Watch CBS News

BART Police Give Citizens Review Board A Taste Of Life On Patrol

OAKLAND (KCBS) - Training for the civilian board that reviews complaints against the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department will involve a taste of police life, BART officials said Thursday.

The two-day training course was designed as a citizen's police academy that mixes lectures on law and procedures with simulations of threatening scenarios, said Lt. Ed Alvarez.

KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:

"They're going to actually encounter a force simulator," Alvarez said.

The simulator forces individuals to consider, in a firsthand way, how they would handle a confrontation with a drunk or an armed suspect.

Part of the training will focus on Tasers and their use. Taser use by officers become a topic for discussion following the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant III in 2009. Former BART Officer Johannes Mehserle testified that when he fatally shot Grant on the Fruitvale platform, he believed he was reaching for his Taser and not a service revolver.

Alvarez said another component would cover the use of police dogs in searches and investigations.

The 11 members of the Citizen's Review Board established in response to the Grant shooting are appointed by the BART Board of Directors.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.