BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — West Michiganders are getting a unique look at how Michigan State Police trains its recruits. For the first time ever, the agency is allowing members of the public to participate in their traffic stop training scenarios.
The first of the three-day training exercises this week took place Monday at the Fort Custer Training Center in Battle Creek.
Thomas Jorgensen and 49 of his fellow MSP recruits are being prepared for everyday life as a trooper on the road.
"We had a suicidal scenario that we went to," Jorgensen said. "We also did routine traffic stops, failure to signal, going over the center line. We've also done fugitive warrant pickups."
Members of the public can volunteer to participate in the traffic stop exercises acting as drivers and passengers.
"I appreciate what they do for a living and I think if everybody works together maybe things will start going smoother and showing support and appreciation for what they do," said Michelle Antes, a resident of Battle Creek.
According to Capt. James Grady, MSP's Training Division Commander, times have been tough for police, so they wanted to involve the public to build relationships.
"We can receive feedback from the citizens on ways that we can improve our training so it's just the opportunity to bridge that gap again between us and the people we serve," he said.
The exercises are a win-win for the recruits and the participants. The recruits get realistic and diverse training, meanwhile the participants see how the recruits are trained and interact with people.
"Everybody we interact with is different. Having them here, it kind of brings in the perspective of them getting to interact with us and us interacting with them like we would on the road," Jorgensen said.
The 50 recruits who are participating in the exercises on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week will graduate in mid-February.
MSP does plan to include the public again for scenario training in the future. They'll send out a news release about how to sign up for the event, as well as post on social media.
Related video:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.