"Shoot or don't shoot?" A decision for SOU students

ASHLAND, Ore. — In the heat of the moment, an officer has to decide whether or not to pull the trigger and end one life to save others. This question and many more are what officers have to face in a single instant.

“Sometimes it’s really difficult when officers are crucified for making that decision and sometimes they choose wrong, not maliciously they just make the wrong decision,” Southern Oregon University professor, Tiffany Morey, said.

That’s why students at Southern Oregon University are getting hands-on experience on what it’s like to make the split-second decision to shoot or not shoot.

Amanda Tarello, an SOU student who participated in the scenarios had to act as an officer that just pulled over a drunk driver. What she doesn’t know is that this routine traffic stop turns into her using her gun once the suspect pulls a gun on her.

“At first it was really nerve-wracking, I wasn’t really sure what was going on or what to do,” Amanda Tarello said.

Brooke Chapman, a junior at SOU also played the role of a police officer trying to chase down a suspect. She didn’t pull her gun in time and opened herself up to a threat.

“I am just so shaken up right now like I couldn’t even think straight,” Chapman says after her situation is over.

It’s part of a criminology class at SOU, students role play real situations that law enforcement officers have been put in before. As the officer, they have to quickly decide what their next move is, and if they’ll use deadly force or not.

Tiffany Morey, a teacher at SOU and a retired lieutenant from Las Vegas, Nevada teaches the class and has faced situations like these before. She wants her students to see what it’s like from an officer’s point of view.

“They get to see ‘wow this wasn’t even real and I was stressed I didn’t know what I was doing, I made a decision and now I kind of get a glimpse of what the officer goes through on the street,'” Morey said.

Some students in the class want to pursue a career in law enforcement while others are just interested in learning criminology. Either way, all the students say this experience is crucial for any career they want to go in.

“Sometimes they’re given a situation where they might have to use deadly force and it’s good to do this training to realize wow that happened in a split second because the situation can change in a second,” Austin Gilmore, SOU junior, said.