Carroll County opens new law enforcement training facility

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. - A new law enforcement training facility is now open in Carroll County. The sheriff’s office says among many things, it will better train deputies who have to navigate dangerous interior spaces.

They call it a "Use of Force Laboratory," and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office demonstrated how it works for FOX 5.

The facility will also be beneficial to the SWAT Team, whose members are trained in navigating tight spaces and around potentially dangerous corners.

Training instructors are also able to change the building’s layout, so it presents officers with different scenes and new challenges.

"There are over 500 different scenarios that can occur, so that when our people are working in that space it’s not the same thing every time. We can change it up," Carroll County Major Craig Dodson told FOX 5.

Carroll County deputies faced one of the most dangerous suspects in recent memories back in 2021: a man armed with an AK-47 who wounded three officers and shot at many more.

Carroll County Chairman Michelle Morgan tells FOX 5 that providing the space and funds for the training center keeps everyone safe.

"I realize the value of public safety from being in the retail world, how you have to take care of your employees and how you have to take care of your customers," she said. "Well, coming over to the countryside, I recognize how important it is to take care of our citizens. And then again, still the employees, which are our public safety. They need to be taken care of, too, in order to perform their job."

They say they are able to do a number of different types of scenarios, including role playing to defuse domestic violence incidents.

In an adjacent room, officers train with a weapons simulator that they say helps them develop good judgment, not just for when to use force but also when not to.

The Use of Force Laboratory can be converted to train the department’s K-9 unit, crime scene analysts and others.