WHEELING - The most routine call has the potential to transform - quickly and without warning - into a life-threatening situation for responding law enforcement. That message was constantly in mind as officers from the Wheeling Police Department recently conducted firearms training.
Every one of the department's 80 officers traveled to the shooting range at the Wildlife League of Ohio County in Valley Grove during the previous two weeks to hone their marksmanship skills.
Instructors placed officers in multiple scenarios, shooting at stationary and moving objects from multiple positions and even utilizing computer technology to reinforce discretion with a firearm.
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Officers were placed in a situation in which they entered a door frame-sized space, drew their Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber pistols and fired at two stationary targets, as well as three moving targets.
Packed into the targets were balloons, which would deflate when hit and cause the target to fall to the ground. Balloons were located in the chest area of the two horizontally moving targets, while the third advancing target had a balloon placed in the head area. The goal was to reinforce teaching that if an armed perpetrator continues to advance despite multiple shots to the body, officers should aim for the head.
While officers fired their weapons, Cpl. William Noice stood behind them voicing words such as, "Jam!" or "Reload!" Noice, however, instructed officers to ignore any outside influences they may hear and concentrate on the targets in front of them.
"We do that because when you're in a firefight, there's so many distractions out there and you need to remain focused," said Sgt. Rob Marriner. "We train everybody to survive."
Officers also exited a police cruiser and loaded a Remington 870 12-gauge pump-action shotgun while taking cover behind the vehicle's engine block. They then fired at multiple targets from multiple angles, advancing and taking cover behind barriers of varying size after each successful shot.
Instructors finally put officers before a projector screen to simulate different "shoot - don't shoot" scenarios. Various images were projected on the screen, forcing officers to discern between threatening and non-threatening situations and act accordingly.
"We have always had a very proactive emphasis on firearms training, far before me," said Wheeling Police Chief Robert Matheny. "This department has a rich history of that."
Noice and Marriner have continued that tradition, Matheny added, preparing officers for a potential firefight as the number of police fatalities nationwide is in the midst of a spike.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, an agency that tracks law enforcement fatalities, there have been 149 officer deaths in 2011. That number is up 21 percent from this time last year.
"In today's society, there is always the potential for a gun fight with law enforcement," Matheny said. "That's why we want our officers to be the best of best and bring them the best, cutting-edge training available. I think the range staff achieved that this year. I think they'll grow off that system, and I think our firearms training will be second to none in the state."