Abney wins police Top Gun competition

The top five shooters in Homewood Police Department put their skills to the test in the first-ever Top Gun competition.

The event was on Dec. 4 at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office training range in Fultondale. The contestants included Officers Mark Trippe, Jonah Abney, Ted Springfield, John Self and Corey Lenard. Each went through a course that began with a 50-yard sprint and included distance targets, multiple targets and a “hostage” situation, in which the officers had to aim for the head of a cardboard target while avoiding a second target just inches away.

The officers were judged on overall time, with seconds being added for each shot that landed outside the center circle of the target.

“Time is almost as important as accuracy,” Chief Jim Roberson said of the competition course.

Abney was the overall winner, receiving a plaque and $40 gift card to GT Distributors, one of the supporters of the competition. Trippe placed second, Lenard third, Self fourth and Springfield fifth. They received a range of prizes including gift cards, hats and a “Glock clock,” a wall clock designed to look like a firearm.

Tom Hale of the Homewood Police Foundation, another supporter of the competition, thanked the competing officers for their service and gave the top three finishers $125, $75 and $50 gift cards, respectively.

Roberson said that even though he is retiring, he hopes the Top Gun competition will be an annual event after he leaves office.