Oakland County Michigan sits northwest of Detroit and is home to more than 1.2 million people. Captain Chris Wundrach is Commander of the Emergency Response and Preparedness division of the Oakland County Sheriff Department (OCSD), where he is responsible for overseeing the Sheriff’s Operations Center, Homeland Security, Training Unity, and the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT). The department includes 1,300 deputies and services 12 local area communities.
Choosing the Best Firearms Training Simulator
With an aging one screen firearms training system, Captain Wundrach set out two years ago to define and review the latest use of force training simulators for his deputies. His research led him to VirTra and Milo Range. Ultimately, his department chose VirTra’s V-300 system.
“VirTra’s V-300 has a fantastic surround experience that keeps our deputies attention,” said Sheriff Michael Bouchard. “The realistic content is exceptional. We chose VirTra because it offers the most sophisticated system.”
Force Option Simulator Reinforces Training
As part of their V-300 training simulator, OCSD is using VirTra’s air cycle, police officer camera, Threat-Fire, Glocks and Rifle ARs. Deputies train on use of force every month. Deputies train for de-escalation in a separate classroom and then use the V-300 virtual reality police training simulator to reinforce the methods taught in class.
OCSD uses three primary range instructors for force option training, in addition to an assistant who helps deputies through the simulator sessions. After each scenario training, officers are debriefed on proper procedure, tactics and responses.
“We began training in November and our staff immediately loved the quality and realism of the scenarios,” said Sheriff Michael Bouchard. You can see their heart rates kick in as they try to control their sensory overload.”
Hundreds of Use of Force Scenarios
VirTra’s hundreds of diverse police training simulation scenarios in the V-300 provide lifelike use of force training that allows law enforcement to better understand the appropriate level of force needed in a given situation, confronts them with the decision-making and mental processes they’ll undergo in those situations, and through the debriefing process, helps officers evaluate those decisions afterwards with experienced trainers and positive reinforcement that they can then use in their daily patrols.
