SAN ANTONIO – Robert Ingram had been with the San Antonio Police Department for more than 10 years before he used deadly force. He said a suspect holding two women against their will did not want to be taken alive.
He killed the man.
He said it was his training in the police academy that allowed him to go home alive after that incident.
"There's no time in any type of incident like this to have an exceptionally conscious reaction," Ingram said. "Training has to take over. You have to have a subconscious action."
He would be involved in one more shooting – justified by both police and prosecutors – before becoming a firearms instructor. Ingram said he has never changed his approach.
"We stress to our cadets that it can happen day one, call one, hour one. That's something that just takes a degree of mental preparation," Ingram said.
That preparation comes from training in and out of the classroom.
"What we need to do with cadets is we need to inoculate them towards stress. That's really the only way to become accustomed with it," Ingram said.
SAPD also uses a simulator to put officers and cadets in realistic situations that can either escalate or de-escalate depending on the way the scenario is handled. Chief Anthony Trevino said the training is some of the best in the nation.
"We can't train for every single possible scenario, but we try to train our officers as best as possible for that moment in time if they do have to use force," Trevino said.
Ingram said the training also includes real-life, officer-involved shooting situations, with the incidents detailed and training focused on what went right and what went wrong.
"It's just one of those things where it's unfortunate," Ingram said. "It's not the type of thing that people want to be involved in, but it is a reality of this line of work."