Deputy Ryan Chrz of the Mower County Sheriff’s Office had a busy Wednesday morning.

First, he responded to a call about an armed suspect in an abandoned building, followed by a domestic disturbance, suspicious activity in a park, and a suicidal woman on a rural road. In each case, the use of deadly force was necessary.

Fortunately, no one was hurt as each situation was simulated on Riverland Community College’s new Milo Range use of force law enforcement training simulator.

“I think this is about as realistic as you can get,” said Chrz, who has been with the Mower County Sheriff’s Office for almost 11 years. “It’s the most realistic training I’ve experienced without being actual real-life actors.”

Riverland Community College acquired the new $150,000 simulator to replace the previous one-screen simulator used by its law enforcement program.

“We’ve had a simulator for years here that is antiquated,” said Steve Bowron, Dean for Institutional Advancement at RCC. “This is a state-of-the-art use of force simulator that is really important not only to training upcoming students that are going to be out working with local law enforcement agencies, but we’re hoping to get all of our local law enforcement agencies to come here and train.”

Unlike the previous simulator, which required students to interact with one, two-dimensional screen, the new simulator immerses the students into an area surrounded by five screens, raising the level of situational awareness. Chrz said being surrounded by multiple screens “makes it a lot more realistic” and “brings a sense of reality to the training.”

Dummy firearms, which simulate the real feel and trigger pressure of a standard issue law enforcement weapon, use laser technology to record where their shots hit during the debriefing that follows every simulation.

“It allows us some very realistic training to prepare the students to be able to understand what they’re going to be doing on the streets during their job,” said Steve Wald, program coordinator and instructor at RCC.

Other aspects of the simulator include updated dispatch software and an updated squad car driving program.

Bowron said acquiring the new simulator was the Riverland Community College Foundation’s main goal for this year.

“The reason the foundation prioritized this so high is because every day in the news, you hear about law enforcement officers put in a bad situation that maybe didn’t make the best choices because they didn’t have the training, they couldn’t handle the stress, or whatever,” he said. “Something like this really gives them the opportunity to put themselves into situations they normally aren’t going to be in so they can practice.”

Bowron said the simulator was paid for by a $75,000 grant from the Hormel Foundation with matching funds from other sources. He also said the RCC Foundation has started a fundraiser to help offset training costs for law enforcement agencies who want to use the simulator.

“(Local law enforcement) were all on board (with using the simulator), but the first thing they said was they didn’t have a lot of training dollars,” Bowron said. “We’re asking donors to give towards the training.”

Bowron said that anyone interested in donating could call the RCC Foundation at 507-433-0630.

Chrz said all of the scenarios he has been through on the new simulator have “a very strong foundation in reality.”

“This is a great program,” he added. “I think it is going to be a very big benefit to both the community college and the students as well as local departments that are allowed to use it.”

“We’re very excited for the opportunity to get this training and start using it for our students and our law enforcement partners as well,” Wald said.