Behind the scenes of the new Seminole County Sheriff’s office training facility

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - A new indoor training facility for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office is now operational to make sure its deputies are ready for anything.

Split-second decisions are sometimes all they get.  It could be a traffic stop to an active shooter situation. Law enforcement officers must be trained to act and react with the right amount of force. When it comes to non-lethal force, officers must decide when to use a taser.

In one demonstration, the suspect wasn’t armed but ready for combat.  Off the mat, officers can pull in vehicles to practice traffic stops.  It’s a dialogue that can escalate if a driver doesn’t listen to commands and pulls out a weapon. The officer must shield themselves and take aim. 

In an active shooter demonstration, a responding officer heard gunfire.  The officer then moves through a structure to look around walls for the gunman. It’s all about training for the unknown and being ready for the worst.

Officials said having a facility like this takes it a step above simulators and increases their preparedness for when deputies have to respond under pressure in real life. 

It’s a daily test that they encounter while keeping the community safe.