Statesboro officers undergo training on communication skills needed to deescalate situations

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - Officers say they constantly hone their skills to communicate with people one-on-one to try and keep a bad situation from getting worse.

Tense scenes from across the country in the past week remind officers how volatile situations can get. Statesboro officers spent part of their day-long training session talking about talking - how to engage with people and get them communicating before they turn to violence.

The training instructor says they work on this as much as they do using a gun or baton.

“We try to discuss de-escalation and talking to people as people and use our verbal skills so that hopefully we're not using the other skills after that,” Statesboro Police Department Sgt. Andrew Samples said.

He knows the verbal skills don’t always work with dozens of people at once but talking to one or two could help diffuse a group.

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