GREENWOOD, Ind. — If you've ever used a virtual reality headset, you know how "real" they feel.
That immersive experience is now being used to train police officers in Greenwood.
And it's not just virtual target practice. Officers are learning de-escalation techniques and empathy, too.
What looks like a video game is actually a serious training tool for police. It's a tool for real-life scenarios through virtual reality.
"And this literally makes you feel like you're in that room," said Matthew Fillenwarth, Greenwood Police Department assistant chief. "You're in that environment."
Greenwood PD just bought four VR headsets for the department. The cost is $19,000 upfront, $23,000 a year for the software. They're the first in Johnson County and one of nine agencies statewide using this technology.
It uses exact replicas of their tasers and guns to supplement what's done on the firing range. Police say it will save on ammo costs. And it feels very real. It's an interactive environment and moving targets, all meant to improve response time and accuracy. Plus, officers get scenarios to help better decide when to use a weapon and how to de-escalate danger on the job.
"And get them to learn, like, 'I don't have to do that. I can calm down. If I calm down I can bring calm to the situation,'" Fillenwarth said.
And the tech scenarios teach empathy, too, including encounters with mental illness. That includes someone with schizophrenia, for example. Through the headset, they can experience the encounter as an officer, but then as the person in crisis, too.
"It's a big focus on understanding our job from a citizens' point of view," said Fillenwarth.
It's a new virtual approach to training that police hope will lead to real-life impacts.
"It's going to prepare them so much better for the realities of this job because they are going to be in situations like that," Fillenwarth said.