Policing in an environment awash in guns is fundamentally different from policing in one that isn’t. In every interaction in the simulator, I wondered when the gun would appear, and when I’d find myself reaching for my holster. Obviously the training environment and the desire to expose me to as much “action” as possible exaggerated the fear of the ever-present gun. But afterward, in a conversation with former cops, they all told me the threat of the gun weighs heavily.
