HOUSTON – New or soon-to-be drivers were placed in the shoes of police officers to get an idea of what's it's like for both sides to deal with a traffic stop.
It's a program called Rookie Responders created by the Fulshear Police Department in Fort Bend County.
"They're all going to get pulled over at some point in their driving history," Capt. Mike McCoy, who conceived the idea of the class earlier this year, said. "We want them to know what it's like and how they're supposed to react."
The class is open for students aged 15 to 18 years old. In outdoor instruction, they get to play the role of officers pulling over a driver.
Inside the classroom, students watched video of recent, high-profile incidents involving law enforcement and drivers in which some drivers lost their lives or officers were wounded.
Those recent incidents are just one of the reasons Fulshear PD decided to start the class earlier this month.
After Tuesday's session, the teens said they would highly recommend the class to friends and fellow students.
"I have a lot more information now on how to deal with police officers," Nicholas Gonzalez, of Katy, said. "I've gotten the information from them directly so I now the best way to handle the situation."
Tuesday's class was the fourth one held by Fulshear PD since the beginning of June and McCoy says he already has a waiting list of 200 for the free class.
Students must be between 15-18 years old and they don't have to be from Fulshear to take it.
For more information you can email Capt. Mike McCoy at mmccoy@fulsheartexas.gov.