Two newest recruits for Corvallis police learn safety at state academy

SALEM - Sweat dripped from the faces of 16 police recruits on the exercise mat.

"Get back! Get back!" they yelled, executing jabbing kicks.

All fell to the ground on command, hands up to deflect blows, heads curled off the ground. Then they rolled swiftly back to their feet, ready to fight.

For the 15 men and one woman enrolled at the Oregon Police Academy here, the exercise was the beginning of learning defensive tactics, part of a new 16-week course that every new police officer in Oregon must complete.

Two of the recruits in the class will be serving on the Corvallis police force when they graduate. John Davis and Jihesheia Hull were sworn in by Corvallis Police Chief Gary Boldizar on Aug. 22.

Two other new officers, Michael Pyburn and Kirsten Zulyevic, are coming to Corvallis from police departments in other cities so they aren't required to go through the academy again. When one more recruit arrives at the end of December, the department will finally have a full roster of 56 sworn officers.

Davis and Hull are no strangers to tough training. Both were in the military and went through boot camp, Davis in the Air Force and Hull in the Navy. But this is quite different, they said.

"Boot camp was push-ups, pull-ups and running," Hull said during a break. "These drills are designed to keep us safe and alive as police officers."

The techniques they learn are much more detailed than what is required to simply make them physically fit. The instructors have analyzed how officers stand and move, where they look in situations of physical threat, even how they get out of their patrol cars, ready for anything.

"It's about strengthening the groups of muscles, the ones you use most, keeping your balance," Davis said. "You can bench press 400 pounds, but someone can still knock you over."

The academy began its new course of training in January, extending it from 10 to 16 weeks. At 10 weeks the training was only one week longer than the shortest police academy in the country, in Mississippi. Now Oregon is still below the national average of 22 weeks, according to academy officials.

In addition to being longer, the new course incorporates a new philosophy.

No longer are officers taught a by-the-numbers response to situations they will face. Training director Cameron Campbell used an unusual word to describe what recruits need - "creativity."

"They need to be creative problem-solvers," Campbell said. "Not dealing with things in a black-and-white robotic way."

In week one, recruits learn procedural law, ethics and civil liability. As the weeks progress, training moves from the classroom to the firing range, driving course and into using scenarios where recruits must integrate what they've learned. Volunteers play the parts of witnesses and criminals.

Davis said the biggest surprise for him in training was the focus on the individual. In the military, it's all about teamwork.

Although police officers have to work together, most often when they first respond to a call for service, they will be alone.

"The individual officer carries a bigger responsibility," Davis said.

The Corvallis Police Department pays Davis' and Hull's salaries while they are in training. The cost of the training itself - including instructors, ammunition, uniforms, meals and lodging, which averages about $25,000 per trainee - is paid for by the state.

The funds come out of revenue the state gets from criminal fines and assessments, mostly from traffic tickets, according to the training division's Deputy Director Eriks Gabliks.

Next, Davis and Hull will learn about criminal investigations, followed by more defensive tactics and confrontational simulations.

Is the training tough?

"Yes," Hull said, with a grin.