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Canonsburg police set sights on weapons training

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The gun Canonsburg patrolman James Saieva is using in the new laser shooting simulator is modeled after the handgun used by the department’s officers.

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Canonsburg patrolman James Saieva tests the department’s new laser shooting simulator at the police department Thursday.

CANONSBURG – Canonsburg police can hone their shooting skills without firing a bullet.

The range shooting instructors for the department, officers Louis Bailey and Jonathon Cornell, added training on a laser shooting simulator to the traditional instruction and qualifications on the firearms.

“This allows our officers to train frequently on fundamentals of shooting and use of firearms,” said Chief Al Coghill.

“We can work on the fundamentals of sight alignment, stance, trigger control, grip and breathing control.”

“We can work on marksmanship,” he added. “It allows us to increase our training and reduce the chance of any sort of accidents.”

Using a laser gun modeled after the .40-caliber Glock 22 service weapons carried by officers in the department, the officers fire at a computer-generated target. One of the six programs is similar to a “shoot, don’t shoot,” scenario.

“The lasers mimic our duty guns in weight and size,” Coghill said. “It will help us reinforce fundamental skills. Most missed shots are caused by trigger pull.”

Bailey said this augments training with the officer’s regular service weapon but will not replace live training.

The program can eventually be expanded to include live scenarios, Coghill added.

Coghill believes Canonsburg is the first department in the county to have this program. Mayor David Rhome said the borough is looking to offer more training opportunities for officers.

“Officer Bailey came to the administration about a year ago wanting to bring the simulator to the department,” Rhome said.

“I commend the compassion he has shown his fellow officers in wanting to give them more expertise.”

Rhome said the borough will explore the possibility of opening up the training to other police departments.

The department had 20 hours on the training since the beginning of the year. Coghill said he hopes to have 1,000 hours training on the simulator by the end of the year. Officers can also train online through policeone.com.

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