LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas is on track to hit 3 million people by 2050, with roughly 22,000 new residents arriving every single year. New neighborhoods, new schools, new businesses and a whole lot of new expectations for the people sworn in to keep the city safe.
Because of that growth, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is expanding its ranks. We went somewhere few cameras ever go — inside the Joint Emergency Training Unit — to show what it takes to earn the badge.
Metro's JETI is a 110,000-square-foot indoor mini-city built for chaos. It's where officers learn to make split-second decisions under pressure most of us will never experience.
We were put to the test, both physically and mentally, to better understand what Metro officers go through every single day.
Training begins in the classroom
Before you even break a sweat, they break down the stakes. Inside Metro's JETI facility, officers learn the tactics that can save a life before they ever step into the field.
The classroom becomes combat prep — de-escalation, communication — all showing that even the calls that may appear to be simple can explode without warning.
And then we learned the classroom is the easy part.
Physical training pushes limits
Warm-ups turned into workouts. Sprints, rolls, bear crawls, rescue drags and more. Every move designed to spike your heart rate.
And just when we thought we could catch our breath, we got gloves. Boxing drills. Power, precision, contro
l. And then an ambush. Out of nowhere, already exhausted, suddenly fighting off a subject. A crash course in the unknowns officers face every day.
The point wasn't winning the fight — it was understanding the chaos.
Scenario-based training mirrors real calls
Next: takedowns. How to safely bring someone to the ground without escalating force.
Then we stepped into our first scenario — a domestic violence call. Two brothers. One injured. One ready to fight. Our job was to take him into custody using the least amount of force possible.
Attempt one? After giving several verbal commands, he pulled a knife on me. Attempt two went smoother — maybe a little too smooth, because I ended up taking him straight to the ground.
Active shooter response training
Then it was back to the classroom, this time for Metro's MAC-TAC training. Active shooter response. How to move as a team and how to stop the threat.
Tourniquets. Wound packing. Pressure bandages. Skills officers use in those intense moments — not only keeping people safe but keeping them alive.
And when they handed us the gear — vests, helmets, tasers, mock firearms — that's when the reality sets in. We weren't just observing anymore. We were the team responding.
Final challenge: School shooting scenario
Our final challenge and the most difficult — clearing a middle school under attack. A five-person stack. Victims on the floor. Gunfire echoing through the halls.
Find the threat. Neutralize. Then switch gears to rescue those wounded.
In a matter of seconds, everything changed from danger to life-saving. And that's exactly why this facility exists — to prepare officers for decisions that have no do-overs.
Because when the call comes in, they don't get a practice run. They just respond.
"When they see us, I want us to be that hope. I want us, our department, to know that when we arrive, everything is going to be better because we're there," Lieutenant Casey Clarkson said.
We got a glimpse of what it takes and why Metro says with a growing Las Vegas, they're looking for people ready to step into the unknown.
LVMPD is actively recruiting and looking to fill about 110 positions within the department.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
