In October, two beloved pets in San Antonio were shot by a San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officer, not a burglar. The incident, which happened in their own backyard, has raised concerns about officer training and decision-making under stress. Saybra Sekula and her husband Trey are mourning the loss of their dogs, Rainee and Freyas, and question, "What was he doing? What were you on? What were you thinking?" The Sekulas believe the police visit was unexpected and unnecessary, as reported by FOX San Antonio.
In response to public concerns, efforts were made to observe the SAPD cadet training process. At the SAPD academy, cadets use the VirTra 180 system, a virtual scenario-based program. Training Sgt. Edward Pedraza told HeadTopics, "We can load up I think, 500 to 600 scenarios. They get to respond to that how they would in real life." This tool is designed to better prepare officers for the quick decision-making needed in the field, to either save lives or, sadly, sometimes end them by mistake.
The tragic shooting of the Sekula's dogs has led many to question the efficiency and appropriateness of an officer's actions, particularly when the subjects of lethal force are not people but animals within the confines of their own homes. The stories of Rainee and Freyas starkly illustrate this issue and the devastating impact such an action might have on a family.
Despite the sophisticated nature of simulation tools like the VirTra 180 system, the events between officers and the Sekula family showcase the sprawling gap that may still exist between training and the unpredictable reality of police work. Sgt. Pedraza, aware of the complexity, commented about the challenges cadets face: "They all come in with a mindset of how I would've handled this particular situation. They get in here and realize, those decisions have to be made in sometimes a tenth of a second," he conveyed to FOX San Antonio. In pursuit of transparency and a deeper understanding of the incident, requests for body camera footage and 9-1-1 audio have been made, but thus far such requests have been denied due to missing information. A subsequent request has been filed, with a response pending within 10 business days.
