SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Sioux Falls Police Department has started a program to increase the driving skills of all its officers. Over the next year, all officers will undergo specialized training behind the wheel of a police cruiser.
The driving course at the new public safety campus covers about 14 acres. Officers will start by learning the basics: how to properly stop, turn, and accelerate. Weeks from now, their training will progress to more advanced techniques.
“This facility has been a game changer in the way that we teach cops to be good cops,” said Lt. Nick Butler.
Before this driving course was built, officers trained behind the wheel at the fairgrounds or Yankton Trail Park. The course has all sorts of features to simulate what officers encounter every day: railroad tracks, severe dips, curbing, plenty of tight turns, and even a skid pad that feels like driving on ice. It gives officers a wide range of challenges.
“It simulates the whole city feel and gives officers the opportunity to get more familiar with their vehicles, what they can do within that environment,” said Butler.
The department is undergoing a program to run every officer through an advanced training course that ends with the pit maneuver. Here’s an example of a pit maneuver in Oklahoma City: The officer pushes the back of the car and causes it to spin out.
Sgt Matt Walker is one of the training officers. He says having a dedicated driving course means officers can train at the higher speeds they are likely to encounter in a real situation.
“We don’t have to go close down Yankton Trail Park anymore and affect citizens’ lives and their day-to-day activities or go out the fairgrounds, close the fairgrounds parking lot down . Its safer for us safer for the citizens its amazing to have this out here,” said Walker.
It will take about a year to train almost 300 officers in the Sioux Falls Police Department to the highest level. The public safety campus is located off 60th North and spans 42 acres.
It opened last year, and serves as a hub for law enforcement, fire rescue and emergency services to train and operate.
