief, our class was split into two groups for a behind-the-scenes look at the station.
Let me tell you, it’s state of the art. I’m very impressed with the facility in general. Our group was led by Assistant Chief Fuller, and he gave a detailed tour, highlighting some of the more interesting areas of the station.
The most memorable for me was Dispatch. When we walked in the room, it was darker, and there was an energy – almost a tension. Operators manned their stations, taking emergency calls, alerting officers, and coordinating it all through a very complicated looking computer system. I’m no slouch when it comes to tech (although operating the coffee pot at our house is sometimes a challenge), but this just blew my mind. It’s multi-tasking to the umpteenth level. Each station had several monitors and the operators kept tabs on them all, dealing with multiple calls and coordinating several different officers and agencies.
“This is the hardest job,” said Assistant Chief Fuller. “I’ll never be Dispatch. It’s a demanding job.”
The assistant chief explained we would learn more about Dispatch and Communications in a later session. I’m very much looking forward to that, because at this point they seemed like super humans connected in a hive mind system. Again, I watch too many movies.
Next we were able to tour the armory: a vault filled with guns in cages, which is just about as cool as it sounds. But even more interesting was hearing about the department’s program for officers to purchase their own weapons with a small amount deducted from their paychecks. With this weapon purchase program, officers can can purchase quality firearms without having to incur a large initial cost, and instead break that cost up with regular payroll deductions. This also eases the burden on the city’s budget. It turns out our local department is very spending-conscious and can make their funding stretch. Now that I’m (sort of) a grown up who pays taxes, I really appreciate that. The kid in me still thinks it would be awesome to see a Sherman tank parked at the station.
Later we toured one of the officer duty vehicles – called an office on wheels, and we could easily see why. It was fully stocked with a computer system, as well as supplies needed for just about any situation. We took a look at the back seat, and declined the opportunity to climb inside, even though the assistant chief promised to keep the doors open. I was surprised to see rather comfy looking upholstery. Gone are the hard plastic seats from the Crown Victorias. It’s probably a nicer ride for those in the back, but I felt a pang of sympathy for the officers who I’m sure have had to clean Lord knows what from those softer seats. Just another thing our local police officers deal with on a regular basis. They don’t show that in the movies.
This is an example – I was too busy gaping like a freshman at the evidence system to bust out my camera
Another fun tour stop was the Evidence Room. I can say there were some CSI looking things in there. Truly impressive was the massive system needed to track each item related to a case and store it for quick retrieval. That’s Angie Hill’s job. She’s more than the wife of our new Brown County Sheriff – she’s an Evidence Cataloging Wizard. I can’t even find my kids’ shoes half the time, but Angie’s able to find the smallest pieces of evidence from cases years old if needed.
Our tour rounded out with a run-down of what we will learn about in the coming weeks: patrol operations (ride alongs!), criminal investigation procedures, narcotics, a visit with the Brownwood Fire Marshal, how civilians can respond to an active shooter, speaking with the school resource officer, and a whole lot more.
Oh, and of course, a trip to the shooting range. No lie, I’m looking forward to that.
Overall, our first day in the Citizen’s Police Academy was great. The officers were very courteous, cracked a few jokes with us, and were gracious during our tour of their home away from home.
Tune in Next Week for a report on Session Two of the Brownwood Citizen’s Police Academy.
