Troup County officials hold safety training simulation at West Point Lake

TROUP COUNTY, Ga. - There was a big public safety training exercise at West Point Lake Friday in anticipation of a busy summer.

With the weather turning warmer, and hopefully sunnier soon, the exercise gave public safety members the chance to practice for whatever may happen at the lake this summer.

The exercise started with a scripted, action-packed scenario. "Eyewitnesses" gave accounts of a domestic disturbance with shots fired at R. Shaefer Heard Park on West Point Lake.

"We heard them over there arguing and heard a few gunshots. The next thing we know we heard splashing," one "witness" told trainees.

The exercise included Troup County Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters, as well as a dive team from the Columbus Fire Department and drone work by their police department.

Although homicides at the lake are uncommon, they say murder victims have been dumped here.

Deputies practiced collecting evidence while the divers searched for a sunken training dummy that was staged for the practice.

The scenario ended with a simulated felony car stop and the arrest of the pretend-murder suspect.

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office says these agencies don't come together very often to solve homicide cases. Sadly, they do team up at least three times a summer on drownings at West Point Lake.

The hope is for a safer summer. However, these well-trained officials are ready, just in case.