Beyond the Badge: How training prepares officers for difficult situations

NAPPANEE, Ind. --- ABC57’s Beyond the Badge continues with the Nappanee Police Department. The department covers areas in both Kosciusko and Elkhart counties.

This week, Michiana will ride-a-long with Patrol Officer Cody Ong to see how his training comes in on a day-to-day basis.

Cody Ong has been a Patrol Officer with the department for four years. Ong said training is the ticket to being better prepared on the job.

“Everything you’ve learned goes into a toolbox and when things go south, you dig in your toolbox and you go with what you know, you go with your training,” Ong said. “So, it’s nice to have that rounded training to be a better officer.”

“As police officers, do, we all have to do everything right,” Patrol Officer and Senior Firearms Instructor Matt Tice said. “If we don't do it right, it could cost somebody their life.”

Matt Tice has been with the department for 26 years and is an expert when it comes to firearms training.

Ong said every call is different, every day is different, so they have to be prepared.

“You always have to pay attention to your surroundings and you have to adapt quickly because anything is possible,” Ong explained.

Ong and Tice agreed being in law enforcement is about helping the community, serving the public and keeping people safe.

“Everybody just has different needs and different wants, so the calls where you can just sit down and talk to people and hear their stories and just listen to what they need, that’s what I like to do,” Ong said.

Tice said being in law enforcement is much more than just a job.

“This job is a calling,” he said.” You become a police officer to help the community, to serve the public, keep everybody safe.”

“My favorite calls are for people who think they don't have anything to live for, like, it's just, it's my duty to let them know that they do, they do have a lot to live for,” Ong said. “And when they think they're at their breaking point, in all reality, they're not, I mean they may think they are, but they need somebody to talk to; they need help, they need, maybe medication, they need somebody to give them the resources to get them back on their feet. And that's, that’s what I love about my job is, it's, I'm that resource that somebody needs.

ABC57’s Brenda Koopsen also goes through a training simulation to put Michiana in real situations and show what it’s like for officers to make a life-or-death situation in a split second.

To watch the full training simulation, see the video above.