CHARLESTON, W.Va – Numerous law enforcement agencies are getting a better place to train in Kanawha County as plans move forward for upgrades to the county’s facility located at Camp Virgil Tate.
Last month, the Kanawha County Commission approved an approximately $2 million project to improve the shooting range and add additional features to the Kanawha County Law Enforcement Training Center. County Commissioner Ben Salango said the range started to become overcrowded, in addition to being in an increasingly dangerous location.
“Somewhere around 42, 43 agencies use that space: FBI, State Police, you name it; all the agencies are coming out. All the municipalities are using it for a shooting range, but it only goes up to 100 yards, and part of it, as I mentioned, is falling over the hill,” he said.
The shooting range is planned to expand from six lanes to 24. Salango said at the current range, officers often wait longer than an hour for a lane to become available.
Additionally, the expansion provides more opportunity for long-range training.
“We’re going to extend the long gun range, actually build a new long gun range up to 300 yards. A hundred yards long is a lot, but it’s not nearly what our snipers need,” Salango said.
The upgraded facility intends to add spaces that will allow officers to practice certain situations as well. One training scenario being added allows officers to practice shooting into a car or from inside the vehicle.
“A few years ago, we had a situation where one of our officers had to defend himself by shooting. He was inside the car, had to shoot out, and it changes the trajectory of the bullet because of the way the angle of the windshield. Any time a bullet goes through something, it has the chance to change the trajectory, so they have to train for that scenario,” Salango said.
The training center also has a building designed as a house that allows law enforcement to practice clearing rooms and work through certain situations. Salango said that he hopes the improvements to the facility will allow law enforcement to also conduct safety classes.
“I also want to try to, if we can, use this new facility for training purposes for kids, to bring them in, show them how to use a weapon, show them safety procedures,” he said.
As for construction, Salango said that the architectural contract is currently out for bid. He believes the upgrades should come quickly because the actual construction is not extensive.
“There’s not really a lot of construction. There’s some tree removal. There’s some leveling. There’s going to be some concrete, but we’re not erecting giant structures. We’ve got this one three-sided covered, but I don’t think that’s going to be too significant,” he said.
The Kanawha County Commission approved the funding for the project at its meeting on September 25.