Taskforce Santa: How Atoka PD Uses VirTra to Serve Its Community

At VirTra, we believe nothing should stand in the way of a future with safer communities. That's why we launched Taskforce Santa - a giveaway contest to provide police agencies in need of improved training with state-of-the-art simulator tools. Last year, we gifted a V-100 training simulator to Atoka PD - a small police department based outside of Memphis, Tennessee. Our team caught up with Atoka's training coordinator, Sergeant Chris Covarrubias, to learn more about the impact of the VirTra training simulator on his police force and community.

When Atoka PD applied for the Taskforce Santa, it needed a new tool to confidently train officers, collaborate with other departments, and positively engage with their community. VirTra's V-100 ensures Atoka PD is well on its way to reaching these goals.

The agency is a relatively small team, with 5 active officers on 3 shifts. The community they serve experiences relatively low levels of violent crime, but with crime rates rising in nearby communities, Chris's says his mission is to stay vigilant and improve their force's preparedness.

While there are 40 years of experience between me and my two sergeants, our patrol officers have only about 5 each. We all run scenarios in the simulator but those patrol officers see the most benefit. It's a really good way to get them the exposure they need.

We're benefiting from the training because we're not losing bodies due to lack of exposure. We had an officer leave because they didn't feel like they didn't have enough experience and come back because of the new training," Chris said.

The next step for Atoka PD? Chris says they plan on expanding their use of the V-100 to assist them with connecting with their community. By publicly demonstrating training methods within simulator scenarios, Atoka PD hopes to improve trust with community stakeholders and offer better transparency for their agency.

Additionally, the team will lean heavily on the simulator's de-escalation and mental health crisis scenarios for their CIT trainings. With a youth mental health crisis in full force nationwide, Atoka PD's focus will be on preparing officers with the necessary skills to provide better outcomes among its community's youth. Learn more about VirTra's mental health scenario training here: https://www.virtra.com/overview-le/v-victa-training/