TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Wednesday night, Toledo Police held a Citizen's Police Academy.
The Academy, which has been going on since the 90's, gave Toledo residents an inside look into the department and the tough decisions they have to make daily.
"People are not as trusting of the police and we'd like them to come in and keep an eye on us and just learn about everything that we do in order to keep them safe every day," said Sergeant Erik Welling of the Toledo Police Department.
The Citizen's Academy started back in the early 90s
Wednesday night's class focused on use of police force and the action response policy. Those who attended said they were eager to learn about directly from those who deal with it almost every day.
"It'll be interesting to hear about what goes into their thought process and what criteria comes into play before they make the decisions they make," said Christopher Riling.
"There's been a lot of interaction with the community and police department," said Jeff William. "Some bad. So I thought if I get a better understanding of where the police are coming from and what their policies are then maybe turn that around and help the community understand it better."
Along with hearing from officers, participants also get a hands-on look at some of their non-lethal weapons, like mace, batons and tasers.
"Police work is a hard job and a lot of the times when they come in here and they see what we deal with and we can better explain that to them, one on one, I think they get a better idea and appreciation for what we're doing," said Sergeant Welling.
