I have never personally dreamed of becoming a police officer, but like many civilians I have had and voiced opinions among friends on what they should or shouldn't do in a given situation, in light of the recent police involved shootings across the country.

On Wednesday morning, I had a chance to put those opinions to the test. Mobile Police Chief James Barber had extended an invitation to the media to attend, observe and participate in a Use-of-Force Critical Decision Making and Tactics training session. For about 5 hours at the MPD Firearms Range, we all got the chance to temporarily stand in the shoes of a police officer and shadow the Mobile SWAT Team in a series of mock scenarios.

But, before any member of the local media in Mobile could pick up a real handgun or high powered assault rifle, we all had to attend a mandatory Use-Of-Force class with MPD Attorney Wanda Rahman.

During her 45-minute classroom lecture she outlined in some detail the standards for when an officer can use deadly force, as outlined by the Supreme Court. She said that when courts have to decide whether that force was justified or not, layers of personal feelings and emotion have to be removed.

"The standard is going to be what did the officer know at the time he used deadly force, what were the facts presented to him or her at that time," said Rahman.

By definition, you can only use deadly force to protect your life or to protect someone else from serious injury or death. While it may seem as if Rahman skated around giving a real answer, I found out minutes later how tricky it can be to make a split second decision based on that standard in the heat of the moment.

As I walked across a narrow hallway into a dark room with a wall-sized projection screen, MPD Chief Barber greeted myself and another reporter with a handshake and smile.

"Are you ready?" Barber asked.

Feeling quite confident at the time, I answered "Yes" without any hesitation. I was told by the chief to flank the left side of the room and he signaled to my partner to cover the right side. With our red and black rubber nine-millimeter Glocks in hand, we were ready.

Responding to a trespassing complaint

Our first simulated scenario seemed simple. Some guy was drunk and refused to leave someone else's property. I figured we'd swoop in and stop the guy without any problems. I was dead wrong -- literally.

We were briefed that the suspect was a white male in a white T-shirt. As soon as the camera peered around the side of the property we could see a subject fitting that description. As he yelled at us to get off his property, with a bottle in hand, we both stood in silence. The suspect continued to yell and eventually dropped the bottle and picked up a brick. Still we stared at the screen and said nothing.

As the suspect approached us and threatened to hit us and kill us with the brick, we hesitated and got hit twice before firing a single shot.

Chief Barber's first reaction: "Why'd you wait so long?"

By the time we decided to fire our weapons the simulation had stopped registering the shots, having determined that essentially we were dead or unconscious at that point.

Barber asked us if we remembered what the suspect said before hitting us with the brick. Honestly, it was hard to remember although it had just happened less than a minute earlier.

"Well, that's called adrenaline," said Barber. "Your auditory and vision begins to collapse that's why you're reacting that way."

Domestic dispute

Before we began the second scenario, Barber told us we could call out commands to the individuals in the mock drills, which we had not done previously. They would change their actions in the simulations accordingly.

Scenario two had us responding to a call of a domestic dispute between two women inside a home. When we arrived we could hear the women yelling in the kitchen. As the camera showed the two women standing near a countertop with a few feet of space in between them, we half-heartedly yelled out commands.

The women continued to yell at each other, ignoring our commands, and one of the women grabbed a knife off the counter top and stabbed the other woman. Again we both stood and watched while the victim was stabbed and we never fired a shot.

Barber asked for an explanation of why we didn't do anything. At that point I was puzzled. I didn't want to kill anybody, but I didn't want anybody to get hurt. In that situation, which turned deadly, what I did not want to do was what needed to be done to save a person's life. Without making a proper observation of the scene I never realized a knife was on the countertop in the midst of the argument.

Barber quickly stepped in and said this scenario is designed to make participants aware of threats.

"You're in a kitchen and every kitchen has knives," said Barber. "But you are right in trying to get the two separated and get them out of the kitchen."

Next, he asked us if we could have shot the woman when she grabbed the knife. My first instinct was not to shoot her because she didn't threaten me, but that was the wrong answer. Barber said in the heat of the moment I forgot my training.

"You can use deadly force to protect someone else," said Barber.

Burglary in progress

Have you ever heard the saying, "third time's the charm?"

Well, this scenario involved a burglary in progress on a college campus without any civilians around. It begins with a suspect using a crowbar to break inside a glass door to an office. As the burglar pried the door open we repeatedly yelled, "Drop your weapon" from inside the office. The burglar continued and eventually got the door open and walked in. We continued yelling commands, which the burglar ignored. He reached under his shirt and into his waistband.

Between the two of us, we fired 13 shots. The suspect fell to the ground and the room went silent. Barber broke the silence with a question: "Why did you shoot him so many times?"

Feeling a little bit more antsy and confused after the scenario, I answered, "I wasn't sure he was going to stay down."

"He got one round off on you," said Barber. "It was actually showing you how quick action versus reaction is. He's able to reach into his waistband and fire at you."

Assault at a local school

Going into our final scenario, I felt a little bit defeated. Through the first three, poor split-second judgment had gotten me beaten senseless with a brick, I'd seen a victim stabbed to death in front of me and possibly I'd been shot in the face.

Not a good day in the office or in the field.

Now a fellow officer explained to us that some guy had come in a school with a baseball bat and was really upset. I took point leading out in front and my partner covered me from behind. As we cleared a hallway we heard screams and walked up on the suspect throwing a student onto a lunch table with his back toward us and beginning to hit the student with the baseball bat.

My partner yelled for him step away and I immediately opened fire. The suspect fell to the floor and the student laid lifeless on the lunch table. The simulation stopped.

Chief Barber asked us for an explanation for our actions. We both answered simultaneously. Barber calmed us down before responding to our assessment of the situation.

"Verbal warning is what we teach if you can," said Barber. "But as you can see you don't always have that opportunity."

When they revealed our shot selection in that scenario, it showed that my first shot missed the suspect and hit the victim. That was a horrible feeling, I was trying to save her life and I accidentally shot her. In that mock scenario, the person I was suppose to protect could have died by my gun.

The thought lingered in my head for the next hour or so, as we observed weapon demonstrations and SWAT entry tactics.

Barber later said he hoped what the media would gain from this training is a better understanding for what police officers are facing daily.

"The fear isn't so much confronting armed felons we ask our officers to do that everyday, said Barber. The fear among law enforcement in today's environment is the public criticism for defending themselves in a deadly situation."

After going through the mock scenarios, I wondered to myself, 'what would people think of the decisions I made in those situations?'

It wasn't hard to imagine the scrutiny I'd probably face from general public, although I knew my intentions were good.

From now on in those discussions among friends, it won't be quite as easy to say "What I would've done if I was that police officer" with such easy confidence.