FBI trains police officers

The U.S. Embassy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have teamed up to provide “Law Enforcement Training for Safety and Survival (LETSS) to Belize’s law enforcement officers. The LETSS training is designed to give officers the skills and mindset required to identify and handle critical situations in high-risk environments. Basic survival techniques taught include hallway and stairway movement, room entry, clearing techniques, subject control, and handgun skills. Other sessions include: mental and physical preparation, arrest planning, ballistic shield deployment, low light operations, and use of motor vehicles in arrest situations. Early this morning the end of the program was celebrated in the Capital.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A commencement exercise for a group of twenty-five officers from various branches of the Belize Police Department was held this morning in Belmopan.  The brief ceremony culminated a week of intense training for officers on the frontline.  As individuals they are tasked with confronting criminals, making arrests and surviving the rigors of the field.

Brent Curtis

Brent Curtis, Legal Attaché, Federal Bureau of Investigations

“The goal of the training is to take police officers and put them into scenarios that they are going to be in out in the streets, teach them the tactics that’ll help them survive and make it through and survive situations, shooting situations or violent subjects who are coming after them so that they can be more safe.”

Law Enforcement Tactical Survival, LETS, is one of several training opportunities afforded to the department by the United States Government.  The officers enrolled in the program are all members of the Quick Response Team.  Together they are learning how to stay alive in precarious situations that involve taking the bull by the horn.

Brent Curtis

“We’re doing the training three times.  This is the first time we’ve done it here in Belize.  There are about twenty-five students with us during this training and we’re going to be doing it two more times and each class is going to have about twenty-five students in it.”

Reporter

“What were the requirements or the criteria that you guys were looking at in terms of a pass for each of these officers?”

Brent Curtis

“Each of the police officers are officers that work on the street, they’re coming from all over Belize.  Our goal is that they be police officers that can go out and take the things that we are training them and teach it to other police officers.  So they are from a variety of different units, a variety of different places in Belize and the goal is just to spread it everywhere.”

In any hostile situation officers are expected to exercise restraint.  In the worst case scenario they are allowed to respond with lethal force.  Their training, despite the use of paintball guns loaded with non-lethal rounds, measures speed, accuracy, and their ability to overcome duress.

Brent Curtis

“They’ve done well in the training and we’ve thought them, like for example, the training over there, just entry, search warrant training, going into a house searching for bad guys, doing it in an orderly and safe manner.  We’ve taught them here traffic stops and how to handle armed subjects safely.  Over here we’re doing some training where they’re learning that if they are shot the fight isn’t over.  They have to fight through the pain and also learning the stress of a shootout and how to handle that stress and keep your mind working if you act accordingly and eliminate your threat. They’ve done well.”

Other officers, including those attached to the Mobile Interdiction Team, have received similar training.  Another training course begins in August. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.