CITIZEN POLICE ACADEMY LIFT THE VEIL ON SHERIFF’S OFFICE OPERATIONS

I shot two people a few weeks ago in Marathon. I also ticketed the city manager for speeding, visited Plantation Key Jail, and was one of a dozen people gathered around the county SWAT vehicle like it was an ice cream truck by a hot summer night.

Three groups — more than 50 people total, in Key West, Marathon and Islamorada — spent one night a week for two months at the ninth Citizen's Police Academy, a behind-the-scenes look at how the Monroe County Sheriff's Office works. The annual sessions cover most aspects of police work in the Keys, from training to traffic stops to explosive ordnance disposal.

“When most people think 'police,' they think 'tickets and donuts,'” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said. “We are in the air medical sector. We are in 911 dispatch centers. We are in prison. We are in patrol divisions. We investigate every crime, homicide, narcotics. We have motorcycle traffic monitors and marine patrol units. We do SWAT, diving, field training. We have an extensive training division.

Most of them are exhibited during the academy's seven weekly sessions. Prison officers; members of the SWAT, dive, K-9 and bomb squads; crime scene investigators and others take turns describing what they are doing.

“I have always been deeply curious about how police officers leave their homes every day, regularly face life-threatening challenges and yet return to their families, leaving behind their duties and responsibilities,” said Jesús Parra, the one of the participants. class at Marathon.

Classes follow a schedule, but an individual session may last longer or shorter than the allotted three hours. The specialty teams unit – SWAT, K9, bomb squad and dive team – spent nearly four hours in Marathon. No one seemed to pay attention.

“We’re trying to get our hands dirty,” Ramsay said. “We want to make it fun and not boring.”

It worked for Parra, a real estate professional in Marathon.

“I was amazed at how interactive and fun each instructor made the classes each week,” he said.

Most sessions begin in a meeting room, but it's not just about sitting and listening. You will see how much equipment is stored in a patrol car. Enter the prison. Take your fingerprints.

Week three is when you'll probably “shoot” someone. While you're playing the role of an officer, someone trying to break into a building will raise a crowbar and charge at you. You may also come across a couple camping, bickering in their tent. When you lead them out of the tent, the man approaches you holding a pipe wrench in the air. (The first attacker was using the crowbar to break down a door; there's no explanation for a pipe wrench in a tent, but you don't really have time to think about it – it's there point.)

In both cases, the advisor who accompanies you throughout the exercise explains to you that weapons are deadly threats – a crowbar or pipe wrench could kill you – and that shooting your weapon is a appropriate response. The handgun you're holding is designed to have the same weight and feel as the Glocks used by the sheriff's office, but it shoots soap at the attackers, who are covered in protective gear. (Also, the pipe wrench is made of rubber, but you don't find that out until afterwards.)

A later lesson shows how to search a building. Once the instructors have explained – and demonstrated – an approach when you don't know where everyone is, it's your turn. What do you do with the man hiding in this corner whose hands you can't see? Oh, and did you notice the leg sticking out of the ceiling? You have to watch everywhere.

The traffic stop course, led by Andrew Leird, took on added impact a few days later, on May 7, when he was injured on duty. He is the second police officer to be injured during a traffic stop in a month; Julian Garcia was injured in an accident on April 9. Both were released from the hospital in mid-May, but both are still recovering.

Each participant must take a tour in the company of an officer. One Saturday afternoon, Sgt. Joshua Brady shows the amount of information each officer has through a laptop: criminal history, driving and registration records, live maps showing where each officer is at any time. Automated license plate readers notify officers of stolen or wanted vehicles or those with expired registrations.

License plate readers alert an oncoming vehicle with an expired registration. Brady arrests Marathon resident. She told Brady that she had tried to make an insurance payment on his phone, but it didn't go through – and that she was driving to a phone repair company when Brady stopped.

He can issue him a ticket, or give him a verbal or written warning. Typically, he explained, he will issue a written warning because it creates a record, which can increase penalties for subsequent violations.

“She cannot (say) that she was not aware of this fact,” he said after issuing the warning.

If the class that features simulated weapons is fun, the final session on specialized units can rival it. You'll hear from a member of the dive team, get a close look at the SWAT vehicle, meet the two K-9s and their handlers. And then there's the bomb squad.

Sgt. Tom Hill leans on the team's robot as he speaks, explaining the nature of the unit's calls, the training involved and the range of equipment found.

“I like blowing things up,” he says. “It’s one of the advantages of the job.”

He is asking for a volunteer to try on the protective equipment the team members are wearing. Nayeli Olavarrieta happily says yes and Hill helps her put on the gear – all 100 pounds of it.

Many calls involve old military explosives, as much of the Keys has been connected to the military over the years.

“The most common dangerous thing we face is commercial-grade fireworks,” Hill said.

At the end of the academy, Olavarrieta and others said they appreciated the opportunity to see behind the scenes of the sheriff's office.

“I joined the Citizen’s Police Academy because I always wanted to become a police officer,” said Olavarrieta, who added that the experience made her more confident in MCSO operations. “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this year’s class and see how our Sheriff’s Department works to keep our community safe.”