New Breed of Cadet : Academy Gives Citizens a Taste of Police Work

About two dozen Thousand Oaks residents are nearing the end of their police training in the first-ever Sheriff’s Citizen Academy, a hands-on program the department hopes will broaden community support for its deputies.

These average folks will have no special powers after 12 weeks of training. During training, the residents fire guns in practice ranges and ride shotgun in patrol cars.

But sheriff’s officials hope the investment of time and money--about $1,600 split by the city and the Sheriff’s Department--will persuade the citizen cadets to phone in tips, set up Neighborhood Watch programs and improve the department’s public image.

Ten weeks into the program, the public-relations plan seems to be working.

After riding along with a patrol deputy and blasting rubber bullets from an anti-riot weapon, Jayne Berlin said she has changed her mind about cops.

The 37-year-old teacher said she once thought, “They’re just out to give you a ticket and that’s their job, but I don’t feel that way any more.

“Now when I get a ticket, I’ll accept it gracefully,” she added. “Cops are really here to help you.”

The citizen cadets range from an actor-screenwriter studying police personality types to the former boyfriend of kidnap-murder victim Kellie O’Sullivan. The first Citizen Academy class was dedicated to her memory.

Kevin White said he learned “just how professional these guys are” during the 12-day search for O’Sullivan’s body last September.

White was one of the first to sign up when the academy was announced and now says he hopes that what he learns will have “a trickle-down effect.”

“I’ve already talked to at least 10 or 20 other people and told them all about it,” White said. “It’s been very educational.”

Some cadets hope their lessons at the Citizen Academy will help them get into the Sheriff’s Academy to earn deputy badges.

“I figured it’d help me get my foot in the door,” said Tyson Santos, 30. “It’s really opened my eyes to what the sheriff’s (deputies) have to go though, all this training.”

One week the cadets listened to Superior Court Judge Bruce Campbell lecture on how the court system works.

Three weeks later they took guns in hand and tested their wits against a video crime simulator that showed life-threatening scenarios and made them decide whether to shoot.

“Last week we heard about their dogs,” said Betty Horner, a 59-year-old housewife and wife of former Thousand Oaks Councilman Lawrence Horner.

“And when it was in the paper (Wednesday), we knew exactly what went down,” she said, referring to a fleeing drug suspect who was collared in Thousand Oaks by a police dog.

On Wednesday, the cadets watched officers of the SWAT team, hostage negotiating team and bomb squad explain tactics and tools of their trade.

Donning the 22 1/2-pound flak vest that SWAT team members count on to save their lives, Lt. Geoff Dean explained that deputies must take weapons and physical training and pass a psychological exam to join the elite squad.

“One of the things they ask you is, ‘If you’re in a life-threatening situation, could you take somebody else’s life?’ ” Dean said. “When a (SWAT) sniper shoots someone with a Remington 700 that fires a .308 round, he’s going to die, and it’s a tough decision for someone to make.

“We don’t want someone who’s going to turn into a vegetable after doing it,” Dean said. “We want someone who psychologically is going to be able to deal with that and move on.”

Outside, Dean let several cadets fire .37-millimeter shells packed with rubber bullets that are meant to break up an unruly crowd without serious injuries.

Coached to pull the gun-stock tight to her shoulder and fire low at a nearby wall, Jayne Berlin squeezed the trigger, unleashing a spray of sparks and a shower of pellets that bounced harmlessly back at her classmates.

Sgt. Bruce Hansen described the psychological tools used by the hostage negotiating team he belongs to, and the difference in philosophies between it and the SWAT team.

“The SWAT team, they have the feeling they’d like to get the situation resolved as quickly as possible,” Hansen said. “The hostage team, we believe we should take as much time as we need. We try to develop a rapport with the hostage-taker, address his concerns and get him calmed down enough so he’ll let the hostages go and surrender.”

One cadet asked what should someone do if held hostage?

“That’s a really good question,” Hansen said. “If it’s a carjacking, give them your wallet and your keys and walk away. If you’re a hostage when someone takes over a bank or something, do what you’re told. When you’re spoken to, look the individual in the eye. Try to make that human contact.”

Then, in rumbled Andros, the sheriff’s 750-pound, bomb-handling robot.

Before Andros was bought, a bomb technician had to put on 95 pounds of armor and pick up suspected bombs by hand, Senior Deputy Paul Higgason said. Now, the technician can handle the bomb from a distance, commanding the robot by radio, he said.

Ten-year-old Devlin Murphy--allowed to accompany his mother to this one class--crept closer.

The department bought the robot last year, Higgason said, after his squad handled a powerful bomb at Newbury Park High School that could have been triggered remotely.

“There actually would be very few situations in which we’d have to go back to the suit,” Higgason said.

Then he gingerly lifted a soda can with Andros’ aluminum claw, and just as gingerly crushed it.

Afterward, Devlin peppered Higgason with questions, touching the robot and admitting with wide blue eyes, “It’s pretty cool.”

His mother, Shoshana Murphy, lamented the small size of the class, wondering how much good only four academy classes a year will do.

“I think, ‘Why only 25 people?’ ” said Murphy, 39, who plans to apply to the Sheriff’s Academy this summer.

“Kids should be required to do 10 to 15 hours working as volunteers in the Police Department,” which might do more to spread the department’s message to the public at large, she said.

The end goal, said Hansen, the academy coordinator, is to help the students understand police work and hope that the information filters out to the general public.

“Some of the people we really need to educate are people who don’t always see the police in a positive light,” he said. “All we can do is extend the invitation and hope they take us up on applying to the academy.”