Columbia Southern University and the Orange Beach (Ala.) Police Department co-hosted an female police tactical training event from April 23-25.

"It's a confidence builder," said Sgt. Jessica Daley about the event, which was at the agency's training facility. The three-day event featured specialized instruction for 19 female law enforcement officers in defensive tactics and gun range practice.

"It's a rare environment for women to be able to go to a tactical training class in the area of law enforcement where they are the majority," said defensive tactics instructor Amy Foster, a 20-year veteran of law enforcement and owner of Female Advanced Tactical Training.

Fellow instructor Dorcia Meador, a retired police officer who runs Precision Pistol Training police, added, "What we bring to the Advanced Female Tactical Training are techniques for women that they may not have had from male counterparts. Our purpose was to bring more specialized training for women's physical needs."

Those methods were very helpful, particularly on the gun range, according to Daley. "My grouping has improved because of the instruction. The instructors are great; it is easy to learn from them. They are not boring; they make the class fun and interesting."

CSU student Karen Bray, a deputy from Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office, agreed, adding, "This is the first time I had heard about something like this for women in law enforcement. This is a wonderful class with very effective learning techniques."

CSU Special Programs employee Jessica Black also pointed out the uniqueness and need of the training.

“This course was groundbreaking for CSU because training like this has unfortunately been rare but needed, especially among female officers," she said. "This pilot course will help us broaden and generate a more versatile female tactical course later this year that includes several different forms of defense tactics and exercises to hopefully in return save lives."

Related:

CSU's Female Tactical Training (video)