Des Moines plans virtual reality police training

Catch up fast: State law requires officers receive at least four hours of de-escalation and implicit bias training each year.

What's happening: Police simulator training has advanced in recent years to include interaction that simulates outcomes based on an officer's response.

• They provide analytical feedback to dozens of scenarios that include hostage situations, working with people who have mental illness and those with autism.
• DMPD's regional police academy has previously used virtual reality goggles, but that equipment was generally limited to observation.

State of play: The department recently applied for a nearly $70,000 federal grant to purchase a system.

• If approved, new DMPD recruits will be the first to use the system, Santizo says.

Of note: Mount Pleasant became one of the first police departments in Iowa to use virtual reality training a few months ago, KTVO-TV reports.