When law enforcement responds to an emergency call of domestic violence or a shooting, those police officers and deputies often times have no idea what they are walking into.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident in which a male subject allegedly shot a man who was thought to be sleeping with the suspect’s wife. The man then allegedly threatened his wife with a gun and it took some coercing by deputies to get the suspect out of the home without further gunfire.

Thankfully, the incident resolved without further violence, but from day to day, anything could happen.

That’s why Collins Career Center’s public safety training facility is more important than ever for the safety of Lawrence County’s law enforcement personnel and its residents.

The site was recently upgraded through the generous donations of local businesses and the county commissioners and can be utilized by officers training in various tactical situations, as well as firefighters and first responders.

When it comes to life and death, our county’s civil servants only have mere seconds to react in certain situations. The training facility is what can help give those officers and first responders the edge when it comes to critical thinking and problem solving when it really counts — when people’s lives are at risk.

Kudos to those who donated to the project and to Collins Career Center for hosting the site for all our county’s emergency workers.