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A 54 year old police academy recruit died while taking part in defensive tactic training exercises today. An investigation into the exact cause of death is being lead by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The recruit is a two year employee of the Walton County Sheriff’s Department and was attending DeKalb Technical College’s Law Enforcement Academy to gain certification to become a patrol officer.
Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Friday October 16 the recruit was engaged in a defensive tactic training exercise in which he is told to arrest a suspect who is resisting arrest. In the scenario the suspect is a DeKalb Tech Law Enforcement Academy instructor who is wearing what is called a “Red Man Suit”. It is a head-to-toe body suit of thick padding designed to protect the occupant during these training exercises. Instructors say it is common for a recruit to hold their breath as the excitement of the moment increases. The training recruit was told to breath while he was involved in the exercise. At that point, according to 6 other students and the instructor, the recruit passed out. 911 was immediately called and EMS instructors in another part of the building were called to assist. The Police Academy instructors initially performed CPR on the victim. Later CPR was taken over by EMT-I (Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate) students. The Law enforcement cadet was shocked with the AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) and regained consciousness. While in route to Newton Medical Center, the student lost consciousness, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is heading up the investigation into the cause of death along with the assistance of Covington Police and the DeKalb Tech Police Department. The recruit was part of a 19 person class in DeKalb Tech’s Law Enforcement Academy. This is the third class of recruits to enroll in the course since the academy opened in January of 2009. Beverly Thomas, the director of the DeKalb Tech Law Enforcement Academy says, “This is an extremely difficult situation. We are a close knit group of people, and today we lost a member of our family.”
DeKalb Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, promotes a student-centered environment for lifelong learning and development, encompassing academic and technical education for employment in a global community. The college has eight centers of learning in DeKalb, Newton, Rockdale, and Morgan counties. Established in 1961, DeKalb Technical College currently has more than 4,000 students enrolled in diploma or degree programs and more than 9,000 in adult education classes. Academic and Technical programs at DeKalb Tech cover more than 100 different occupations. For more information visit our website at www.dekalbtech.edu.
