When the University Police Department ordered this weekend, guns in the hands of Ball State staff responded.
Around 10 faculty members were given training on Saturday and Sunday in firing guns and firearm safety at UPD and a police firing range.
Brandon Campbell, manager of the Technology HelpDesk, hadn’t used handguns before the class, but he grew up around guns and has used other types of firearms.
“Guns have never been something I’ve been afraid of, it’s just been a tool that’s been around,” he said. “Once you get to use that tool, you better understand it. Guns aren’t just this thing on TV where you see the bad guy get shot and he dies. There’s a lot of power which in turn means a lot of responsibility on our part.”
Responsibility and safety were a focus of the course, which divided its time between learning in a classroom and hands-on learning at the firing range.
Michael Baker, a corporal and crime prevention coordinator, was involved in the class taught last year and said safety is the main thing they teach.
“Understand your safety rules and when to fire a gun, where to practice, when to practice,” he said. “Know that the weapon is empty — it can’t be a guess. You might not intend for it to go off, but because of failure to act on safety rules it can fire.”
The group learned how to fire three, seven and 15 yards from targets, with their dominant and non-dominant hand. The first hour at the range on Saturday was spent going over safety and doing “dry firing” with no ammunition. Dry firing allowed the group to practice pre-firing skills such as holstering, stance, gripping and aiming.
Campbell said it was good experience and the instructors were very helpful in learning how to shoot.
“There are a lot of fundamentals,” he said. “I wasn’t properly gripping things and I wasn’t locking my elbow like I should’ve been. Little technique things that I wasn’t familiar with that I’ve picked up during the course.”
The course was overseen by David Bell, a sergeant and training and special events coordinator, and Baker.
“Everybody did an excellent job,” Baker said. “For a lot of them, this was their first time shooting, but they were able to find out where they made mistakes at and correct those mistakes and bring everything into focus.”
Rui Chen, an associate professor of information systems, appreciated the instructors correcting mistakes.
“They teach you the theory, then you have hands-on training,” he said. “Before we shoot and after we shoot, they come up and give us tips. Especially after the shooting, they will tell you what happened to your results and how to make the adjustment. It was very helpful.”
Chen had fired a gun once before the class, and he took the class for personal reasons.
“It’s about personal safety, especially if you have families,” he said. “It’s better to have something ready than need it. Then you have a choice. You hope that you’ll never have to use it.”
Baker, who has been an officer for around 30 years, had not shot a handgun until becoming an officer. He has only drawn his weapon in the field once or twice and has never had to fire.
He said the class allows the police to build a rapport with the community.
“A lot of times, the general community feels like they can’t talk to the police,” he said. “This helps them realize that we’re human just like they are.”
Baker hopes holding the class will impact more than just the 10 people in the group.
“If we can educate the community and give them tools to understand what their weapon is about and the limitations of it, it’s just going to make it a safer community for us,” he said. “Our job is to put that information out there, to bring them and give them practical experience.”
Anyone interested in the program can take it when Baker and UPD offer the course next year.
“The next time you get an email from Cpl. Baker about handgun training, they need to be the first to sign up,” Baker said. “It could save their life, somebody else’s life or a child’s life.”
