WEST WARWICK — I was cocky. But only a little bit.

Our West Warwick Citizen’s Police Academy class had gone to the firing range the week before and I was pretty dead-on with my shooting — much to everyone’s surprise.

But this day we were at the range for a little role playing. For one week a year, the Police Department has access to firearms training simulation, or FATS, as they call it. It’s kind of a weird mix of a video game and virtual reality. Students are equipped with guns, or batons or any other number of weapons that are connected to a machine which registers your movements. The operator can make the computer react and scenarios change based on a student’s actions.

If you aren’t forceful enough, a suspect might not obey your commands. If you don’t subdue him, he may pull out a knife and stab you (virtually). But I was confident. I had the bullet-riddled target to show I was a decent shot.

I quickly learned at least one thing: this was different.

Things moved.

Real-time training — not just target practice — is what police departments across the country have moved toward because they realize that realistic training is important.

Anyone can shoot a piece of paper if they have enough time. Paper doesn’t yell at you. Paper doesn’t shoot back. Paper isn’t trying to avoid 5 to 10 in prison.

Sgt. James Tiernan told us in an earlier class about four California Highway Patrol officers who were killed in less than five minutes in 1970 by a pair of armed men. The officers had been taught to shoot and then empty their used shells into their hands and pocket them because their supervisor didn’t want the casings on the floor. After that gunfight, Tiernan told us, they found used shell casings in the pockets of the dead officers.

In the heat of the moment, you fall back on your training, no matter what.

I’d learned a lot in the past few weeks about policing, but when it came time to shoot I went for what I knew. I’d watched enough Cops to know that the key was to say cool cop stuff like “grab the wall,” or “hands where I can see ’em,” and “I’ll Tase you, bro.” And then, just don’t back down. Nothing else would matter.

Stance? Who needs it.

Aim? Eh, details.

Breathing? Of course.

I figured it couldn’t be much harder than that. Plus I was always a good shot playing video games. Just aim and fire until you run out of ammunition. But this time, I was supposed to act like a police officer — and unloading a clip full of lead into a suspect isn’t looked on too kindly in the department.

“Every round you shoot, you have to be able to account for what it does,” Capt. Richard Silva told us. That means you can’t just focus on hitting what’s in the crosshairs, but that you have to be aware of the crowd of people behind you, the drivers goosenecking to see a piece of the action, and anything else that bullet might hit once it leaves the barrel of your gun.”

Humility came during the practice round. I couldn’t get my shots to hit their targets. I fumbled with my gun as I tried to reload. The one person I did shoot was a hostage.

Policing isn’t like a video game. The decisions you make can’t be erased with the click of a button.

Said Capt. Richard Ramsay: “We have no do-overs.”

tbuford@projo.com