Arrest Control

It’s Saturday night and I’m just sitting at home relaxing.......finally.  I will tell you that I just finished studying for another test that we’re taking on Tuesday on Preliminary Investigation.  The academy has been very busy and I’ve been learning a lot.  My days are starting to run together; between school and studying, I haven’t had much of a break.  

I thought I would be learning a lot about law enforcement, and I have, but what I didn’t anticipate, was how much I would be learning about myself.  I’m 33 years old, so I’m old enough to know my strengths and weaknesses, but being at the academy has brought those to light even more.  I’ve heard from multiple instructors at the academy that once you get to the department, everybody will have strengths and weaknesses so reach out to each other and work as a team.  I’ve begun practicing that in the academy, and in my areas of weakness, I’ve reached out to my classmates.   

The next 3 weeks will focus on PPCT.  The arrest control portion of the academy is what most of us have been looking forward to... I know I have.  Let’s be honest, if you had your choice of being stuck in a classroom or being in the gym learning some cool arrest tactics, what would you prefer?  

We spent a few days throwing each other on the ground, hitting pressure points, falling, twisting joints, and putting our bodies through painful maneuvers.  It’s been really fun, but it’s also pretty painful.  I am definitely sore.  Unfortunately, we had one student suffer from a possible hand fracture during one of the sessions.  I’ve been really excited for this section of the class, but I honestly wasn’t anticipating how rigorous it would be academically.  This week has been the most academically challenging week for me, and for the rest of the class.  It’s required a lot of studying and homework.  And while arrest control is challenging and fun, I think we are all sober to the fact that this portion of the academy is very necessary and extremely important.  In some cases, it could save our lives. 

One final note, next Friday is T-Day......as in Taser Day and I’m ready to get it.  Stay tuned and you might get a video of me in extreme pain.