Photo by Ana Good.
HPD
Above: Homewood police officer Victor Sims completes his semiannual requalification course at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Training Center on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Police officers have to go through firearm training twice a year, but this time, the Homewood Police Department is adding a new competition to the mix.
Homewood Police Sgt. and firearms instructor Justin Self said the department’s 78 officers are using their fall training session to prepare for a new “Top Gun” shooting competition slated for Dec. 4.
“We have always had some sort of competition amongst ourselves during these training sessions,” Self said as he stopped to answer questions at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Training Center. “Mainly for bragging rights.”
To make this round of instruction even more interesting, Self said, Homewood Police Chief Jim Roberson asked the instructors to create the inaugural Top Gun competition. The winning officer will walk away with bragging rights, of course, but also a trophy and prize.
“This event will help get our guys even more motivated,” Self said. “They all have a competitive spirit, and of course this is already important to them, but this sort of competition will amp up their performance during the training.”
The sessions, roughly eight hours long per instructor, are also when each officer must requalify to carry a handgun during a state-approved 50-round firearms course. Self said all officers in Alabama must qualify once a year and pass the course with at least a 70 percent. But in Homewood, officers must qualify twice a year with a score of at least 80 percent. Homewood officers who carry a rifle on duty must pass with a 90 percent on the pistol course and a 96 percent on the rifle course.
Should an officer fail to pass the course, Self said, the officer would immediately be removed from duty and assigned to remedial firearms training.
“That’s not usually a problem in Homewood,” he said, crediting in large part the amount of time each officer spends training each year.
Officer Victor Sims completed his requalification with a 90 percent this fall, but seemed a bit dissatisfied with his score.
“I stunk,” he said, after completing the course.
“He usually shoots better than that,” Self agreed, “but we are still only talking about a handful of misses.”
Homewood officers must attend both the spring and fall firearms training courses, which totals 16 hours of training per officer and roughly 350 rounds per session, according to Self.
“And that’s not counting the amount of time the officers spend on the ranges outside of that,” he said.
Except for the command staff and firearms instructors, every officer will be competing for the top five scores. Totals from each of the training courses will be compiled to select the top finishers, who must qualify with 98 percent or higher.
Those five officers, Self said, will compete at the Top Gun competition across three courses at the Jefferson County range. The Top Gun courses include a pistol qualification round, a bulls-eye course measuring speed and accuracy and a nighttime combat course. The courses will take anywhere from about a minute to finish, to a couple of seconds to finish, Self said.