Deputy training includes bombs, explosive regcognition

This week the Vernon County Sheriff's Office hosted bomb and explosive recognition training for Vernon County Deputies and members of surrounding law enforcement agencies.

The training was presented by the Missouri State Highway Patrol bomb squad.

This training helps prepare officers on how to recognize certain types of explosives and what action should be taken when they are found. The first thing that goes through someone's mind when they hear the word "bomb" or "explosive" is some type of device specifically engineered for causing havoc!

The bomb squad has been called twice by the Sheriff's Office within the last eight months and one arrest was made involving an "IED." Although these calls are extremely rare, deputies do deal with explosives more often than people realize. Just this month we took three calls involving some type of explosive.

These calls are often just citizens finding stuff like blasting caps, old bottles of nitro glycerin and other items that used to easily obtained in old buildings or garages.

Most farmers in the area can tell you stories of blasting stumps out of fields with TNT they bought at the hardware store.

Of course you cannot buy TNT at the local store any more, but some of it is still sitting around that has been forgotten about.

Last week we held our semiannual firearms qualification at Camp Clark, and all the deputies with the Sheriff's Office were required to qualify on each firearm they may use on duty and any firearm they may carry off duty. Most deputies are issued three guns when employed with the Sheriff's Office.

A semi auto .40 caliber Glock 22, a 12 gauge shotgun, and a semi auto 5.56 M4 Carbine. Although the handgun is the most used firearm in law enforcement, it is not because it is the safest.

I had a citizen ask me a few weeks ago if it was really safe for deputies to carry rifles with them. To them, the rifle was a bigger, more "dangerous" gun. That is not the fact however!

We carry a handgun because it is convenient, and easy to carry. In high stress situations involving firearms, a rifle is much easier to control and is much more accurate. A handgun will have a 4"-5" barrel making it much harder to stay accurate in a life and death situation.

During the qualifications, deputies conducted drills with their handguns firing up close, and at a distance, standing still, walking, and laying down. Bullet holes in the target were counted to verify the deputy was passing the minimum standards.

Whether it is staying proficient with handguns, or knowing how to respond when explosives are involved, deputies at the Sheriff's Office will be ready to respond. And like always, we will hope for the best as we prepare for the worst.