The Tampa Police Department uses virtual reality training pods so officers can practice de-escalation and decision-making before real calls. Inside the pods, officers wear VR headsets and work through high-stress simulations that mimic real calls for service, interacting with AI-created characters and giving them commands.
The department's training unit says it is using VR technology by Axon to strengthen verbal skills, enhance decision-making and improve readiness for high-stress calls. Local news reports say the pods were paid for through a federal grant the department received for de-escalation.
How the training works
Officers navigate scenarios on their own, and some include training weapons integrated into the VR in shoot or don't-shoot situations. The technology can also simulate a citizen's point of view, so officers sometimes play a person in crisis and watch responding officers attend to them. TPD training specialist Jared Douds said this can remind officers what it is like to be on the other side of an encounter.
Instructors watch from control room pods. The pods have an intercom so instructors can hear officers, and a tablet that shows what each trainee sees inside the headset, according to TPD's VR pods training officer Richard Fujimoto.
Rollout and scale
- May 2025: FOX 13 reported that TPD was incorporating VR into its de-escalation training for the first time that year.
- Summer 2025: TPD debuted its VR headsets, which are now used in the pods.
- January 2026: The department showed off the new immersive training pods, a total of 10 pods: eight student pods and two control room pods where instructors watch and give feedback.
Chief Lee Bercaw described the pods as a way to further enhance the training the department already does, making it more frequent and more engaging for officers.
