This Sheriff's Office tool helps police officers promote peaceful solutions

HOPKINTON — Police work is different than it was years ago.

It used to be that when officers engaged with a disturbed person, it often led to violence or even use of a firearm, Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said.

Now an officer's first duty is to try to de-escalate a situation, with the hope of resolving it peacefully.

"It used to be we sent police to these situations and tell them to handle it," said Koutoujian. "But we never trained them to handle it less violently."

Last week, the Hopkinton and Ashland police departments were the latest to undergo training using the Middlesex Sheriff's Office's Mobile Training Center, which was brought to Hopkinton. The trailer provides reality-based video scenarios putting officers in situations they may encounter in the real world.

"We can send police out to ranges to use their firearms, but that's not really what policing is about now," Koutoujian said. "Policing is about coming to a peaceful resolution. This training is all about making their firearm the last resort — hopefully, the never-use resort."

Trailer hopes to simulate real-life calls

The Sheriff's Office purchased the trailer in 2010 and it went into service a year later. It provides various video-based scenarios training from incidents with people on drugs to domestic violence situations.

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The videos are interactive and are meant to help train officers to take non-violent approaches to solving the issue, Koutoujian said.

"You can teach it in the classroom, but this is much more hands-on," he said.

Since it went into service, every police department in Middlesex County has undergone training with the trailer at least once, if not several times.

Last year, 1,600 officers used the trailer, which is delivered to the community to make it easier for the department. Officers, Koutoujian said, can take part in the training during a normal work shift and get back out to patrol on the same day, rather than to having to take a full day off to go to another community to train.

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Ashland Police Chief Cara Rossi and Hopkinton Police Chief Joseph Bennett each said they were big fans of the training.

"It's very interactive," Bennett said. "It's very realistic for the officers and they're working on a wide range of skill sets they don't get to handle on a regular basis. This is much more about de-escalation, rather than just 'shoot or don't shoot' scenarios."

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Bennett added: "One of the most valuable aspects of this training is that the officer's actions can dynamically impact the outcome. In some scenarios, the officer is capable of de-escalating the situation through effective tactics and communication. This further showcases the continued collaboration of the Sheriff's Department and local communities within Middlesex County. I am grateful that Sheriff Koutoujian is able and willing to provide this valuable training resource."

Koutoujian said such training often goes unrecognized because when tense situations end positively, they rarely garner interest.

"When something is resolved through good police work and they don't have to use lethal force, you don't hear about those situations," he said. "You only hear about the lethal results. Every day, in every community, there are officers using great de-escalation skills, and you never hear about it."

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMIllerCrime.