NORTHAMPTON — Ray Hassett has stood on stages in London, New York and Los Angeles before packed audiences, but now he stands in conference rooms before scores of police officers.

It’s Hassett’s job to train these officers — through a course he said he designed himself — how to respond to high-intensity and emotionally charged events they encounter in the field.

On Thursday, Northampton police officers participated in Hassett’s course, which includes videos, discussions and role-playing demonstrations.

“One of the things we’re going to be learning is how to slow it down,” Hassett told the group Thursday. “Especially with what’s going on in the world, people are in a highly emotional state … whether it’s terrorism or mistrust in the police, everyone has a reaction when you arrive.”

Hassett traded acting for law enforcement in 1987 when he joined the New Haven Police Department in Connecticut. His acting skills immediately became an asset, he said, when he was assigned to go undercover during a two-year investigation into organized crime in the city.

Now with 25 years of law enforcement experience behind him, including time spent as a hostage negotiator, Hassett travels the country for a group called Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement, a nonprofit that provides programs and training for law enforcement and mental health professionals, according to its website.

Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper said de-escalation is a skill officers at the department already pride themselves on, but saw an opportunity for officers to gain more insight from Hassett’s course.

“We’re a great department that places great value on professional development, and we are always looking for cutting-edge training that addresses today’s policing challenges,” she said.

This is a course designed, Hassett added, to get in front of those challenges.

In high-pressure situations, it can be difficult for officers to not travel down what Hassett called the “emotional highway.”

“Once you follow them up that ramp, you end up in the same place they are,” he said. “What’s the point of that? Instead of running forward, you take a step back.”

“My intention in doing this is to make cops better,” Hassett added. “I learned this craft firsthand. I’ve been in their shoes, so I know what their shoes feel like.”

Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.