FERRIDAY — The children at Ferriday Upper Elementary School let out mixed screams of delight and terror as the body came flying out of the vehicle window.

“He should have worn his seat belt,” fifth grader Autranja Tennessee said, her eyes still fixated on the body, which was lying on the ground between the upper elementary and junior high buildings.

The body was actually a crash dummy, and the vehicle in question was the Louisiana State Police’s vehicle rollover simulator, a truck body mounted on a large trailer to rotate over and over.

“That man could have killed himself if he was a real person,” Tennessee said.

The rollover simulator was at the school as part of an LSP Troop E public affairs campaign, Troop E Public Information Officer Senior Trooper Scott Moreau said.

And the simulation made an impression on fifth grader Lakeair Hawkins.

“If it had happened for real, it would have been a serious accident,” she said.

In addition to reinforcing the importance of seat belts, part of the goal of the troopers’ presence at the schools was to give the public the chance to interact with the officers in ways other than just when they are having a ticket written, Moreau said.

“This type of interaction is partially to let them see that there is more to us than that,” he said.

The troopers also took their mobile command unit and SWAT team van to the school.

“We brought these because that’s something the public doesn’t get to see except in the event of an emergency or disaster,” Moreau said.

Schools were chosen as the host sites for the public visits in part because students are more likely to listen to safety advice, he said.

“The children are more impressionable,” Moreau said. “The parents might not listen to us, but it’s hard to ignore a child who is telling them to buckle up.”

In addition to talking about mobile command and SWAT exercises, troopers told the students about working with police dogs and motorcycle patrols.

“We learned it is important to keep your seat belt on and never run if the police animal is on you,” fifth grader Ryan Taylor said.

At one point during the demonstration, a trooper activated a Tazer and students visibly jumped back at the sound of the electric crackle.

“Even though the SWAT don’t look tough, they have updated weapons,” fifth grader Rykeiez Glasper said.

The troopers also visited Vidalia Upper Elementary Thursday.