The Criminal Justice classes of HHS, taught by Joshua Kabrel, took a field trip to the Hawthorne Police Department shooting range on Wagaraw Road on Wednesday, November 12, 2014. Kabrel explained that “the police came into the classroom and gave lessons on other uses of force that police officers use to make sure they do their job appropriately. We went to the shooting range in order to complete the lesson on the different uses of force. The lesson was also important because it shows how lethal and dangerous guns can be.”

Sergeant Robert King, Detective Joseph Carr, and Patrolman Benjamin Veenema welcomed the students to the range and explained the procedures involved when using a lethal weapons. Wearing disposable earplugs, the students witnessed the power of both the hand gun and the shot gun carried by police officers. They saw that a bullet from a handgun shot into a bullet-proof vest makes the vest expand, absorbing the bullet’s force, causing slight injury but preventing the bullet from entering the body. However, the rifle’s round went right through the vest due to its shape, speed and heat.

The students were then given the opportunity to shoot one bullet from a handgun. “I was scared,” admitted sophomore Gabby Garces. “It was very loud, and it was not easy hitting the target.”

The students then watched a demonstration of firepower using fruit and water bottles as targets. The officers used a rifle to create a deep gash and shred the skin off a pineapple, explaining that the same effect would happen if the target had been a human. A honeydew that was shot with a hand gun was completely destroyed; the officers explained that what the students saw was the equivalent of the impact on a human skull’s tissue.

Sophomore Madison Perry summed up the trip saying, “To be honest, I was a little nervous because of the recoil of the gun, but the police were very calming and assured me that I would be safe. After I shot the gun, I was relived, and it was actually fun.”