June 22, 2016

For Immediate Release

By Joshua Williams, communications assistant

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - “A lot of them don't want to go home, they ask me if they can do another week,” Curtis Flaherty, director of Kentucky Law Enforcement Explorer Academy (KLEEA), said. About 60 explorers from six different states and 12 different police agencies participated in the program June 12-18 at Campbellsville University.

Explorers are young men and women from 14 to 20 years old who have an interest in law enforcement.

Part of KLEEA training consists of simulations, which include active shooting scenarios based on a real-life situation.

The simulation prepares young explorers for irrational acts and how to deal with them the best way possible, according to Det. Jim Clark, primary instructor at KLEEA.

 

Explorers of the Kentucky Law Enforcement Explorer Academy depicts movie theatre real-life shoot out simulation. (Campbellsville University Photo by Joshua Williams)

“This is a very real scenario,” Clark said. “It's not the first time that this has happened to this country, and it won't be the last time.”

Shootings are “something that we need to be cognitive of, aware of,” Flaherty said.

An active shooter can be a domestic terrorist, foreign terrorist, a mentally ill individual or a combination of these, Flaherty said.

He said sometimes there is no explanation for a shooter's behavior — the shooter could just be mentally ill.

The simulation illustrated to the explorers how to neutralize the threat so the paramedics and emergency medical technicians can do their job.

“Overall, explorers did really well,” Flaherty, said. “We tried to make it as real as possible. We used the simunition rounds, which are basically blanks.”

Makinsey Rogers from Louisville Metro Police Department Explorers is in shooting stance during a real- life shoot out Scenario. (Campbellsville University Photo by Joshua Williams)

The Kentucky Law Enforcement Explorer Academy was a weeklong program where explorers woke up at 6 a.m. for both intensive classroom instruction and practical training exercises. Practical training involved exercises like a non-emergency vehicle operation course, a burglary-in-progress simulation, defensive tactics, disturbance exercises and riot control.

“The explorers enjoy, and they get a lot out of their training. They are tired by the end of the week, but they go home with smiles in their faces,” Flaherty said.

This is the fourth consecutive year Campbellsville University has hosted the KLEEA.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 24 master's degrees, seven postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.