Dodge County Deputies Drive Training Course to Master Skills

By Russ Krebs/Tribune Staff
October 2, 2004

With a foot firmly on the accelerator, the Dodge County Sheriff's deputy pushes his cruise to 100 mph. Just as quickly, he slows down and swerves to avoid an obstacle.

Had it been a real chase, a suspect probably would have been nabbed. Instead, it was part of a training exercise held Thursday at the Nebraska Motorplex near Scribner.

"We're required by statute to have some type of training in pursuit driving every year," Chief Deputy Tom Tamke said. "We could probably get by with just a review of statutes and policy, but we prefer to go further."

Except for wet surfaces and icy conditions, deputies were tested in all phases of driving.

They began the course at a high rate of speed, then slowed down to swerve through serpentine cones placed 40 feet apart.

Deputies then drove in reverse through serpentine cones placed 60 feet apart, simulated turning around in small areas and tackled other driving maneuvers.

The entire course had to be completed in 2 minutes and 20 seconds, with each safety cone hit costing a 5 second penalty. The deputies had three tries to make it through the course in the allotted time.

"We only have a few pursuits per year," Tamke said. "However, frequently a deputy has to respond to emergency situations in which they have to drive with lights and sirens going (to get to a call). That happens frequently each week."

It is not uncommon for deputies to be 20 to 25 miles away from a call that they have to respond to quickly, he said.

"Anytime we're not running code (an emergency situation), we have to follow the laws of the state of Nebraska," said Deputy Ed Wemhoff, the driving class instructor. "You have a duty to drive with regard for public safety."

If responding to an emergency situation with lights and sirens activated, speed limits and traffic laws can be broken, but public safety must always be considered. For example, emergency vehicles can proceed through a red traffic signal, but must slow down at the intersection to make sure they're not causing an accident.

Wemhoff reviewed state statutes and Dodge County Sheriff's Office policies with the deputies before they drove the course.

He reminded them that deputies should never shoot from or at a moving vehicle and of the rules for initiating or ending a pursuit.

"If the car's going 10 mph and not stopping, that's a pursuit," Wemhoff said. "When you are pursuing a motor vehicle, keep a safe distance."

While all deputies were trained in pursuit tactics during their police academy training, the yearly refresher course is a helpful reminder, he said.

"It's an eye opener to be able to think how long it's going to take you to stop at 100 mph," Wemhoff said. "You get in some pretty hairy situations out on the road. I've set this course to simulate what we do every day."

It's just that deputies don't always experience the situations all at one time.

"A lot of this stuff is way more extreme than we drive normally," Wemhoff said. "It's designed to put us in a stressful situation to see how we react."

All deputies completed the course in less than the 2 minutes and 20 seconds allowed.

Greg Sanford, owner of the Nebraska Motorplex, allowed the sheriff's office to use the drag strip at no cost.

Prior to last year, the deputies set up a course on a closed road at the Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area but had trouble with pedestrians and bikers continuing to use the road during the training.

"This is the second year he let us run here, and it's a good place to train," Tamke said. "If we didn't have this area, I don't know where we'd go."