The four-week Local Corrections Officer Academy, in session at Alpena Community College this month, provides coursework and hands-on training to certify corrections officers already hired by sheriff’s departments to work in their jails.

In addition to instruction in case law, due process, search-and-seizure laws, first aid, and other pertinent subjects, a full 40 hours of the program is dedicated to lessons in defensive tactics. Much of that time is spent in hands-on practice.

On Thursday, officers practiced a hold meant to subdue an inmate who has gotten the better of them and is threatening their lives.

“This is the ‘what if,'” said Kevin Morgan, an Alpena County Sheriff’s Office officer attending the academy. “Hopefully, you never get to that point.”

News Photo by Julie Riddle Officers demonstrate a defensive tactic that could be used to subdue an unruly inmate during training at the Local Corrections Officer Academy.

In his 17 years of corrections experience before coming to Alpena, Morgan — for whom the academy is a helpful refresher course, as well as a requirement — has rarely had to use physical force to subdue an inmate.

The trainees replied in unison to questions fired at them by the instructor, reminders of how to recognize active aggression and when to use a high level of force — and when to turn it off to avoid being fired or criminally charged.

Interspersed with demonstrations from the instructor, the officers practiced breaking away from a choke hold, flipping an assailant to the ground, and fighting back if they are thrown against a wall.

Demonstrating how to subdue an inmate who tries to resist as they are being escorted, the instructor used arm holds and leg maneuvers to throw a News reporter to the mat, finally convincing her to submit to being handcuffed with the use of a simple — but very effective — knuckle-to-the-temple technique he dubbed the “eighth-grade noogie.”

Being the only female in a jail full of mostly male inmates makes learning defensive tactics crucial, said Tess Alder, a corrections officer at the Presque Isle County Jail who practiced moves at Thursday’s training.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Defensive tactics help corrections officers know how to handle a violent inmate during a training session at Alpena Community College on Thursday afternoon.

Before working as a corrections officer, Alder was a firefighter/paramedic in Washington state, and her new job is a natural extension of that public service role, she said.

Corrections officers handle people in a controlled environment, but for an extended period of time, sometimes for weeks or months.

Often, during that time, inmates realize they want to make changes to their lives. The more she can influence them to take the higher road, Alder said, the better chance they’ll make changes for themselves and their families, she said.

A corrections officer’s best tool is their mouth, said Shianne Gutzwiller, Alder’s partner for the training and a corrections officer in Gladwin County.

In her year at her post, she’s seen that, while force is sometimes necessary, many highly charged situations can be defused by listening and treating inmates like human beings.

Check out a video of the Local Corrections Officer Academy defensive tactics training at Alpena Community College. Story continues below video.

“When you treat people badly, people act bad,” Gutzwiller said. “But, when you talk to somebody and get on an equal level with people, sometimes that’s all they want.”

Still, the officers agreed, learning how to protect themselves is a must for any corrections officer.

“The more I know I can defend myself,” Alder said, “the more I’m able to go home at the end of the night.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.