Rogers Police Teach Citizen Academy

Amber Copeland holds a protective pad Thursday while Ana Herrera practices kicking away an attacker during a self-defense component of the Rogers Police Department Citizen’s Academy. Class members graduate June 25. A second class will be offered in the fall.
Amber Copeland holds a protective pad Thursday while Ana Herrera practices kicking away an attacker during a self-defense component of the Rogers Police Department Citizen’s Academy. Class members graduate June 25. A second class will be offered in the fall.

ROGERS — Members of the citizen’s police academy started their 10-week class standing in front of the Police Department monitoring traffic with radar equipment. They concluded with self-defense techniques.

In the intervening weeks, class members rode with an officer or shadowed a dispatcher; spent an evening discussing the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable search and seizure; toured the Benton County Jail; and tried on the 40 pounds of gear Swat team members wear from the helmet to the vest.

They learned what being a police officer entails.

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Citizen Academy

Rogers police plan a second academy this year. A date hasn't been set for the fall class. Applicants must be at least 21 and have no criminal convictions in the past three years. For more information contact Keith Foster, public information officer, at 479-986-3635 or visit the department’s website at www.rogersarkansas.com/police.

Source: Staff Report

“If your only knowledge of law enforcement comes from TV, then your knowledge is wrong,” said Keith Foster, the Rogers Police Department’s public information officer who organized the class.

Chalk outlines belong in old movies, Foster said. While officers gather evidence using the latest techniques, the results are not returned in minutes as depicted in crime dramas, but can be subject to long waits at the State Crime Laboratory.

“We have the technology, but the technology is in Little Rock,” he said.

About 20 class members will graduate Thursday night.

Pat Campbell enjoyed her ride-along experience the most.

“I’ve just really enjoyed it. I’d love to do it again,” she said.

Deborah Morrison said she took a similar class in another state 16 years ago, but it didn't include training in defensive tactics, the jail visit or the time on the shooting range.

“I’m not used to guns,” Morrison said, but she shot a gun like the ones officers carry as part of the class.

The experience included visits from officers representing different divisions who explained their job functions, Foster said.

“It’s coming from the guys that do the job in their own words,” he said.

The goal of the class is to inform the public, not win brownie points, Foster said. If a resident knows how the officer has been trained, then he will understand what is going on. That knowledge can also help with relationships between police and the community. Officers rely on the public to report crimes, he said.

The Rogers department held citizen academies several years ago, Foster said. Another class will be offered in the fall.

David Hadsell, a chaplain for the Police and Fire departments, took the spring class.

“I’ve been around police for 10 years as a chaplain, and I learned stuff I didn’t know,” Hadsell said. “I think it ought to be a requirement.”

The officers giving the training were thorough, Hadsell said.

“They let us get into their minds a little bit,” he said.

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