KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Being a police officer is a lot of mental and physical work, which is why entrant officers at the Kansas City Regional Police Academy go through a lot of physical training.
KSHB 41 News is following the 174th Entrant Officer Class through the entire seven-month training.
Thursday's training was focused partly on physical training and defensive tactics.
Sgt. Jason Gammill said entrant officers will get 180 hours of physical training during their time in the academy. The training is crucial for preparing them for the job.
"You want to be in top shape, we are kind of like athletes you know, we may have to go chase down a suspect who just shot somebody and it turns into a 200-yard sprint,"Gammill said.
While some entrant officers are former athletes or military, others may never have done much fitness in their life.
"We start everybody at the same level, we talk to them about nutrition, how to take care of yourself, how not necessarily going through the drive-through window, meal prep, and all the way up to physical training and how to train and how to work out," Gammill said.
For Kansas City native and lifelong athlete Kaile Sipple, the training pushes her outside of her comfort zone.
"It challenges me and that's what I love," Sipple said.
Sipple said law enforcement runs in her family, so she's always wanted to be a police officer. She loves that she's constantly learning new things about the job.
"I'm honestly very intrigued with what I am still learning and what I will learn throughout my career hopefully if I graduate," Sipple said.
Part of the beginning stages of training focuses on defensive tactics such as what to do if a suspect resists arrest.
During week three of training, entrant officers are focusing on the arm bar takedown, which is a series of moves to take down a suspect with the least amount of force.
During training, entrant officers can be heard yelling "down" several times while doing the technique.
Gammill said it's important to communicate to a suspect resisting arrest what they need to do.
"We just can't assume that they know why, other than being under arrest, what we want them to do," Gammill said.
As the weeks go on, the class will learn more advanced techniques.
For Obediah Church, the hard work will all pay off when he reaches his lifelong dream of serving his community.
"I love it, the training is awesome, the Kansas City Academy is one of the best in the nation, they really prepare the officers before they get to the streets," Church said.
