Mob Museum in Vegas lets visitors play police officer

LAS VEGAS - A home invader wearing a ski mask is holding a woman hostage in her bedroom. A police officer immediately starts giving verbal commands, ordering the man to let the woman go, but the intruder refuses and lunges toward the officer with a weapon in hand. The officer then raises her gun and shoots the man.

The officer in this training exercise was a British tourist, and the victim and intruder were on a life-size video projection inside the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. The visitor was participating in a new hands-on exhibit that arms visitors with a pistol that shoots plastic pellets and puts them in simulated situations similar to those police encounter in real life.

The courthouse-turned-museum in downtown Las Vegas for years has showcased the area's storied past in organized crime. But visitors now can also learn about the complexity of the decisions that officers face when they encounter situations that may require the use of deadly force. The museum's most recent renovation also has added an interactive crime lab and a speak-easy, complete with on-site distilled moonshine.

The use-of-force exhibit walks visitors through video and live role-playing scenarios, including an encounter in a staged alley with a suspicious person played by an actor or actress. Museumgoers are issued a police duty belt and a gun that's as heavy as one police officers carry.

Participants first receive a video introduction from a Las Vegas police captain and go through a brief target-shooting practice. All along, museum facilitators teach visitors gun safety practices, use-of-force guidelines and police procedures. Guests learn to maintain distance from a suspect, not to keep their finger on the trigger and not to shoot someone who does not pose an imminent threat.

"It did feel real. It was the first time I ever held a gun," London resident Lesley Morris said after participating in the exhibit. "It was really informative. We don't have guns or anything like that in England."

Associated Press