Roseville Police officers are benefiting from an officer's resourcefulness and the skills of a Fleet Maintenance mechanic. The Police Department needed a training simulator so officers could practice their interactions in and around vehicles. Together, the two department's rolled up their sleeves to create an answer to a big problem.
Their issue was that you can’t just drive a squad car into the middle of their training facility. So, Lt. Brian Lewis came up with a great idea - build a mobile, training car/simulator from scratch. He went to Fleet Maintenance with the vision of cutting up a wrecked car, obtained the funding, and commissioned the build of the training simulator.
After discussing the situation with the team members, Mechanic John Vega (PW) created a working solution; he set to work with his tools and started to dismantle a wrecked Ford Crown Victoria. He cut off the engine, the transmission, the trunk, the wheels, basically everything, leaving only the passenger compartment.
John Vega (PW) and Lt. Brian Lewis (RPD) stand in front of the simulator they designed and built.
With what was left, he built the new firearms training simulator - an exact working replica of the inside of a police vehicle. The new simulator’s frame sits on wheels so it can be moved throughout the facility.
“The Police wanted the simulator to be the same experience for an officer as when they are sitting in their real patrol units, entering and exiting, wearing all their gear,” John said. “The observing teams had to be able to look inside of the 'vehicle,' and it had to fit into their training facility.”
This training tool has the primary components an officer needs to simulate a pursuit and contact with an individual. This “vehicle” comes complete with a working radio, lights, seatbelt, and gun rack. It even sits at the exact ground-clearance height of a patrol vehicle.
All of these real-life components amplify the experience an officer will face when patrolling our City. The simulator is available for use by criminal justice students as well as local law enforcement partners.
“I have a lot of pride knowing that I was part of this,” John said, “I’m proud that I was able to build this for the PD, knowing that our officers are going to be safer because of this simulator.”
John standing next to one of the City vehicles that he and his Fleet Services team maintain.