DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY_dewayne@mcnews.online
MOUNT IDA – A group of seven new jailers from Montgomery and Pike Counties capped off a week of training spanning 56 hours and included OC Spray training.
The week-long training session covered a wide range of topics designed to prepare one for working in a county jail environment.
The course was taught by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Telecommunications Administrator Kary Stovall. All detention officers must complete the Law Enforcement Standards Jail Standards Training Course within their first year of employment.
Four jailers from Montgomery County participated. They were Stanley Wagner, Jacqueline Hamilton, Timothy Conner and Lucian Sorrell.
Sam Ackley, Ann Lamb and Eric Hartley, all from Pike County, also participated in the course.
The course is comprised of 11 classes which range from fingerprinting to OC Spray training.
The course opens with orientation, ethics and professionalism. That is followed by courses in jail standards and occupational stress. They also learn how to write reports and properly complete jail documents.
Jailers also learn about basic constitutional rights of an inmate, as well as how to properly identify patients with special needs.
They are also trained in proper conduct in a courtroom and how to deliver testimony. They are taught how to conduct a proper cell or area search.
They undergo an eight hour defensive tactics course where they learn proper techniques of effecting a physical arrest. They also learn safe methods of searching a person to identify possible harmful items. They learn how to disarm a suspect, wrist control and handcuffing techniques. They also learn the proper use of force protocols.
Trainees learn CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator.
They are taught communication skills, escape prevention, fingerprinting, and prisoner transport. They are taught the common causes of in-custody death and shown ways to avoid them.
They learn how to prevent civil rights violations in a detention and corrections setting. They learn ow to handle non-compliant detainees and inmates.
One of the final classes is OC Spray training. Trainees are faced with a simulated training exercise where they are sprayed in the face with OC, or Olearesin Capsicum, spray. They have to subdue a suspect and handcuff another before call ing for back up.
A group of fellow employees gathered to offer support for the OC Spray training. Members of SouthWest EMS were also on-hand to provide medical assistance if needed.
All seven jailers completed the training.
