Firearms Instructor Abuses Cadet

Leon, Guanajuato - The instructor of Guanajuato Police Training Center, Roberto Ramirez Govea, insults and strikes a cadet during target practice in a video. In the video, that was aired on the internet, shows the violence in which police cadets are subjected to during trainning in Leon, Guanajuato.

The video was shot in December 2007 or January 2008. It shows police trainer Roberto Ramírez Govea, who at the time was employed with the Leon Public Security Department, hitting a female cadet in the head during target practice. El Correo de Guanajuato reported that Ramirez was fired for this offense, but less than 15 days later was hired for the same position in the San Francisco del Rincon Public Security Department. San Fransisco del Rincon is also located in Guanajuato.

Meanwhile, the video which shows Ramirez Govea hitting a cadet is in the hands of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). (Read more to view video)

My Take:

It is obvious that this method of training a brand new police cadet, a female that probably has no experience with firearms and is probably nervous about shooting a weapon, is counterproductive and probably criminal here in the U.S.

Making the cadet more nervous by yelling degrading insults and actually hitting the cadet will only make her more nervous and not allow her to concentrate at the task at hand. A cadet needs to have full concentration with her firearm not be distracted by where the next blow is going to come from.

After all, an instructor should build confidence and be constructive and systematic in allowing the cadet to grasp the necessary fundamentals in order to improve her skills.

"The incident is in the hands of the National Human Rights Commission?" This instructor should never play any role in training future police officers. Instead of building new police officers, he is tearing them down. Anyone with that type of temperament should not be a police officer, yet training.