Jenks Officers Keep Driving Skills Sharp With Intense Training

For the next two weeks, the Jenks Police Department will undergo intense training geared specifically toward what it needs.

While a city like Tulsa deals with gangs and homicides regularly, Jenks is different, and in the last few years, the Jenks police chief has tweaked training. Tuesday it was driving.

“Our job is to stay with him and maintain sight so our chopper or other units know where the individual is going,” said Corporal Aaron McNulty. “You always have to be ready to stop.”

It's a task that's sometimes easier said than done, especially when you're chasing a suspect at speeds around 80 miles per hour.

But Tuesday was training, and stopping is the exact opposite of what McNulty did when he approached the curves.

“This is an easier curve. You can pick up some pretty good speed in this area,” he said. “When we come up to a curve we're gonna break before, because you can't break in a curve at high speeds so you break before, and you notice we're still on him here.”

In Jenks, officers are driving six to eight hours a day, so they better know what they're doing.

The vehicles they use for patrol units in Jenks have changed over the years; many are SUVs now, so officers need to know how SUVs of vehicles operate in emergency situations.

“When you go from one car to another and you're not ready for how the car is gonna pull, if you go around a corner you're gonna end up somewhere you don't want to be,” said Corporal Brian Crain.

Chief Cameron Ash said, “We drive every day yet the only training we are required to have is from the academy 15 or 20 years ago, but since then cars have changed.”

The department offers behind the wheel training every year to keep officers sharp.

“Not only do we have a civil liability if officers are not trained, but we've had officers sent to prison and charged for criminal acts in relation to their driving,” Ash said.

Jenks officers will also have training on sex assault and child abuse, domestic violence, and courtroom testimony; more of the cases they see in their jurisdiction.

Also, the training isn't costing tax payers anything extra.

Ash said the training saves on overtime, and things like hotel stays or airfare. He said it's just a more creative use of money and it keeps the department as a whole while training together.