Video: Police Academy Cadets Test Their Skills On The Firing Range

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – For the past three weeks, cadets of Class B 54 at the North Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Center have carried blue fake guns.

But as week four begins, they are given Glock 9s. Director Brian Brown helped develop the firearms qualification course that is used by law enforcement officers statewide.

“A good friend of mine and I, he constructed it, I was one of the first guys to ever shoot it, it was actually conceived here on this range, home of the state course is where they actually learn to shoot,” Dir. Brown said.

Cadets shoot seven courses. Scores are averaged, with the lowest two dropped. They have to score at least 75 and they spend a lot of time on this range.

“They will shoot upwards of over a thousand rounds for the week, each cadet,” Brown explained.

It is one of the most important weeks for Class B 54.

“Most people don’t have the opportunity to have to carry a firearm and it’s a responsibility you have to mentally prepare for and that’s kind of what we’re doing here, we’re here for the mechanics of it, it’s up to them to mentally prepare themselves to carry that for the rest of their career,” Brown said.

For cadets, it is a lot of work, concentration and repetition.

“Knowing this part of it in case you ever get in a situation where you might have to use some type of force or something, you will be prepared for it. trying to make every shot count, they stress that, make every shot count,” said Cadet Bre Lucas, who is self sponsored.

“A lot of technique in this, once we get on streets, we don’t have anybody, any of our instructors there to help us , better pay attention,” said Cadet Blake Love, who is self sponsored.

“It’s very important, it is life threatening at times, every bullet counts. This is a very serious matter,” said Cadet Timothy Stolz, who will work as a deputy with the Prentiss County Sheriff’s Department, once he graduates.

Cadets in this class took it seriously. All 14 cadets in Class B 54 qualified, with some of the highest scores in the history of the academy.

Join us for part five of “True Blue” as Allie takes us to the driving course.