DOINews: U.S. Park Police Hold 'Below 100' Safety Training for Law Enforcement

Lt. Jerry Marshall, a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Park Police and Below 100 instructor, introduces the Below 100 safety initiative to more than 100 members of the law enforcement community from more than 10 different agencies.

Below 100 is a leading law enforcement program that stresses five tenets: Wear Your Belt; Wear Your Vest; Watch Your Speed; WIN—What's Important Now?; and Remember: Complacency Kills!

On April 8, 2015, the U.S. Park Police hosted a law enforcement training course at its Anacostia Operations Facility for local law enforcement partners. U.S. Park Police Station Commander for District 2: George Washington Memorial Parkway Lt. Jerry Marshall instructed the course introducing the Below 100 (below100.com) initiative to more than 100 members of the law enforcement community from more than 10 different agencies.

Marshall, a 23-year U.S. Park Police veteran and Below 100 instructor, shared his knowledge and experiences with participants and shared ideas not only to improve the working environment of officers but also to help change police culture and save lives.

Below 100 is a leading law enforcement training program aimed to heighten the awareness to officers, with the goal to improve safety methods in how they work. This includes vehicle safety, road safety, officer safety and more.

Marshall shared videos and engaged the audience with dialogue to emphasize the Five Tenets, which includes wear your belt; wear your vest; watch your speed; WIN-What's Important Now?; and the overall reminder that complacency kills.

Marshall shared success stories and tragedies of U.S. Park Police officers to help emphasize the message of safety. Guest speaker U.S. Park Police Detective Robert Freeman shared his story during the course, expressing his sentiments about wearing his ballistic vest, which ultimately saved his life after being shot at close range.

Law enforcement personnel walked away with tips on how not only to keep themselves safe going forward, but but also to remind them of the need to have courageous conversations with officers/peers about wearing safety equipment.

By: Sgt. Lelani Woods, public information officer, USPP, NPS
April 20, 2015