O’FALLON, Mo. – The final evening of a five-week DEA St. Louis Division Citizens’ Academy included a simulated shoot-don’t-shoot scenario.

“It literally takes a quarter of a second to get shot,” Laura Bethany Strong, a St. Louis-area resident, said after completing the simulation.

The Citizens Academy is a first for the DEA St. Louis Division.

Don Sanders also completed the program on Wednesday. He said one of the eye-opening aspects was discovering how widespread fentanyl has become and how easily it can be disguised by criminals bringing the drug into St. Louis communities.

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“We didn’t understand it. Now I do,” Sanders said. “I’m actually spreading the word to everyone I know.”

DEA St. Louis Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey said the academy gives citizens a better understanding of how investigations are conducted and the tools available to law enforcement.

“We work every day to identify, arrest and prosecute the most violent criminals,” he said.

Education is another part of the DEA effort. The agency reports that in 2024, fentanyl seizures represented more than 292 million fatal doses.

“It’s also a goal for us to go out into the community, educate people and make people aware of the drug threats in our communities,” Dickey said.

Wednesday’s simulation took place at the O’Fallon Police Department, using some of the department’s training tools.

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“Anytime you have a citizen police academy at the federal or local level, it’s always a good opportunity for the citizens we serve to get a glimpse of what the officers are actually doing on the street,” said Sgt. Bryan Harr, O’Fallon Police Department.

The O’Fallon Police Department also runs its own citizen academies. Harr believes the events can not only educate the public, but also stimulate citizens’ interest in becoming members of law enforcement.

The DEA St. Louis Division and the O’Fallon Police Department are planning additional citizen academies in the future.

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