A flash bang grenade thrown in the driveway of the Ripon Community Center got the undivided attention of Ripon’s advanced Junior Police Academy cadets.

Thirteen cadets had walked to the Fourth Street park to see how deputies control unruly prisoners in the Stanislaus County Jail and see what non-lethal weapons they use in the process – including the grenade.

The four deputies – with two from Ripon – arrived just prior to 9 a.m. last Thursday waiting for the young cadets to walk to the park.  The Stanislaus County Jail’s Correctional Emergency Response Team y had a variety of rifles that shot everything from beanbag rounds to lesser rubber bullets.

Cutout plywood targets were set up so the deputies could demonstrate the effectiveness of their firepower to the cadets.  They explained that the beanbags shouldn’t be taken lightly because they could make a hole in the targets at the right distance.

The youth line up facing the deputies following the demonstrations and asked questions as the officers explained just how they worked in the jail when prisoners refused to comply with orders that might end with injuries to the guards on duty.

At the end of the presentation the cadets were told do get down and do their usual number of pushups before walking back to the police department.