KENOSHA, Wis. — The Kenosha Police Department finally has a training center of its own.
Kenosha Police officers participated in a variety of training exercises on Wednesday at the RISE (Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence) Center.
It’s located in the old Kenosha Fire Department Station No. 5 at the corner of 22nd Avenue and Washington Road.
The center includes a first-floor classroom, a replicated sally port area and a hands-on training station upstairs.
Officers spend the majority of their time practicing safe, effective take-down maneuvers on a matted floor and demonstrating the department’s new virtual reality equipment.
“They’re getting more training in that first six months here, hands on training using this facility, than I got in my first 10-plus years here,” Kenosha Police Training Officer Jason Tetrick said.
The virtual reality equipment allows officers to train in real-life situations.
“That environment and the different scenarios allows us to create places that mimic what we see out in the real world,” Tetrick said. “Then we can escalate things all the way up from a where it’s just a conversation with somebody to officers responding to a school shooter.”
Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton said his department has outgrown its current location at the Kenosha County Public Safety Building, 1000 55th Street.
The goal is to eventually have a central-located Kenosha Police station with a built-in training center.
“This was letting us address the demand that the public has wanted for us to be better trained,” Patton said. “They want better officers on the street. This is the only way we can give it to them.”
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