Local police refresh their driving skills
Battle Creek Inquirer - November 20, 2003

With sirens wailing and red lights flashing, two Battle Creek police cars chased a black sedan at 70 mph through Bailey Park on Wednesday.

The black car sped through the parking lots and driveways around the baseball fields, powering through the curves, kicking up leaves and splashing through puddles of water.

Sometimes the car stopped but then sped away as the two black-and-white patrol cars approached. Once the driver of the black car backed away from patrol cars for more than a block at nearly 50 mph.

After four minutes, the chase ended -- but no one was arrested.

The black car was driven by a police officer, and the pursuit was part of a four-hour police driver training session being held this week for all city officers.

By Sunday, each officer will have attended the training session to refresh their driving skills.

"Officers spend so much time behind the wheel, and we want them to use the best technique available to them," said Sgt. Victor Pierce. "We want them to know how to handle the situation."

Although driving is part of the training all officers receive before they start working during their police academy, officials said ongoing driver training has been spotty at best.

Commander Jackie Hampton said Chief David Headings asked the department to review its pursuit policy shortly after he was hired, and, while the policy was not changed, the review did point to a need for training.

"The recommendation was that training would be a good thing to have," Hampton said.

Three officers -- Mike McKenzie, Aaron Smith and Rob Miller -- attended a 120-hour driving school conducted by the Michigan State Police to become training officers.

It's those officers who are directing the training this week.

"I would like to make this an annual program, to make it part of the training curriculum," said Pierce, the department's training sergeant.

Officers note that they are required to practice with their firearms each year but seldom, if ever, fire them as part of their work. But all patrol officers drive every day.

"The average officer drives 30,000 to 50,000 miles a year," McKenzie said. "And, on average, an officer has an accident every 25,000 miles."

The sessions include techniques on normal driving, emergency driving and pursuit driving.

The department obtained permission to close Bailey Park for the sessions and used plastic cones to set up several driving courses to learn more about braking, acceleration and making high-speed turns.

"The biggest mistake is trying to do two things at once," McKenzie said, "like braking and turning at the same time."

Hampton said the training was planned well before an officer, responding to a robbery on Sept. 28, struck and killed former city commissioner Matt Albert on Territorial Road.

"In general, officers are in their vehicles eight hours a day, five days a week and that is a lot of driving," Hampton said. "(That accident) is the worst case scenario and it shows the seriousness of the job and magnifies that officers are out there every day and how dangerous it is."

Hampton said he can't yet commit to annual driver training because of costs.

"We would like to make this a required training, just like firearms and self-defense, but realistically I can't predict it will happen."