Page 10 - Ft. Huachuca Scout 6-12-15

10A The Scout FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015

Fort police officer training teaches a
are] able to prevent it in the future, how we prevent it in the future, and is this a train-
Story and photos by Natalie Lakosil ing issue or a safety issue,” Hadfield said. “There are times when we discover things
Staff Writer that are actual defects with the vehicle, and we make the motor vehicle companies
aware … they have a problem with one of their products.”
Fort Huachuca police officers completed training this week to help improve their
investigation skills during traffic accidents. “It’s important and it’s a very attention-to-detail-driven investigation, very through,

The seven civilian and military officers trained inside the classroom as well as Spc. David Heredia, 18th Military Police Detachment, works out the formula to deduce the speed of a
conducted fieldwork at the Sierra Vista Police Department impound lot and at vari- that left skid marks on the road. The vehicle was estimated to be traveling approximately 10 miles p
ous locations on Fort Huachuca. over the marked speed limit when it braked.

Lt. Scott Hadfield, traffic section, Directorate of Emergency Services, said the tier-
two training was important because of the accidents the officers are called to. “We
have a lot of collisions, serious injury accidents and fatalities, and it’s important that
we get it right because the Families are looking for closure and the courts and insur-
ance companies want to make sure that they have a good, accurate report,” Hadfield
said.

The two-week course is the next step in the officer’s Traffic Accident Investiga-
tion Course. They completed the first TAI tier-one course a few months prior. This
is the first time the training is being offered at Fort Huachuca.

Lewis Baker, adjunct instructor at Northwestern University, led the training that
took place from June 1 through today. Northwestern was contracted by the military
to present various levels of accident investigation to the military and military police,
Baker said.

“At this level of your education, this is where you’re going to start formulating
opinions by reading vehicle damage,” Baker said to the group. “It tells you a story;
you’re the interpreter and you’re the ones who are supposed to read what you see.”

Traffic accident investigators are able to conclude the vehicle’s speed, position,
number of occupants and location just by putting the pieces of the accident together.
“Training is extremely important because the car tells us what we need to know,”
Baker added.

“With this type of training we are able to know what led to the accident, [if we

Fort Huachuca police officers measure tire marks previously left on the road during a training session. By measuring the marks, officers are able to conclude how fast the vehicle was traveling
braked.