The Constitution Team recently shot guns in the training room of the Miller County Courthouse.
The simulated experience was part of a day of learning for the team of 12, led by Mr. Mike Wersching and Mrs. Heidi Newell, that enabled students to see the CSI and judicial processes in live form. For the simulation, students were given scenarios to role-play a cop in threatening situations.
Students had firearms and were taught to figure out when it was appropriate to use them, if at all, and when it was more appropriate to “talk down” the suspect.
With lots of fun experiences and new things learned, there definitely were some really interesting moments. With many first-time students on the Constitution Team, the experience was invaluable. Deputy Cooper, a graduate from School of The Osage, organized the days-long event. He was a part of the CSI team on the Constitution Team in 2015 and 2016 and talked about how much he loved his experience. He organized a meet-and-greet of several Miller County authorities, allowed the team to sit in on some court proceedings, introduced the 911 dispatch center, as well as walked students through the simulated experiences.
Lucy Crocker, a student on the Constitution Team remarked about an interesting moment to the day: “It was kinda interesting that when we watched the court proceeding that every single person in there was there for court and not to watch.” When Mrs. Newell, one of our team sponsors, was asked the same question she stated, “The interconnectedness of the justice system has its own roles but works very closely in Miller County as evidenced by all aspects of the system being housed in one place.”
Lucy Crocker explained why she joined the Constitution Team. “I had interest in becoming a lawyer or going into a law-based career.”
This year’s kickoff for the Constitution Team was different than year’s previous. Mrs. Newell talked about last year’s versus this year’s kickoffs. “Last year was at the capitol in Jefferson City, but this year we were able to see a smaller scale in Miller County so we can see how the county works. I think last year the circumstance of getting to meet high profile people was exciting, although this year, getting a very local feel, was just awesome to me.”
