Mount Vernon Police Citizen Academy Week 4

Mount Vernon, WA: March 5th, 2015.  Week 4. The Mount Vernon Police Department Citizen Academy continued this week with training from Officer  Edgar Serrano  the Neighborhood Resource Officer from  the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood and Use of Force training from Officer Paul Shaddy.

The Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Resource Officer and those living in the neighborhood  work closely together to create a positive  living environment.   The goal is for resident of the neighborhood to take ownership of the neighborhood and eliminate crime and improve the quality of life for everyone living in the neighborhood. They use some unique policing  techniques, such as community gardens, butterfly gardens, field trips for the kids of the neighborhood, Movie nights, Basketball tournaments, soccer tournaments, and multiple other community involvement activities. One of the most popular events is the twice yearly Kulshan Creek Street Festival.  To learn more about specific policing techniques  to the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood, please click here:

The second half of the class was “Use of Force” Training. There were quite a few items passed around for the class to look at. There was everything from bean bag bullets  to a taser being deployed.   This was a very unique presentation, especially with the current trend of police brutality complaints across the U.S.   The Mount Vernon Police Department has strict guidelines on the amount of force that officers are allowed to use in a situation.  We were given different scenarios and had to make split second decisions on the type and amount of force that was used in each scenario.  These are the same type of decisions that officers have to make at a moments notice. This was a very informational presentation.   I’ve included some photos of the items that were passed around for us to look at during the class.

 

 

You can learn more about the Mount Vernon Police Department by liking them on Facebook or visiting their website by clicking here: Mount Vernon Police Department