The most severe portions of the training appear to have no relationship to preparing officers for any real-world tasks they will perform:
According to interview respondents, many of the academy’s trainers rely overwhelmingly on “violent”, “brutal”, “traumatizing” practices designed to “manufacture soldiers” rather than produce community-driven law enforcement professionals adept at de-escalation. Trainers place cadets in dangerous, demoralizing, and inhumane exercises with “zero regard for the health and safety of cadets.” Multiple cadets stated that they and their colleagues had been screamed at or punished for checking on one another or drinking water during intense physical drills, which last for hours in sweltering summer heat. Multiple cadets confirmed that they were deprived of water during extended physical drills in extreme heat. Data provided by APD confirms that a troubling number of cadets were treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration during the academy. Multiple cadets expressed that even though they hydrated heavily at home, as advised by APD training staff during orientation, it was impossible to avoid dehydration when training staff refused to allow them water during these extended physical drills. Cadets could not identify a plausible real-world scenario during which they would be deprived of access to water in extreme heat for extended periods of time. Multiple cadets expressed that this deprivation was rooted in nothing more than cruelty and had no basis in the reality faced by police officers. Some narratives, corroborated by multiple respondents, are simply too violent to understand how they were ever allowed to occur, including many cadets being forced to resign or risk serious injury in the face of seemingly endless “hazing” and “abuse.”
Interviews revealed that cadets were subjected to so-called "smoking sessions," which are:
unscripted, unscheduled physical and psychological stress drills that instructors instigate without notice. According to multiple interviews, these smoking sessions are often used as collective punishment for individual violations, though their use is just as frequently unexplainable. Some respondents indicated that Training division staff seemed to enjoy putting cadets through the stress drills, which often go on for hours during the summer heat. Multiple respondents claimed that cadets are refused water during these stress drills, that instructors punish cadets for looking at one another (even if checking the condition of fellow cadets), and that medical staff are not posted close enough to the cadets to assess symptoms of dehydration or heat stroke. Multiple respondents witnessed instructors refuse water and fail to render aid to cadets who were visibly suffering symptoms of dehydration. It is well do ented that these practices resulted in multiple serious injuries to cadets.
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cops can't handle basic training
