The police car's lights flashed and a voice boomed over its loudspeaker on the evening of May 27.

"Put your keys on the top of the car. Do it now!," Joseph Feeley yelled to the occupants of a white sedan that was pulled over and had attracted several onlookers.

But this wasn't a traffic stop conducted by Wareham Police. The "officer" is a sophomore at Bristol County Agricultural High School. The "onlookers" were fellow high-school students from throughout the area. And they're all part of the Wareham Police Department's Student Citizens Police Academy.

The program was created to "Let [teens] see first hand how we do our jobs," said Patrolman Karl Baptiste.

The program is currently in its sixth week and has addressed issues such as cyber-bullying and marijuana use. Students have even taken a trip to the Bristol County House of Correction.

On this particular night, Sergeant John Walcek and Officer Daniel Henderson were teaching students the ins-and-outs of felony traffic stops, which occur when the officers involved basically know that something isn't right. For example, if police pulled over a getaway vehicle involved in a robbery of a store.

"The felony stop is not one to be nice at," Walcek said.

Walcek and Henderson demonstrated the procedure of the felony stop via drawings on a whiteboard inside a room in the police station before taking the students outside and acting out a scenario with real cars. (The cars were driven into position by actual officers, not students, much to the students' dismay.)

During a felony stop, one officer commands while others provide support, Walcek explained.

"You've got to be very careful about when you pull your gun out. It's not a toy," Walcek advised the students (although they used a plastic, toy gun), adding: "You have to let [offenders] know you're the boss, because you don't want to get shot. You don't want to get hurt. You want to go home to your family."

One by one, excited students jumped into the roles of officers and offenders. Though there were many laughs, students appreciated the hands-on learning opportunity.

"It's a good class. I'm learning a lot from it," said Wareham High School senior Ryan VanderStaay, who is enrolled in the Junior Reserved Officers Training Corps (Junior R.O.T.C.) program and plans to enter the Army or Navy after graduation. "I want to become a cop after the military."

Baptiste said the program is a great way to build positive relationships between the police department and area youth. "This is the kind of rapport we have to build with this age group."