The Pella Police Department has been partnering with Triumph Martial Arts to provide defense training to officers.

Chief Shane McSheehy says the aim is to give officers some options during situations that may escalate during an arrest.

“The end goal is to give our officers a monthly or even a bimonthly program that not only allows them to train, but to retain what they have learned, and the end goal is to be able to use less force when we have resisting subjects and to give the officer confidence that they are able to control the situation.”

McSheehy says many programs across the nation provide only a few hours of training annually, but he feels more frequency is key to ensure the defense tactics become second nature.