A split-second decision could be lifesaving.

For the last week and a half, sheriff's deputies in Knox County have been training with a system designed to help them make the right decision on whether to use deadly force.

Law enforcement officers are never quite sure what type of situation they’re walking into.

“You’ve got your adrenaline going, your blood pressure hyped up, and all those things physically going on in your body. You have to actually control those to where you make a good rational mental decision,” said Knox County Sheriff, Mike Smith.

They hope a training system will help put deputies in realistic scenarios.

“It provides situations that are domestic situations that we respond to on a daily basis and patrol situations that our deputies encounter on a daily basis,” said Smith.

In one scenario, a woman rips a wallet out of a bag.

That is a “no shoot” situation, but others are different.

“It could be a shoot or a no-shoot situation. We want to make sure our deputies are trained well enough so that in a real life situation they’re making the appropriate decisions out there,” said Smith.

Each lesson is followed by analysis of what the officer did right or wrong in the given situation.

The goal is to prepare local officers for real-life situations by making the scenarios as realistic as possible.

The system also includes training on the use of other weapons such as conducted electrical weapons and pepper spray.