| Emery County Sheriff’s deputies hone their firearm skills with training exercises. |
The Emery County Sheriff’s Office participated in firearms training recently for three days at the sheriff’s gun range. The event was organized by Capt. Kyle Ekker and Det. Sgt. Robert Blackburn.
All of the deputies took two written firearms tests and participated in marksmanship training. This included proper gun handling and safety.
The Emery County Attorney’s office also spent time with the deputies and provided training on proper search and seizure, arrest techniques and Miranda warning training. Deputy county attorney, Brent Langston conducted this training.
The handguns were shot from 25 yards and closer and the patrol rifles were shot from 100 yards. The deputies worked on weapon control, weapon reloading and fundamental weapons training. They shot from various positions. They worked on an occupied hand drill, where the deputy is busy writing a ticket and his hands are in use to a situation where he needs to draw his weapon.
The deputies shot from a prone position and reaction drills were held. Sgt. Blackburn would call out the instructions of which position the deputies were to shoot from, standing, prone or kneeling and how many rounds to be fired. The deputies also practiced the low light training scenarios.
Capt. Ekker said the deputies also practiced draw and fire where they are required to shoot two rounds in 1.5 seconds. “One of the things we work on the most is accuracy. They practice this in the controlled fire drill. They also worked their way through a combat course where they shot cardboard and reactive steel targets.
“The deputies will move, shoot, take cover, and reload and sometimes this takes several times before the steel targets will go over. They were taught basic positions to use when taking cover and using available objects to shield themselves. The deputies also sighted in all of their weapons both pistol and rifle.
“The deputies shot the qualification course for hand gun and patrol rifles. Everyone did pretty well and we are working on 100 percent for the qualification course,” said Capt. Ekker.
Sheriff Lamar Guymon said, “We are working to improve the skill of our deputies. They were involved in 8-12 hours of training for the three day event.
“The men were tired, but they did a good job and it was good training.
“Capt. Ekker and Sgt. Blackburn are the certified firearms instructors and they put our deputies through rigorous training which they feel it is essential for the deputies to be well-trained in the use of firearms. Our office spends a lot of time on training.
“We have qualification training two-four times per year. We also encourage the deputies to work on their own to maintain and improve their skills and bring them to a higher level of shooting ability,” said Sheriff Guymon.