The Lodi, California, Police Department serves 64,641 residents. With the national focus on the use of force and police training, the department saw an opportunity to better prepare its officers with training equipment designed to improve decision making in high-pressure situations. After significant research on the various options, the Lodi Police Department chose to include the Apex Officer judgmental use of force simulator as a major component of its training program.

The Apex Officer system is capable of simulating an infinite number of different training scenarios that can convey body language and other non-verbal threat cues that are a crucial part of progressive judgmental use of force training. The Apex Officer training simulator utilizes VR technology and offers an immersive 360-degree view and includes peripheral vision and training tools that closely match those used in the field to enhance the transferability of the training to real-life scenarios.

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Almost every Lodi PD Officer, Dispatcher, and several non-sworn employees have had the opportunity to use the simulator. In addition we have used it in our Citizen’s Academy and have received a lot of positive reviews from all who have used it. We look forward to our continued use of the Apex Officer simulator, so that we can continue to provide our officers with valuable training opportunities and prepare them for the unexpected.