Use Of Force Practices Top Week Of Sacramento Law Enforcement Training

Police reforms, response to mental illness, and use of force are all topics at a law enforcement training event this week in Sacramento.

Some of the training classes at the Sacramento Convention Center focus on crisis intervention, legality of certain police tactics, and the trends in the release of police officer body cam and patrol car videos.

Tony Duckworth is the Deputy Director of the California Peace Officers' Association. He says the training includes a use-of-force scenario that will be presented from different viewpoints to officers at various points from now through Wednesday.

"We want the officers in the room to get a perspective of what the community would really feel like in a situation and what the family would really feel like. We want to tell that story."

The Sacramento Police Department has received criticism for the way it responded and reacted to a recent fatal police shooting. Sam Somers is Chief of Police.

"We'll be able to have more officers earlier in their career attending these type of conferences because it's here local. It doesn't have the added expense of trying to get them out of town. You also have more access to them here in case something were to occur. So it's a great thing for us because this conference here and I look forward to it being here hopefully every other year."

This is the first year the training has been held in northern California. Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones is the outgoing president of the CPOA and was responsible for bringing it here.

David McGill is the Deputy Chief of the Newport Beach Police Department and the new head of the CPOA.

"We've got some upset folks some level of distrust in the communities that we serve -not all communities, but in some- is getting a lot of press and it's putting a lot of pressure on our law enforcement professionals and so our job is to make us better and to get us to a higher level of service."

Other training classes will focus on the legality of police tactics, video review boards, and the psychological effects of an officer-involved shooting.

The event has a toal of 1,480 attendees and about 530 are signed up for classes. Meanwhile, 950 are signed up to attend the equipment expo to see new tactical equipment and weapons.

The event ends Thursday at the California Highway Patrol shooting range in West Sacramento.