Alright!!!! We’re starting to get out of the classroom and into the hands-on portion of the Academy.  Yesterday we had our intro into the driving portion of the Academy and today we started the fast driving maneuvers.  After vehicle inspections, choosing a partner and setting up the the course, we got into our vehicles and started driving.  Today we had 3 tests.  The first test was driving 45mph and stopping within 70 feet; the second test was a Brake & Evade; and the third test was a Multiple Brake and Evade test.  Definitely fun and we did our fair share of screeching tires and running over countless orange cones.   

As fun as this was and is–and trust me, it is fun–I never lost sight of the fact that these are lifesaving skills that I will use on a regular basis.  At the end of the day, it’s a test that we are scored on, and I am constantly aware of that fact.  We are scored on all the routes, totaling 15 different driving tests that we must pass.  I was happy with my scores today.  Tomorrow we’re heading out to the airport where we’ll be doing some really fast driving and ultimately a mock police pursuit.  I’ll try and post some pics of what we’re doing.  

Here’s a quick little video of some of the action....

More videos coming soon.......

Fitness Test

Fitness Test

This week, we started our second week in the academy and we’re definitely getting into the thick of it.  Just after a week of being together, we’re becoming a cohesive team and getting to know each other more.  We’re beginning to see each other’s strengths and I’m sure as the weeks continue, our trust in each other will grow.    

I’ve been anticipating our first fitness test since last week.  Today, we had an officer from Snowmass Village Police Department come and talk to us about the physical demands of the job, as obviously, physical conditioning plays a huge role. I was excited and a little anxious because I knew that today we’d be doing our physical testing.  This test was more of a gauge of where we stand in our physical condition and strength.  We had four basic tests.  First, we were tested on our grip strength: highly important since we’ll have to be holding onto suspects.  Second, an all-out pushup test–this test was not timed and we had to do as many pushups as possible.  The key factor was that as soon as you stopped, even for a second, you’re done.  The pushups had to be continuous and you had to go down to about 3 inches from the ground.  The third test was to see how many sit-ups you could do in one minute.  The fourth and final test was a 300 yard run.  

I was happy with my results, but I know that as the academy progresses, I will get stronger and faster.   I’ve always been competitive so I obviously want to out squeeze, out pushup, out sit-up, and out run the rest of my class.  I also would like to just set a personal goal for myself.  A little friendly competition within classmates... it’s just part of the fun. 

I think at the end of the day, everybody did a great job and I’m glad to be a part of this team.  We all worked hard, pushed ourselves and one girl even threw up–so that’s gotta say something!!!    

As the week continues, the stress of the academy builds, my excitement grows and I am trying to learn as much as I can.

Oh yeah... for the record, I maxed out my pushups at 53 and did 53 sit up in one minute.  As for the run, they clocked me at 52.36, the group decided to round up......53 all around!!!

Talk to ya soon.

Ben

So here’s my first post of this blog.  I had hoped to already have about 2 or 3 blog posts already but i’m learning very quickly that we move at such a fast pace; we stay late, and any additional time that we have, we use it to study.  

Anyways, for those of you checking out this blog for the first time, let me just say thanks for following me.  The reason that I’m writing this blog is because I’ve been sponsored by Vail Police Department to attend the C.L.E.T.A. (Colorado Law Enforcement Training Academy) Program.  

So far, this week has been busy and we’ve learned a lot.  I’ve met our class and everybody seems to be excited.  The class is comprised of students ranging from ages 20 - 46.  There are 10 guys and 2 girls in our class.  Some students haven’t gone to college, some just got out of college, and others have been out of college for over 20 years.  Everybody there has a reason for being in the program.  Some have always dreamed of being a police officer and others have decided to change careers.  

This week we’ve already started learning the process of report writing, learning about basic law, The Amendments and more.  Today we had our first test and we all did well.  I’m happy to say that I got an A.  Today we also had our first workout as a class and it felt great to get rid of some stress and spend a little time out of the classroom.  

This first week has gone by so quickly and I have a feeling that August 9th will be here quicker than I think.  Like I said, I’m hoping to post more frequently and bring you into the experience of what I’m going through.  I’ve spoken with my instructor and have asked him to send me pictures of what we do so that I could share with you guys.  I better go, I’m pretty tired and I’m gonna wake up at 5:30am to go workout.  Goodnight world. 

Stay tuned........next week we get into the driving portion of the academy–I can’t believe I’m getting paid to drive fast!!!

Hola, mi nombre es Ben Zamora y ha estado en el valle durante 8 años. Soy un local que va a la academia de policía y espero que siga mi blog. Planeo compartir mi experiencia. Gracias