8 Cleveland Police Cadets Hurt During Training at Ohio Patrol Academy

Eight Cleveland police cadets were hurt last month during a hand-to-hand combat training exercise at the Ohio State Highway Patrol's police academy in Columbus, officials said. 

Six of the cadets—four men and two women— went to a hospital for treatment. One cadet dislocated a shoulder and five cadets suffered concussions, said Cleveland Police Det. Steve Loomis, who was president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association when the incident occurred Dec. 12.

One recruit remained at the hospital because of a previous injury but was released less than a week later. The other five recruits were treated and released, Ohio State Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Robert Sellers said.

Two other recruits suffered concussions during the training but were not taken to the hospital, Loomis said.

All of the cadets who were injured ended up graduating a week later, Sellers said. Two are on light duty with Cleveland police because of the injuries, Loomis said. 

Cadets have been trained at the state patrol's academy since December 2015, reports Cleveland.com .

The six cadets were injured during a training exercise in which recruits fight off a training officer who attacks them. The exercise is called high-intensity training or dynamic training, Sellers said.

A new crew of medical professionals overseeing their first training exercise may have been overly cautious when they sent the six Cleveland recruits to the hospital, Sellers said.

Injuries do occur during the exercise, but the training academy takes an abundance of caution, Sellers said. Loomis—a constant critic of the state patrol's academy and a proponent of bringing back the city's police academy—disputed that, alleging that too many cadets were injured.