Citizens Police Academy Offers Inside Look At Officers’ Lives

Every police officer knows the anxiety of walking up to the driver of a vehicle they’ve just pulled over.

Who is in the car? How many people? Are there weapons? What else besides speeding, erratic driving or whatever prompted the stop might be involved?

Those of us not in law enforcement seldom think about that.

Toni Simonetti never did. Until she herself simulated a traffic stop.

It was in the safety of the Westport Police Department parking lot. There was an officer in the car, pretending to be a driver.

Still, it was a nerve-wracking experience. Many emotions swirled through Toni’s head.

Even a simulated motor vehicle stop in the Police Department parking lot can be scary.

The simulation was one small part of the WPD’s annual Citizens Police Academy.

For 8 weeks, 25 to 30 residents get an up-close, and very personal, look into all aspects of the profession.

They learn about special units like K-9, marine and drone; weapons; what happens at each step of the criminal justice system, and much more. They ride with a patrol officer.

And they get a chance to “stop” a vehicle, and feel what it’s like to approach the unknown driver inside.

The 2024 Citizens Police Academy class, with certificates. This year’s session included 3 Representative Towne Meeting members.

Simonetti is a 24-year resident of Westport. After retiring in 2015 from a long career in media relations, she has been busy with activities like gardening, cooking and bridge.

When she heard about the Citizens Police Academy, she was intrigued. She’d always been a fan of the WPD — “we’re lucky to have such a well-resourced and professional force,” she thought — but her only interactions had been getting a yearly railroad parking permit at the station, and disagreeing with Chief Foti Koskinas’ plan to restrict access to the Westport Community Gardens during school hours.

Besides, she says, “I’m a nosy journalist. I like to know how things work.”

That’s the whole idea of the Citizens Police Academy. It’s thorough, intense, and very educational.

The course includes an overview from Koskinas on his role as chief; a tour of headquarters; the legal provisions governing “probable cause” for questioning; recruitment, selection and training of officers; criminal investigations, including white collar crime; domestic violence; crime scenes, and the WPD’s relationships with the Westport Public Schools and Human Services Department.

Attendees also receive Stop the Bleed training, which Simonetti calls “not for the squeamish.” There is an option too for 1 hour of weapons training.

Each 2 1/2-hour class is packed with information.

The syllabus was straightforward. But, Simonetti says, “I never anticipated how much the topics would come alive in the classroom. There’s nothing like hearing officers tell their stories, and give descriptions of how they work.”

It was “transformative,” she says, to “understand police work as a whole, and the individual thought processes behind it.”

The session on motor vehicle stops, for example, “takes your breath away.” The potential dangers came alive.

When it was time to attempt her first stop — in the WPD parking lot — there was so much to think about: where to stand, how to use her flashlight, what to look for, what to say (and not say), all while considering her own safety.

The ride-along was also eye-opening. She was impressed with the technology inside a patrol car. The amount of data that pops up on a license plate reader was particularly surprising.

She had been skeptical of the need to know the demographic data recorded with each stop. However, she learned, information on who gets stopped, why and where can reveal important patterns of behavior.

The K-9 class was especially memorable. Students met the dogs — one is a bomb sniffer; all 3 can track people and drugs — and learned that their handlers take them home each night.

At the end of the academy, attendees donated money to the K-9 unit. (They also bought lunch and dinner for the entire department.)

K-9 class, at the Westport Citizens Police Academy. (All photos courtesy of Lt. Jillian Cabana)

After 8 weeks, Simonetti is “even more appreciative of the work the police do, the risks they take to protect us, and what great people the men and women in uniform are.”

Now, when she sees a patrol car parked in the Ulta lot, she realizes it’s because the beauty salon company is a frequent target of thieves.

When a police car passes at a normal speed, its red and blue lights on, she knows the reason: visibility is important, for both good guys and bad actors.

And when an officer races by at high speed, siren blaring, she wonders who it is, where they’re going — and what will happen when he or she arrives.

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