MARANA- The Marana Police Department is using technology to prepare its officers for real-world scenarios.
The department has a VirTra Training Simulator to put officers through different types of situations they may not be able to replicate in a real-life training scenario.
“This technology allows us to branch out,” said Officer Jerry Ysaguirre, Firearms Coordinator with the Marana Police Department.
Office Ysaguirre said they use de-escalation training scenarios to encourage officers to talk to the individuals they come in contact with and de-escalate the situation.
“We can pause the system and talk with the officer and ask what was your mindset? Or What were you thinking?”
Ysaguirre said they can ask the officers very specific questions.
“There isn’t always a one size fits all, there are different answers to each problem,” Ysaguirre explains.
The VirTra is one of many tools the Marana Police Department has to make sure its officers are ready to protect the community and continue to provide five-star service.
“We train this way because we can never write down or see every situation that we’re possibly going to come across. Everything is changing and we need to be able to evolve with it. This is a tool that we use and we want to keep up with technology and we want to be able to make sure the public has confidence in everything that we do,” said Officer Ysaguirre.
