More of the Writer's Police Academy
I can't believe it's been a month since I posted about the first day of the Writer's Police Academy. Where did the time go? I'm going to finish up about the Academy so I can devote the next few weeks to the releases for the Chandler County Series. Make sure to hover over the picture for information about the picture.
Friday morning, we were picked up bright and early to head to the Fox Valley Technical School. As we stood outside waiting, sirens screamed. A car raced into the parking lot, followed by firs one police car, then another. An ambulance arrived a short time later. We were given a demonstration on how police handle a car chase, stop, and officer down. We learned how they protect each other, and what they carry in their "BOB" or Bail Out Bag, that contains water, snacks, extra rounds, or anything they need in case they are stranded or trapped. This is besides the heavy vests they wear.
As we headed for our classes, the Green Bay mounted police arrived with their beautiful horses.
One of the Friday classes I took included, Bug Mania, where we learned about bugs and the diseases they carry and how a killer could use them. Another class was Death Scene Investigation. Some of the pictures were pretty gory. The instructor explained the differences between a coroner and medical examiner, what a doctor or pathologist's role is, and how to determine time of death.
In the Crime Scene Investigation class, I found out that a police officer never takes pictures of a scene with his/her cell phone. It can and will be confiscated as evidence. The first officer on the scene is in charge and is usually a patrolman. I loved this comment: "Never underestimate the power of stupid people at a crime scene."
The most exciting class, though was the Long Gun, where we learned about the AR15 and how to shoot it. Even with ear protectors on, it was loud.
Friday night, Paul Bishop, an expert interrogator, spoke. One of the take-aways on this was that police never, ever sit across the table from the suspect. They always sit as close to them as they can. It's more intimidating. Also, if a suspect tells a story, and the interrogator doesn't believe him/her, they have the person tell it backwards. A guilty person can't do this.
One of my Saturday classes was the TASER. Thomas Swift was a character in juvenile adventure books written by different ghostwriters. In one of the stories, and electronic rifle was mentioned. The inventors of TASER loved the stories, so when they came up with the gun in their parents' garage, they name it: Thomas A. Swift Electronic Rifle or TASER. TASER is the name of the company, not the piece of equipment. One of the many interesting parts of this class was learning their is confetti in each TASER cartridge. A hit by a TASER will not send you flying backwards or injure you. You fall over stiff as a board, face first. The instructor said it feels like a hot stove.
Did you know that fire investigators have the DNA of all the gasoline and oil products from all over the world? They can pinpoint what it is and where it came from. It's something I learned in the fire investigative class. Some of the pictures were pretty gruesome, too.
The last class that I attended on Saturday was the Blood Spatter class where I immediately found out that it's blood SPATTER, not SPLATTER. Spatter is a noun and splatter a verb. Blood spatter began to be looked at in the late 1800s, but it wasn't until 1955 in the Ohio vs Sam Sheppard that it was first used to prove a person was innocent. We learned about how the direction of a blow was determined by the shaped of the spatter an the different surfaces they land on. Then we had a demonstration with their "spatter head."
Saturday evening was the banquet, with an auction, run by Tami Hoag, and basket drawings. Our keynote speaker was Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire series. He was hilarious and a terrific person.
I met several wonderful authors, many who will be on my radio show, Your Book Garden.
By Sunday morning's wrap-up, I was exhausted. Would I do this again? In a heartbeat!!
