Associated Press– When recruits were repeatedly punched and tackled during a role-playing exercise at the Texas Game Ranger Academy last year, they were participating in a long game. Police training A tradition that critics say should be retired.
By the end of the day, at least 13 students reported injuries. At least two concussions. Torn knee. Bloody nose. Broken wrist. Two will need surgery. One can resign in protest. Another quit even before training.
A government investigation later found nothing wrong with the training, which supporters say is intended to teach recruits how to make good decisions under intense physical and mental pressure. The experience of December 13, 2024 may have been shocking to some at the Texas Game Warden Training Center in Hamilton, Texas, but it was not unique.
Since 2005, training aimed at teaching defensive tactics at law enforcement academies has been linked to at least a dozen deaths and hundreds of injuries, some resulting in disability, according to Review by the Associated Press.
The training — often referred to as RedMan training for the brand and color of the protective gear worn by participants — is intended to teach law enforcement recruits how to defend themselves against combat suspects. They are among the most challenging tests in police academies. Law enforcement experts say that when properly designed and supervised, they teach new officers basic skills.
But critics say it can put recruits at risk of physical and mental abuse, prompting some promising officers to leave the profession. Academies have broad discretion to administer such training, given the lack of national standards governing police training.
Here are some takeaways from the AP report.
A series of tragedies across the country in recent years has drawn new attention to the details of the curriculum at law enforcement academies.
In August, John Marquez Psalms, 30, died after two days of training at the San Francisco Police Department academy. He suffered a head injury while fighting a boss wearing a padded suit.
An autopsy concluded that his death was the result of an accident resulting from complications of muscle and organ damage “during a high-intensity training exercise.” His family filed a lawsuit against the city and hired experts to conduct a second autopsy.
In November 2024, a 24-year-old Kentucky game warden died after fighting with a trainer in a pool to the point of collapse, video obtained by the AP shows. William Bailey’s death was ruled an accidental drowning due to “sudden arrhythmia during physical exertion.”
A year earlier, a Denver police recruit had his legs amputated after a training fight that his lawyer described as a “disturbing, barbaric ritual” that landed him in the hospital. An Indiana recruit died from exertion after being beaten by a larger trainer, and a teammate was disabled after fighting the same man.
Academies have discretion to design training within state guidelines, and the AP found that training takes many forms in local police, county sheriff and state departments. They are sometimes called “combat training,” “combat day,” or “stress response training.”
Some recruits have to fend off multiple attackers at once. Others fight a series of trainers, one after another. Some academies intentionally use larger, more skilled coaches. The stated goals are generally the same: use the skills learned at the academy to repel or subdue attackers and never surrender.
Recruits and trainers wear protective gear to protect their heads from blows. But there are no uniform safety guidelines, including whether academies must have medical staff on site.
One recruit injured last year was Heather Sterling, a former Wyoming game warden who returned to her home state of Texas to continue her career.
Sterling was a defensive tactics coach at Wyoming before joining the Texas academy, and she was concerned when she learned of the so-called quad drill.
During the training, the students faced a barrage of attacks from four trainers playing the role of violent attackers. Students will have to kick and punch a bag carried by the instructor and try to fend off attacks for 90 seconds or more.
Sterling believes the scenario is unrealistic. She said she has never been ambushed while on the job, and would be able to use her firearm or other force if that happened in real life.
The video shows that Sterling received seven punches in the head in less than two minutes, and the final blow tore off the wrestling helmet she was wearing. She was also thrown to the ground.
Sterling said she had a severe headache, then drove herself to receive medical treatment. She was diagnosed with a concussion.
Sterling passed the training but resigned from the academy in protest. Now she is speaking out in hopes of changing practices in Texas and elsewhere.
“I’m afraid someone will get killed,” she said. “This is a poorly disguised assault.”