A STOPS candidate (foreground) gets into a “firefight” with the “bad guy” under the supervision of the STOPS instructor (background).. Photo and story by Dennis Weaver
Manchester Police hosted a Strategies & Tactics Of a Patrol Stop (STOPS) training class last week which attracted police officers from all over the state. Nineteen police officers, from as far away as Germantown, attended the 40 hour class which certified them as instructors for their individual departments of the effective strategies to safely handle potential deadly traffic stops. The class, developed by the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, featured a classroom component that concluded with an exam. WMSR News spent time with Manchester Police training Officer Sgt Chris Patterson as he explained the tactical field exercises that we were invited to attend. During the tactical exercise, Manchester Police officers served as “bad guys” as they enacted a variety of live scenarios (with aerosol weapons) under the supervision and direction of the course instructors.
Manchester assistant Police Chief Adam Floied exits the vehicle with weapon drawn as a “bad guy” during a STOPS tactical scenario.. Photo by Dennis Weaver
The “bad guys” mimicked various aggressive behaviors that the class attendees were forced into the reaction. At the end of each scenario, the instructor evaluated the officer’s performance. According to Sgt. Patterson, 4 Manchester Police officers were certified alone with 2 Coffee County sheriff’s deputies. From the MPD; Brian Eldridge, Derek Jones, Fred Lee along with Sgt. Patterson attended the training. For the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Deputies Daniel Ray and Brandon Reed were trained.
