PRINCETON, WV (WOAY) – This week, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is providing training to multiple law enforcement agencies in Mercer and Tazewell Counties.
Starting yesterday and continuing until Thursday, officers will train on an Emergency Vehicle Operations Course, where they’ll cover how to maneuver emergency vehicles safely.
Geroge Sitler, prospecting attorney for Mercer County, is helping oversee the training.
“They’re doing this because they want to avoid fatal incidents with emergency vehicles. Law enforcement officers, more of them fall to vehicular collisions than to firearms or domestic violence incidents, or anything else that they do.”
The training takes place over two days and includes multiple seminars on vehicle safety, as well as an obstacle course.
The obstacle course took place at the Mercer County Airport, where the runway was transformed into a complex obstacle course that officers had to maneuver their squad cars through.
Sitler thinks that the training will provide long-term value to the communities of southern West Virginia.
“I think that the fact that they are doing what they are interested in learning how to be safe and learning how to do things the right way will gain them better respect with the public and let them know they have the public’s safety at heart.”
This is also the first time a training program like this has been conducted in Mercer County.
“None of my predecessors have put something like this together, and I’m very proud that we did it.”
Sitler believes the training will provide great value to the officers as well as citizens.
“This is good for the public; this is good for the safety of our citizens; it’s good for the safety of our officers. I’m really glad we got to put this on.”
