The Mesquite Police Department held their semi-annual Emergency Vehicle Operating Course Training (E.V.O.C.) recertification on November 27-29 to recertify officers for duty on the streets of Mesquite. The next time you see police emergency lights and hear sirens you can feel assured that the officer sitting behind the wheel is trained in safe driving skills while responding to the needs of our community. “All officers from Chief on down to corrections must complete the course without errors," said Captain Scott Taylor training officer. “It’s amazing to see officers developing confidence and skills as they go through the course.”
Officers must complete a course perfectly without knocking down a cone as they maneuver their vehicle through S curves and obstacles while driving both forward and backwards. “We start them slowly through the course to begin and then apply stress by adding a time variable to the test. The average passing time is approximately two minutes and twenty two and a half seconds. Once they complete the course with perfection, the officers are certified to drive their vehicles,“ added Taylor.
Captain Taylor and Officer Bruehl are certified E.V.O.C. instructors. Both attended a two week instructor training school. Taylor was certified in Artesia, New Mexico and Bruehl in Georgia. The program in Mesquite began in 2001. Remember Mesquite drivers, when you hear a siren or see emergency lights, state laws require you to pull over immediately and safely to protect yourself and the drivers of emergency vehicles.