In El Paso, Texas, local high school students are getting a firsthand look at the gritty realities and challenges faced by law enforcement officers. As part of the Mentoring Our Future program, El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte recently opened up the doors of the East Montana Patrol to these eager minds.
During a day spent with the SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team, the students were given a crash course in the high-stakes environment that deputies navigate daily. “Deputies from the East Montana Patrol, alongside our SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team, walked students through the training, teamwork, and split-second decision-making required during critical incidents,” El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte shared through a social media post. It’s an insight not commonly granted to the public, let alone students.
The program included live demonstrations where students observed how tactical responses are strategized and executed. But perhaps more crucially, they learned about the communication-based tactics that are employed to de-escalate life-threatening situations. These lessons seem timely, given the nation’s ongoing discourse on the role of law enforcement and the importance of crisis management skills…