First response actors help train Minneapolis police officers for real-life scenarios
MINNEAPOLIS — There's a special way that new officers at the Minneapolis Police Academy learn to care for those who may have behavioral or mental health issues.
Leah Isaacson is a first response actor. It may not be the starring role she had in mind, but it's a role she says will earn a reward far more important than any statue.
"When you really get down to it, you are doing a service for the people in your community," she said. "You are playing real-life people that these cops will interact with."
In one scenario, Isaacson portrays a drunk veteran who broke into a family member's garage and is holding a hammer. In another scene, she plays a rape victim speaking to an officer for the first time.
"I always tell the actors that work for my company, 'Be in the moment.' Even though it's not a script, you don't have lines, there's no memorizing lines. It's all in the moment that's what makes it so realistic. It's always the give and take," Isaacson said.
There's no script, but there is intense preparation, especially when it comes to scenarios related to mental health.
"We do a lot of research on that," Isaacson said. "It's ever-changing — meds are ever-changing, diagnoses are ever-changing. You have to keep up with the changes."
All Minneapolis police officers, from fresh recruits to sworn veterans, take part in the simulations, which are offered at different trainings throughout the year. For the recruits, though, they have an audience. Even if the actors don't, this is preparation for their final exam. It's also possible, maybe even likely, the officers will be in front of a crowd wherever they go.
"The biggest thing here is we're teaching is time," Lt. Troy Carlson with the Minneapolis Police Department said. "It's OK to take the time to respond to the call and not rush it. We find that if we compress time and compress distance, that escalates things."
Things may escalate quickly anyway in the real world, and Isaacson is confident in the officers she works with — they're never faking their passion and care for the job.
"The uniform is the uniform, but the person underneath the uniform is a person and they are there to help you and they care about you," she said.
The police academy is about four months long. The next recruiting class is expected to graduate at the end of the month.
