A hostage negotiation training session held this week in Texarkana is helping area law enforcement officials hone their skills.
Henderson County Chief Deputy Kevin Halbert has been involved in teaching the 40-hour negotiation course for five years. The training involves scenarios where police officers role play being the hostage and/or the person under distress trying to be reasoned with.
Police departments from Bowie County; Greenville, Texas; Texarkana, Ark.; and Texarkana, Texas were at the course with a total of 15 officers in training.
The sessions were held at Texarkana, Texas' Police Department training center near Spring Lake Park.