The pen might be mightier than the sword, but journalists Mary Gavin and Laura Rust can still take out a bad guy at 20 paces.
Gavin, publisher and manager of the Evanston Roundtable, and other media visited Evanston Police Department on Wednesday to try a simulated confrontation training system. Rust, a Roundtable photographer, acted as Gavin’s partner in crime — er, law enforcement.
The $180,000 simulator is like a “sophisticated video game,” said Sgt. Ken Kutella of EPD. Trainees use $1,000 modified guns with laser inserts inside the barrel, rather than bullets. The action is monitored by a $30,000 shot cam.
Scenarios can be adapted at any point during a simulation based on the reaction of each officer, Kutella said. The system can even simulate the use of other police weapons, like pepper spray and batons.
“(The simulator) teaches decision making, which is very difficult to teach as far as lethal force is concerned,” he said. Officers also learn to verbalize strong commands that will “override” the erratic thoughts and mumblings of a threatening person.
Gavin and Rust were thrown into the line of fire after Kutella and Cmdr. Michael Perry demonstrated proper stances and shooting techniques.
And the reporters proved just how dangerous they can be.
Gavin’s Sig Sauer gun fired the fatal shot in each of her three simulations. Rust nailed a suspect through the forehead and consistently in the chest while practicing the moving-target technique.
After witnessing their deadly performance, Perry was impressed.
“Did you ever watch the movie ‘Natural Born Killers’?” he joked.
But Rust wasn’t satisfied with her performance during a simulation of an attempted suicide.
During the scenario, a suspect pulled out a shot gun and fired into the air. Rust did not fire back.
Kutella later said return fire would have been justified because even shots fired into the air represent a threat. Bullets in the air have to come down somewhere, he said.
“Damn,” Rust replied, “I should have capped him.”
Officers, however, have to be more careful. But any threat must also be eliminated.
“Even if there’s blood shooting out of (someone’s) sternum I have to eliminate that threat,” Kutella said, explaining why officers often fire their guns repeatedly. “I’d like to go home at the end of the day.”
