Salman Ateequi carefully passed a SIG-Sauer handgun off to his classmate after he practiced aiming and balancing an empty bullet shell on the gun’s barrel by dry shooting the weapon.
With just three sessions of the Citizen’s Police Academy remaining, Ateequi says he knows a great deal about community policing.
The program is offered by the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety.
Students receive a certificate upon completion of the free, 11-week course, which is conducted through MSU’s Virtual University and meets once a week at the police department.
During Tuesday’s firearms safety class, Ateequi said the class was an enlightening experience after hearing about the precautions officers take when being confronted in threatening situations.
“There’s a lot more behind it than what you see on TV,” said Ateequi, who added that it was nerve racking handling the gun because he’s not comfortable with it yet.
Ateequi said he’s going to continue practicing to be able to handle guns properly, and Officer Paul Kuchek said practicing is necessary for officers to remain well-oriented with their guns in stressful situations.
“We try to make it muscle memory,” said Kuchek, adding that officers regularly dry fire their guns to achieve good trigger control balance.
Officers are most often killed within 10 feet of the criminal, so it’s important to make firing a gun like second nature, Kuchek said.
Officer Paul Schofield said that firing a gun is one of the most physical and mental stresses a human body can go through.
“Stress on the range is nothing like stress on the street,” Schofield said.
The officers said they go through phases of fear no matter what. “You can’t stop the (gun) wobble,” he said. “You can’t stop the gun from recoiling.”
Steady breathing is an important element to better help control the gun, Kuchek said.
“You just don’t stop breathing. Just be aware of your breathing,” he said.
Sam Howerton, a chemistry and environmental toxicology graduate student, said the academy is a good way for students to decide if they want a pursue a career in criminal justice.
Howerton plans to handle lab investigations with a federal government agency, but wants to be well-rounded in the criminal justice field.
“Actually handling the weapon and to feel its weight was interesting,” Howerton said.
“We treat guns like toys a lot, and I was trying to remember even with an unloaded chamber that it was a dangerous weapon.”
