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GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF) – Grovetown Police Department has been training a group of seven civilians about what all goes into law enforcement.
”They will see what we do on a daily basis and have a little bit of an idea of when they see things on the news, it may not always be what it seem to be,” said Robert Eastman, Assistant Chief of Police for GPD.
Over the 10-week course, the students have done exercises like re-enacting real scenarios that officers have experienced, doing crime scene analysis and criminal investigations.
“We did two scenario-based trainings,” student Billy Taylor said. “Some of the things that were real life scenarios with them, that I think for any civilian going through – it would be mentally challenging.”
And on Saturday, they learned how to properly handle a firearm.
“They’re all I think gonna leave here with a better understanding of the weapon, much more safety conscious about handling the weapon, and much more confident in themselves to shoot a weapon,” Asst. Chief Eastman said.
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Students in the course said it helps law enforcement and civilians find common ground.
“By taking the time to see what it is that the police do and why they do it, it helps us to better understand when situations come up where we’re wanting to protest and be upset,” student Nicolette DeRamus said. “It’s like wait, take a step back, let’s evaluate and move forward.”
Asst. Chief Eastman believes the course has been a success, but they do want to make some changes for the future.
“We want to go back to the drawing board, see what we need to do to retune what we are doing right now,” Asst. Chief Eastman said. “And then we’re going to make a decision when the next class will be, but it will be in the fall.”
Students in this class graduate Thursday, July 13th.
