Groveland Twp.– The scene involved three people– a woman and two men who had been fighting. One man pulled a gun and shot the other.
It was up to state troopers to take control of the situation. Some troopers went to the dying man to perform CPR while others questioned the woman. Troopers confronting the gunman were forced to shoot him after he fired at them.
The staged scenario was one of many that Sadie Boadway, 17, took part in when she attended the Michigan State Police Law Enforcement Academy from July 24-29 in Lansing.
Boadway said the scenario was ‘just like in real life.? Throughout the five days, the Brandon High School senior would get heavy doses of what Michigan State Police troopers experience, with classes, the staged scenarios, physical training and a boot camp like atmosphere.
‘I learned how much pressure there is and how tough officers have to be and how they need to get everything under control,? Boadway says. ‘They have to work really hard. People don’t realize it’s harder than pulling over a couple people.?
Boadway applied to be in the 30th American Legion Student Trooper Program because of her interest in law enforcement. She wanted to make sure she was making the right career choice. To be eligible for the $325 scholarship, applicants (high school seniors) must write a small essay and be physically able to do 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups and run a half-mile all in five minutes.
‘That’s not hard, but it’s nothing compared to camp,? says Boadway. ‘They ask if you are physically fit, but if you thought you were, you have no idea.?
Every day, the student troopers were awakened at 5 a.m. They had 30 minutes to be lined up in the hall before marching to the gym at the state police headquarters where they would say the motto, ‘If you think you can, you will. If you think you can’t, you’re right.? The physical training would then begin– running in place for five minutes, followed by push-ups and sit-ups. Students would often have to hold the positions as long as the instructors would say and at any time they might have to stand up and run again. The military-like training would go on for 40 minutes. Boadway vomited six times at the end of the first physical training session after getting up to run following push-ups.
‘It was so hard,? said Boadway, who wasn’t alone in getting sick. ‘It was a huge shock to my system. The first night I was like, ‘I want to go home.??
But she stuck with it, not wanting to be a quitter and thinking of how proud her parents would be.
Although the physical training was difficult and mealtimes offered only healthy food with no pop, chips or sugary snacks, Boadway enjoyed the classes she attended everyday until 5 p.m. Lessons included criminal law, a K-9 program, patrol, firearms, water safety, crime lab and first-aid. She learned to shoot a .38 Special at a target; defensive tactics (‘how to take someone down with a well-placed hit?); how to quickly handcuff; how to save someone who is drowning; how to identify drugs and suspicious behavior; and about lab procedures, among other things.
She also learned that some of the biggest problems the troopers face is not big city crime, but motorcycle gangs and militia groups and that alcoholism is a problem for many officers who use alcohol to deal with depression and difficult things they have seen.
Boadway was shown what she described as disturbing photos and heard awful stories to go along with them, but says it was necessary to see and hear the stories.
‘You need to be able to handle it,? she said.
She believes it was all worth it. On the last day, the students participated in a marching ceremony in front of their families to show what they had learned. Boadway said the two best moments were when she was handed her certificate and then when the instructors said, ‘Class dismissed? and she was able to run to her parents.
Boadway still dreams of being in law enforcement, although she is not sure at what level.
‘I want to be a police officer to help people,? she says. ‘It’s never boring, it’s adventurous. Every day is different.?