Huron County sheriff, Lake Erie Arms team up

HURON — Seven Huron County residents participated in the sheriff's volunteer citizens academy firearms training last week at Lake Erie Arms on Cleveland Road East. Huron County sheriff's deputy Sgt. Ted Evans, deputy Sgt. Shannon Lyons and deputy Sgt. Bill Duncan, chief of detectives, reviewed the basics of gun safety and other basics about police equipment, including Tasers.But a simulator program at Lake Erie Arms put the participants in the midst of different situations police officers and private citizens might find themselves up against. The Firearms Training Simulator, or FATS, as it's known, has programs that provide training for private citizens, police officers and some military operations, said Brent McConnell, president, and co-owner, of Lake Erie Arms with Jim West. "We use it for concealed carry training, law enforcement, there are even scenarios for military training," McConnell said.The machine has thousands of different scenarios available to be shown on a big screen and is interactive with the trainee. It's able to hear commands and change up the responses actors in the sequences have based on how the trainee handles the situation.The most important use for the simulator is for weapons training for Lake Erie Arms, which is a weapons training facility and retail hobby center that's been open at 3512 Cleveland Road East for about four years. "It comes down to we're passionate about training," McConnell said. The "last thing anyone wants is to pull the trigger," he said, and FATS creates interactive training that allows police officers and private citizens to develop "verbal judo skills" to de-escalate tense situations. To get a concealed carry license in Ohio requires eight hours of weapons training, but McConnell recommends continuing training. "Police academies require 40 hours. Why should we as civilians be any different? Our classes here are second-to-none and we want private citizens to be safe and proficient," he said. Some of the simulator's programs are designed for training police officers in responding to emergency situations where a person might be armed, or unarmed, and tests the reactions an officer would have during intense situations. If a trainee is forced to fire on a subject, the simulator records each round, where it hits related to the person and surroundings shown on the screen.Those programs provided the residents who participated an intense look at what police officers face in difficult circumstances when residents are armed, and in other difficult human interactions. In other scenarios, private citizens are confronted with situations, including home burglaries and carjackings, and, in some cases, they are forced to make split-second decisions. All of the trainers at Lake Erie Arms are former police officers, McConnell said, and the goal is to always be safe. Former Erie County sheriff's deputy Greg Majoy was leading the training using the FATS machine Tuesday. The Huron County Sheriff's citizens academy was designed "to bridge the gap between police and the public," Sheriff Todd Corbin said. "It's the first time we've opened our programming to residents like this," he said. "I want a rapport with the public. We're here to serve the public." The police are a part of the community and the community is a part of the police, the sheriff said. A Huron County sheriff's citizens academy participant trains using the Firearms Training Simulator at Lake Erie Arms. Huron County deputy Sgt. Shannon Lyons reviews weapons safety information at Lake Erie Arms on May 15, during a citizens academy meeting. A sheriff's deputy and a resident use the Firearms Training Simulator (FATS) machine at Lake Erie Arms, a weapons training and hobby store at 3512 Cleveland Road East in Huron. Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin