AKRON, Ohio — Akron police officer Kara Workman held up a fake, red knife and screamed as if she was in crisis.
"What do I have to do to make you shoot me? What do I have to do?" she yelled outside of the Akron Police Training Bureau.
It was not a real situation, but the other Akron officers who responded to Workman's cries treated it as reality.
"Your kids would miss you and I don't want to do that," an officer said to Workman. "I don't want to hurt you. That's not the reason we're here."
The scenario was part of new APD training called ICAT, which stands for Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics.
Part of the idea behind ICAT is to give more space and open up a conversation to achieve a peaceful resolution with a person who may be in turmoil.
Sgt. Damber Subba took part in the training on Wednesday and believes it can be a "game-changer" when it comes to how officers can potentially diffuse critical incidents.
"The biggest thing is it starts with empathy. You have empathy— trying to figure out who they are, have empathy and build a rapport or relationship," Subba said.
There are about 450 police officers on Akron's force. All of them will receive ICAT training, starting with patrol officers. Cadets are scheduled to learn it over the summer, and the detective bureau will be trained before the end of 2025.
Last fall, Ray Greene from Freedom BLOC criticized Akron Police Chief Brian Harding and called for his firing following an incident where Officer Thomas Shoemaker body-slammed a woman during a family argument.
RELATED: The Freedom BLOC calls for Akron police chief to be fired over use of force case
Police Auditor Anthony Finnell and the Akron Citizens Police Oversight Board felt it was excessive force, but Harding determined the officer's actions were reasonable given the circumstances.
The Akron Police Department has also faced intense scrutiny over police-involved shootings, including the ones that killed Jayland Walker, Michael Jones and Jazmir Tucker.
In October 2024, Harding announced that ICAT training for all officers would roll out in 2025.
Sgt. Steve Prough received training from ICAT instructors and now he's training Akron officers.
"We're always receptive to looking at new training and trying to better our practices," Prough said.
Prough stressed the importance of giving space to people and working to build a relationship in order to provide extra time to resolve situations.
"A quick movement tends to take us down a road that is full of force and possibly an injury or worse, Prough said.
Lt. Eric Wood said 40% of officer-involved shootings involve either unarmed people or those with other possible weapons besides guns.
It's those types of encounters that ICAT aims to deescalate.
"That 40% is where we're trying to find the missed opportunities inside of our tactics and what we're doing to maybe possibly change the outcome," Wood said.
After taking part in the training, Sgt. Subba is convinced that ICAT will lead to better outcomes overall.
"Our biggest priority of our Akron Police Department is preservation of the human life," he said.
