COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday his office will soon roll out a tool to give officers training that is as realistic as possible through technology.
It's a virtual reality headset just like the ones you see people using to explore different worlds and play games. But this is no game. It will put officers in high-intensity situations safely.
In the first virtual training session that will be offered, officers are called to the house of a man experiencing a mental health crisis on the anniversary of his young son's death.
It runs through different scenarios with very different outcomes.
One ends with the man being shot. The other ends peacefully with the man putting down his knife and agreeing to get help.
"Just like a fighter pilot, it puts you in a situation, but if you make a mistake, it's not lethal," Yost said.
Then a trainer debriefs on what went wrong and what went right.
This scenario is the first VR training course the attorney general's office will roll out in 2024.
"This is super exciting because it gets your adrenaline up," Yost said. "The confusion that can occur in the real world is present, the quick decision making, the short timelines."
The attorney general’s office says the Ohio General Assembly provided $40 million for each of the next two years for continuing professional training for 31,000 officers across Ohio. The virtual reality program is one part of that.
VR headsets will be sent to six regional sites to make the training convenient for officers.
"The best thing is it doesn't take these officers away from their families and out of their communities for a week or more at a time."
Six other virtual reality scenarios are in development and will be rolled out later. They will cover topics including domestic violence and school violence.