Once a passenger in a car when the driver was stopped by police for a traffic offense, Warren Township High School sophomore Rocco Mireles has a different view of such situations after spending four days at in the Waukegan Police Department’s Youth Citizen Police Academy.
As part of their training, the teens were in a simulated traffic stop where they took the role of an officer, and a member of the police force was the offending driver. There was no actual driving. The student was given a set of facts. The officer sat in a vehicle and interacted with the youngster.
Sgt. Alejos Villalobos, who did much of the teaching over the four days, said the first simulation was rather routine and free of complications. The second mock stop had difficult conditions where quick decision-making was necessary. Mireles now has a deeper understanding of the process.
“Even though it can be for a little thing, the police officer still has to do their job,” Mireles said. “No matter what they do, you cannot show aggression,” he added, referring to necessary police behavior.
Mireles was one of nine area high school students participating in the four-day Waukegan Police Department’s Youth Citizen Police Academy at both the police station and other Waukegan locations, learning elements of law enforcement.
Started nine years ago, Villalobos said traffic stops were only one of the things students learned and experienced. They were exposed to patrol, detective work, the major crimes unit and the drug and gang unit. There was also a mock trial where officers became witnesses.
Since police are often the first people on the scene of a situation, the students also learned what to do before paramedics arrive if it is necessary to save a life. They were taught how to give CPR to both adults and a baby, as well as how to apply a tourniquet to stop heavy bleeding.
“It was a very full four days,” Villalobos said. “They learned about leadership because this is a job where you step up and do something. They learn there are situations you can control, and some things you can’t control.”
When it was Mya Villarreal’s turn to conduct a traffic stop, she said she was “a little nervous” at first. She stood next to a police car with lights flashing and approached a vehicle in front of it, not knowing what to expect.
“It was stressful because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Villarreal, a freshman at Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep in Waukegan, said. “When I did it again, I was more comfortable.”
Proper use of a gun and firearm safety was also on the agenda. Villalobos said the students used training guns with paintballs substituting for bullets. Both Mireles and Villarreal have a new appreciation of firearms.
“We learned how to hold a gun,” Villarreal said. “It’s heavy, so it was difficult to hold. We learned how to hold it, load the magazine and how to lower it.”
Learning about the work of police detectives, Mireles said he was impressed. He has an appreciation of the detailed work they do to develop a case and determine who may have committed a particular crime.
“There are so many little steps in the process of gathering evidence,” Mireles said.
George Amorella, a sophomore at Northridge Preparatory School in Niles and a Waukegan resident, said he decided to go to the academy to get a closer look at law enforcement. He hopes to be either a lawyer or a police officer one day.
“It was cool to learn about all these things they do,” Amorella said. “Learning about patrol was cool. You get to see all the things they do.”
Walt Amorella, a Northridge junior and George Amorella’s brother, said he was fascinated by how the police will reconstruct a traffic crash scene to know precisely what happened and to use the model as evidence in court.
“It’s cool to see how they take what happened at a crash and its aftermath and can reconstruct the whole thing,” Walt Amorella said.
