First in a series

MARYSVILLE – All 23 of us witnessed a mock shooting, and we all got an important fact wrong.

It made us realize, if we didn’t know already, how easily people can erroneously rush to judgment when they see similar things on social media.

“We” are the students taking the first Marysville Police Citizen’s Academy in 10 years. It is taking place every Thursday night for eight weeks.

In the police department parking lot, we witnessed three scenarios of a traffic stop. In each we visualized the stop from a different location.

Scenario 1

In my group, we couldn’t hear what was going on. The only thing we really noticed was the officer kept turning around to make sure the perpetrator stayed in the car. The second group could hear the conversation. The driver was ticketed for running a red light. They noticed the driver kept looking in his rear-view mirror. The third group saw that he was fidgeting and had gloves on.

Scenario 2

This is when it got interesting. The group I was in was right next to the perp’s car. He jumped out, pulled a gun and shot at the officer. The officer returned fire and hit the perp. The perp was then told to roll away from his gun. He then was told to crawl to the police car. Another group said it happened so fast they weren’t sure what happened. The other group said they didn’t see what happened because the police and perp’s lights were in their eyes. They could not see a gun, but they heard an officer ask which leg was he shot in and to say help was on the way.

Scenario 3

Again the perp got out of his car and shot at the officer, who again returned fire. This time the perp was hit and did not move.

From where I was, I couldn’t see that the cop had been shot, too. Another group said the officer actually put a tourniquet on himself. The fact we all got wrong: The perp first shot at the cop while the officer was still in the car. We all thought he was out of the car because he had been hit. Obviously that must have happened on a second shot from the perp. How could we all miss that?

Our trainer, Officer Stacey Dreyer, explained that it takes people a second to react to new information. When there is so much new information to take in during such an event, some important stuff can be missed. “Action beats reaction. And we’re in the business of reaction,” Dreyer said of police.

To level the playing field, police have tactics to distract perps, such as by using flash bombs. Another thing police do is play the “What if?” game. They are always preparing their minds for what to do if a crime occurs.

Cmdr. Wendy Wade said that’s why in a restaurant she sits with her back to the wall surveying her surroundings. The former English teacher said she plays the game so much, “My kids are a little paranoid, too.”

SWAT Cmdr. Mark Thomas took it even further. “We treat people with kindness, dignity and respect,” he said. “But we also have to have a plan to kill you. At the end of the day our goal is to go home and see our family.”

Police Chief Rick Smith said his department wants to do the “Right thing at the right place at the right time.”

“They signed up to take a bullet for you and your family,” Smith said.

Dreyer talked about the “Ferguson Effect,” how after that shooting in Missouri police nationwide were more hesitant in their job. More police seemed to be killed during that time as a result. “With the political climate of the world, they might leave their gun in the car,” Dreyer said.

But Dreyer doesn’t, even though some citizens have complained about him carrying a rifle when responding to a call. Smith said he knows, “Our community is going to stand by us. A very small proportion of cases are mishandled.”

At the start of the first class, participants gave a variety of reasons for being there. Most just wanted to learn more about police. Some are thinking about it as a career. Others want to help the community and possibly volunteer.

“I want you to experience it from this side of the windshield,” Dreyer said. “Live my world.”