Knox County Sheriffs Deputies trained with the virtual firearms simulator for the first time on Tuesday.
Virtual firearms training provides officers with a chance to learn more about using firearms in a realistic scenario. The simulator, made by IT Training Corp, gives the instructors over 600 different scenarios to test officers with including bank robberies, hostage situations, school shooters, snipers, and car jackings.
The majority of the cost for the training equipment was covered by a grant from the Thomas Wathen Technology Fund that’s administered through the VU Foundation. The equipment is mobile and goes back and forth between the Sheriff’s department and VU’s law enforcement program.
Mike Fisher, Knox County Detective Captain, says this program helps law enforcement students in the classroom.
Fisher says the training simulator also helps cut down on department costs by not having to buy so many live rounds of bullets for gun training. The virtual simulator isn’t meant to replace practicing live gun shooting at a range, but is another tool in helping train officers and students.