AKRON, Ohio — Understanding how cruisers shift during braking and evasive maneuvering is part of the routine training that Akron police officers receive. Using mirrors to reverse through a course of cones is also standard.
However, APD now requires a new driving exercise called "stop box" training.
While many officers learned some of the dynamics of the stop box as cadets, it is now part of in-service training that all officers will receive throughout this year.
The training allows officers to test both the vehicle's performance and the officer's ability to handle high-stress, high-speed situations safely.
The push for the training came about in the months following a police cruiser crash that damaged several cars in the Highland Square neighborhood.
The department set up cones and used a trailer as a blind spot as officers drove up to a simulated intersection at a former truck yard in Copley Township.
Officer Matt Crawford, a 10-year veteran of the force, took part in the training on Wednesday.
"It's challenging. You just have to learn how to gauge the breaking and the distance and the speed," Crawford said. "We're resolidifying, relearning, rehoning what different speeds look like, feel like."
Captain Christopher Brown said the stop box utilizes "threshold braking" at speeds between 35 and 60 mph. Depending on the speed, officers brake at different points while controlling the cruiser and avoiding entering the intersection.
"What we like them to do is depress the pedal 50%, and then gradually go down to the floor. This allows them to maintain better control of the vehicle as they're approaching the intersection," Brown said.
Last October, an officer and his partner responding to a burglary call at speeds up to 92 mph, swerved to avoid a car making a U-turn, and slammed into a parked car on West Market Street. That caused a chain-reaction collision with three other parked cars.
Police said the cruiser was going 74 mph at the time of impact.
Steven Rochich, who was working as a bartender in Highland Square at the time of the crash, heard the commotion and found his car totaled.
In previous interviews with News 5, Rockich expressed frustration because he was stuck with bills, including the towing expense.
The city said its insurance provider denied Rockich's claim based on immunity for the officer since he was on the job when the crash happened.
"No pay toward me. It's like, Do I even exist?" Rockich said last February.
A few weeks after the crash, Akron Police Chief Brian Harding issued a new speed order, indicating officers going more than 25 mph over the posted speed limit will be "presumed to be without due regard" unless they have approval from their supervisor.
RELATED: Akron police chief issues speed order after cruiser crash damages parked cars in Highland Square
If violated, the order potentially opens up officers to disciplinary action.
In the Highland Square incident, the officer who was driving was given a one-day suspension and ordered to undergo more training.
The additional stop box training is another change that Harding implemented.
"What we don't want is our officers to slide into an intersection, not be able to control the vehicle and possibly get into a crash," Brown said.
Crawford believes the training could potentially prevent injuries and save lives.
"It's extremely important. We can't get to anywhere to help somebody unless we can get there safely," he said.
Over the next few months, all of Akron's patrol officers— about 200 of them— will take part in the stop box training. The detective bureau and officers in specialty units will receive the training in the fall.
