VirTra in the News -

Posted on Nov. 10, 2020 by VirTra Inc

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Baltimore County Police Department

The Baltimore County Police Department recently used their VirTra simulator to give lawmakers insight as to what officers experience in the field—especially when use of force becomes an issue. “Officers have to take in a lot of information very quickly and they also have to process that information very quickly and make a decision in a split second,” Training Officer Tabitha Hays.

BCPD Training Officer Tabitha Hays explains judgmental use of force to the reporters, who then experienced the simulator themselves. Image Credit: WMAR2News

Murfreesboro Police Department

In Murfreesboro, Texas, the Murfreesboro Police Department is training hard with their V-300 VirTra training simulator. The 300 degrees immerses officers with 5 screens, directional sound and scenarios based on true events. “It really creates as much of a life-like scenario as you can humanly imagine,” —Captain Don Fanning.

Bellevue Police Department

Bellevue Police Department uses their VirTra simulator to practice de-escalation and judgmental use of force in a variety of situations. “You already get told on the way what’s going on and somewhat, you don’t know the full details. One of the things that we need to work is just from square one of being a police officer is how to talk to people.” —Sgt. John Stuck.

Reporter Leigh Waldman engages in the simulator, stepping into an officer’s shoes for a scenario

Brentwood Police Department

Next year, the Brentwood Police Department is moving into a new facility with a room dedicated entirely to their VirTra system. “One of the major benefits of using the professionally produced scenarios on the VirTra Simulator is the cultivation of effective verbal communication (de-escalation skills) with subjects during tense situations.” Chief Jeff Hughes.

Officers will be immersed in a state-of-the-art simulator, which portrays real-life scenarios.

Orange County Sheriff’s Office

There has been a lot of discussion about de-escalation in the news. So the Orange County Sheriff’s Office invited members of OSCO’s African American and Hispanic Citizens Advisory Committees to experience de-escalation training first-hand through their VirTra simulator. “It’s nothing like what you see on television. I thought it would be much easier,” Orlando Mayor’s Municipal Labor Committee Commission member.

Members of the OSCO African American and Hispanic Citizens Advisory Committee participated in the VirTra simulator—and had an eye-opening experience.

Huntsville Police Department

The Huntsville Police Department recently opened up their training simulator to the public, allowing citizens to step into an officer’s shoes and learn about their policies and procedures. Participants experienced being an officer in a traffic stop and saw how quickly situations can escalate. “Your life depends on a matter of seconds, not even minutes,” Captain Mike Izzo.

The immersive simulator helps officers have quicker reaction times in tense situations—a valuable skill for the field.

New Bern Police Department

A new V-300, 5-screen immersive simulator for the New Bern Police Department will be arriving soon. “The best thing about it is the ability to offer different scenarios. We can go out…and actually take photos of those areas and upload them to the system…and come up with different scenarios that are real life for the officers here,” Captain Marquie Morris-Brown.