Sarah Bloom tries Chesterfield Police simulator - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

In just a month's time, Chesterfield Police have responded to two calls, where an officer was forced to fire at an armed suspect. Twice, they've drawn weapons this week - once Monday night when a man was shot and killed.

NBC12 wanted to learn a little more about how police make these decisions, so Sarah Bloom stopped by the station to try out the training simulator.

The simulation room enables the Chesterfield Police to practice scenarios they might run into in the field, including those that might involve lethal force. That way, the officers can come in and use laser guns to practice the scenarios - getting it right before they're facing a real problem in the field with real consequences.

"Decisions on use of force are made in split seconds," explained Cpt. David Stone, Director of Training. "So we need to be trained to be able to make those types of decisions in split seconds."

Officers will train in the room several times throughout their careers.

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