Chattanooga police cadets train in different ways: they improve their aim at the firing range, endure obstacle courses, and maneuver through driving courses.
Also, they go out into the community and get to know the people they’ll be protecting--in particular, underserved, minority and LGBTQ communities.
It’s called the Cadet Community Immersion Project.
"They're deliberately engaging one another," Chief David Roddy says about the projects, "and they're getting comfortable and trusting one another. That's the exact goal of all of it."
WUTC attended a public event at the Camp House in January of 2018 where cadets gave presentations about what they'd learned.
A new class of cadets is preparing to graduate in August, and they'll be giving presentations at the Camp House on July 19, 2018, starting at 4:15 p.m.
FROM A MEDIA RELEASE:
WHO: Chief of Police David Roddy and the 2018-2 Cadet Class cordially invite you to attend the Community Immersion Project presentation.
WHAT: Cadets have spent over 50 hours (the equivalent of an entire college semester course) interviewing community members, compiling video, and gathering off-camera comments with community leaders and community members.
WHY: The Chattanooga Police Department developed the Community Immersion Project in response to community expectations of a more organic, dynamic and unfiltered method of learning about our community. The project is designed to immerse future police officers in specific Chattanooga cultures, to learn directly from the community about that culture and then to teach us – the community and each other – about that specific culture in Chattanooga.
WHERE: The Camp House located at 149 E. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Chattanooga
WHEN: The Cadets will be presenting their findings and lessons learned at a community meeting July 19, 2018, beginning at 4:15 p.m.
4:15 - Welcome/Introduction
4:40 – 5:10 Intellectually & Developmentally Disabled & Mental Health Consumers Community
5:20 – 5:50 Hispanic & Muslim Communities
6:00 – 6:30 African American Community