Firearms training is good investment for county

By Doug Carder, dcarder@miconews.com

Doug Carder

The $4,000 that Miami County spent to use a firearms training simulator this week was well worth the expense.

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office and the Paola, Osawatomie and Louisburg police departments used the simulator. Although it could never duplicate a real emergency, the simulator provided officers a glimpse of what it is like to be in a high-pressure situation, said Sgt. Randy Cornelius with the sheriff’s office.

County counselor David Heger said the money was available for risk management. The funds made it possible for officers to use the simulator without actually having to purchase the equipment, which would have cost $85,000 plus annual maintenance fees of $7,500.

Heger said many of the current law enforcement personnel haven’t had training like that since the academy, and the scenarios have been updated to involve things such as school threats and terrorist situations.

Making the training available to all law enforcement agencies in the county provided up-to-date training at a minimal cost.

The county provided similar driving-simulator training last year for local law enforcement.

The county is to be commended for its efforts to make premium use of these simulators, and it should continue to look for shared-training opportunities to maximize participation with minimal expense. Well-trained, confident officers make Miami County a safer place for all of us.