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This week’s topic was Jail and Juvenile Detention tours.  We began by meeting at the WFPD station and carpooling to the Juvenile Detention Center, just off 10th Street South.

The Juvenile Detention Center is run and managed by the Cass County Sheriff’s Department and staffed at all times by two deputies on 12-hour shifts.  The Center can hold up to 22 individuals when double-bunked in 11 rooms, but typically has fewer than 11 at one per room.  Tonight, eight juveniles were being held.

Any juvenile charged with a non-status crime (status crimes are curfew violations, underage smoking or drinking, etc.) may be held at the Juvenile Detention Center, and will remain in the Center unless charged in District Court as an adult.  In some instances individuals may be held up to age 20 in the Juvenile Detention Center, depending on circumstances.

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Week 6 of the West Fargo Citizen’s Police Academy was originally booked for K-9 and DUI, but the vast wealth of information discussed on K-9 pushed DUIs to another date.

The West Fargo PD does not maintain its own K-9 units, but does utilize both Cass County Sheriff and Fargo PD K-9 units as needed.  All three officers of the Fargo K-9 presented at our class session, held at the West Fargo police station.

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Well, for some reason I decided not to write about CPA for the last two weeks.  To make up for it, I’ll be writing about Weeks 5, 6 and 7 tonight …

Week 5 of the West Fargo Citizen’s Police Academy was SWAT week and was again held at the Training Center up north with members of the West Fargo, Fargo and Moorhead CPAs.  The class started with an introduction to SWAT (“Sit, Wait and Talk” … or “Special Weapons and Tactics” depending on whom you ask) and some personal histories of the team members present.  If you want the details and statistics that were disclosed, you should take the Academy yourself (believe me, it’s well worth it — and free, too).

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Ah, Part Two of Firearms, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways …

1. We just got down to business and shot guns.  No discussion, no lessons (save a brief manual of arms introduction to the Glock … easy as can be).
2. First shot using Officer Jason Anderson’s Glock 22 service pistol cut the intersection of the X at seven yards (see photo below).
3. Another officer to Jason: “It’s not how good they are, it’s how good you make them.” Officer Anderson to me: “Put the rest of the rounds off the target, we’ll tell them you used the same hole.”
4. Double taps in the X-ring.
5. Body armor drills with two to COM and one to the head.
6. Eight shots inside the 8-ring in 3.3 seconds.
7. 42 of 43 total shots in the 9-ring (seven head shots).
8. 34 of 43 total shots in the X-rings.
9. Four for four from 75 feet within the 7-ring: one in the X-ring, two in the 9-ring.
10. Firearms Training System (FATS) … ’nuff said.

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From The Forum:

WEST FARGO – Police here arrested a Colorado Springs, Co., man early this morning after finding him in possession of a 1992 Harley Davidson motorcycle belonging to a Grand Forks, N.D., man.

Mark Richard Wolf, 36, is facing felony charges of burglary and theft of property in Cass County District Court.

He is suspected of stealing the motorcycle from storage at Scheile Enterprises at 1025 Center St. in West Fargo, according to a news release.

Authorities found damage on the east side of the building. Steel siding was found to be cut along with tine snips lying on the ground, the release said.

I was there! This happened during my ride-along with Officer Travis Johnson on Thursday night.  In all honesty, the report above should say that the Cass County Sheriff’s Department arrested the man (but maybe The Forum calls all LEO “police”).

Oh well, the important part is that I WAS THERE!

This week was Part One of the firearms section of Citizen’s Police Academy.  Most of the three hour class was a lecture on deadly force and its application in law enforcement.  A few videos of shootouts were shown, and discussion followed each.  I got an “A” for knowing that officers do not shoot to kill, but shoot to “stop the threat” to themselves or others.

For the last 30-45 minutes, Sergeant Duane Sall gave a brief overview of the workings of the Glock .40 caliber pistols we will be firing at next week’s class.  He had each student hold and dry fire his confirmed-empty duty weapon, and offered feedback as needed.

Next week we meet a little early then head over to the shooting range (it’s indoors, and I have no idea where).  We will have the opportunity to fire handguns and I believe shotguns and AR-15s.  We get to take home a memento — the targets we shoot up during the class.

Tonight’s session started with some classroom instruction with an old-timey police training video on safety during traffic stops.  Seriously, this video had an actress obviously no older than 20 and the police dispatcher returned her birthday as XX/XX/60.  That’s an old video.  However, Officer Jorgensen stated that all of the information in the short clip (minus the cheezy acting) was current and correct procedure.

We then drove separately to Bonanzaville where we each had the opportunity to pull over an officer using actual West Fargo Police Department cruisers!  During my traffic stop, Officer Anderson initially pulled over and waited patiently, while I “ran” his plates, then took off when I exited the vehicle.  I scrambled back to the cruiser and reinitiated the pursuit which lasted for approximately 50 more feet.

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Tonight was the first night of the free twelve-week Citizen’s Police Academy put on by the West Fargo Police Department and led by Officer Rhonda Jorgensen.  There are 13 civilians in the class, including myself, with eight women and five men (which surprised me).

Tonight’s class was an introduction, with a bit of paperwork (releases and personal information forms) and a brief speech from Chief of Police Arland Rasmussen.  This was followed by a tour of the police station and a run-through of some of the equipment in squad cars.  We were also shown the equipment an officer wears on his patrol belt, including a Taser, collapsable baton and service weapon (a “.40 caliber Glock” which I assume was the 23, though I didn’t ask).

Next week we are scheduled to perform traffic stops, with officers volunteering as subjects (meaning we get to drive the patrol cars!).  If the weather is too bad — and I’m not sure how bad is “too bad” — we will swap Weeks 2 and 3 and get our introduction to firearms next week, and perform traffic stops during Week 3.