Turns out some journalists do have first-hand experience with police displaying “use-of-force” techniques. There was that little incident in 2007 in which a line of LAPD cops pushed over people in MacArthur Park, including a few journalists. (Some sued and won).

Really, if a reporter needs training on how officers display their use-of-force techniques, all we have to do is duck our head under some yellow tape, barriers that our police press ID cards were supposed to make go away.

Of course, if that's not enough fun, journalists can now attend the Police Investigative Media Academy in Southern California this spring.

There scribes will learn what it's like to be handcuffed and searched (again, not really a foreign experience), shot with “impact weapons,” and sprayed with “chemical agents.”

Wow. More fun than hiring a dominatrix for the night (says Charlie Sheen).

The week-long Police Investigative Media Academy all happens April 4 through 8 in Corona and it only costs … $2,500 (reconsidering that dominatrix?).

Here's the pitch from Ron Martinelli, the forensic criminologist who's putting this thing on:

“At PIMA, we develop leaders who seek the truth so they can report the story accurately. The investigative reporter is armed with the tools necessary to get the inside track when they arrive on the scene of the crime.”

Getting shot at by less-than-lethal weapons and handcuffed will give you the edge at a crime scene? Things are getting competitive in journalism.

[Info].

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