If this was real I would do ........

[Pick187]

One of the most frustrating thing I have found about RBT so far is hearing “in the real situation I would have done…..” I have seen an officer touch his lapel mic and then immediately remove it to get back to a two handed grip and kept talking like he was using the radio (just like what Ken wrote about in his book). When I pointed it out the officer just shrugged and gave me that in a real situation he wouldn’t do that. Another scenario the officer turned to me and said that if this was real he would use his taser and the situation would be over. I told him to simulate the taser and when he did I announced that only one probe hit and now the role player is even more pissed, now what?

Every time during briefings I tell the officer that I don’t want to hear them say they would do this or that if this was real. I tell them I want to see it instead of hear it, but it seems like it is constant. What to you guys do?

[Mully]

Maybe to eliminate that problem the students need to be given every available option they have on their belt at their disposal in training (i.e taser) and for the keying the mike, just play dispatch and continue to ask for their status and only answer when they hold down the button. Usually after about three or four status checks they get the hint.

[justken2u]

Hey Pick ... I hear this ALL the time. The "I woulda ..." syndrome is a tough one because they ACTUALLY believe they would!!! Belief systems are difficult to change. This is why I make sure that people have simulated versions of everything they would carry operationally. Use real radios. Make them transmit and receive. I make sure that role players use real identification. If the officer would typically carry a note pad and a pen, make them carry those things also. This accomplishes a couple of things. First, it eliminates the "I woulda ..." aspect. Second, if they are in the middle of writing something down and things break bad they now have to manage those items somehow. More often than not they will still have them in their hands at the end of the encounter. Strange but true. It's tough for them to say "I woulda dropped those things .. " when in reality they did not. Rather than get into an argument about it, I would respond with something such as "Well, that's great because in a fight you really need to have your hands free. So let's practice doing that now so that you can show me what you would ACTUALLY do." No fight ... no ego activation ... just effective experiential learning.

Keep up the great work.

Ken