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CSPD recruits called on for first time in decades to comb through crime scene

Posted at 5:26 PM, Aug 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-31 12:42:53-04

COLORADO SPRINGS – For the first time in 30 years, a team of Colorado Springs Police recruits showed up to help comb through the crime scene of a deadly shooting.

The 43 police recruits were eager to help search through the area, spanning more than half a mile.

“Of course we said yes,” said Colorado Springs Police Department training director Jane Anderson.

“Exciting for us to come out here and be able to help,” added Cory Beebe, one of the police recruits on scene.

“There was a resounding ‘yes’ from the class so we definitely wanted to come out and apply those lessons and things that we’ve learned,” said Beebe.

Their mission: find any possible piece of evidence connected to the deadly shooting that happened here the night before.

“[It’s] very exciting […] they’ve gotten the classroom work, they’ve done scenarios but this is a true, real-life situation,” said Anderson.

For more than an hour, these recruits scoured every inch of the field next to the UCCS Family Development Center.

The last time CSPD used recruits like this at a crime scene was back in the 90’s.
But due to the scale of this crime scene, they needed all the help they could get.

“To do the task that we just did would take a lot longer with just five or six bodies,” explained Anderson.
“You have to tap into whatever resources you need to get the job done.”

Not only does their presence help officers, it helps these students, too.
They’re just on the verge of graduating from the police academy.

“And here yet they’ve already been out on a crime scene,” Anderson pointed out.

Out here, they hone the skills they’ll need to use as officers.

“They did a wonderful of teaching us,” said Beebe.
“And we just get to apply it so practice makes perfect.”

All 43 police recruits have already completed 24 weeks of training and they’re expected to graduate from the Colorado Spring Academy in just a couple of weeks.