University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Visits Richmond Police Training Academy
07/13/2015 | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. - The student-athletes and coaching staff of the Richmond men's basketball team visited the City of Richmond Police Training Academy last week.
The opportunity came about through the relationship with the University of Richmond Chief of Police Dave McCoy and members of the training academy.
"We wanted to give our student-athletes, and generally students at large, an opportunity to be involved in our wider community in Richmond," McCoy said. "We were able to share what it's like to be in different situations from a police perspective, and allow our student-athletes to make decisions on their own."
During the two-hour session, players and staff were briefed and directed through training scenarios that the City of Richmond P.D. uses to test decisive communication and proper decision-making in stressful circumstances.
In the simulator, participants gave verbal instructions and were forced to react to changing responses, deciding whether they would use force. Members of the academy then debriefed each group on their approaches to the circumstances and consequences of each decision.
City of Richmond Deputy Chief of Police Eric English was also on hand to speak to the team and provide instruction during the simulations. English '89 is a former Richmond basketball standout who played on the 1988 NCAA Sweet Sixteen squad.
"I think the basketball team did a great job," McCoy said. "They were clear with their communications, very decisive and worked well with each other. I think this opportunity will help them establish a wider empathy for the police force in their lives on campus, and help them with decision-making on the basketball court."
