St. Charles Police Department holds open house for 1.24M training facility

The St. Charles Police Department held an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Public Safety Training Center on Oct. 14 at the facility at 3825 Karl Madsen Drive.

The facility was built at the department’s existing outdoor practice range and features a virtual training simulator, space for physical training and a classroom. During the open house, officers gave demonstrations with tactical drones, virtual training simulations and two of the department’s K-9s were happy to greet guests.

The new facility will be used to train 35 police agencies in the area, benefitting around 1,500 officers annually.

The event was attended by St. Charles city officials, state Sens. Linda Holmes and Don DeWitte, and several donors who contributed to funding the facility.

The building cost $1.24 million to construct, and was funded entirely through state grants and private donations.

St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan thanked those in attendance for their support and donations, and detailed how the facility will serve not only the St. Charles community, but other departments in the area.

Guests at the event had the opportunity to try their hand in flying the department’s drone, which was hooked up to a live feed inside the facility for others to watch. They could also try out training scenarios on the virtual simulator.

Those attempting the virtual training were equipped with an air-powered gun and could experience thousands of different scenarios, decided by the operator and projected onto three screens in front of them. The police department uses the simulator mainly to practice deescalation.

The department had both of their K-9s at the event. Saint, a Belgian Malinois, who assists with searches, tracking and apprehension, and their comfort dog, Charlie, a golden retriever/German shepherd mix, who supports victims and officers during traumatic incidents. Both were happy to receive pets from attendees during the event.

Before the ribbon cutting, St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek, Holmes and Keegan each made brief speeches.

“This collaboration between our police and the community serves to foster a healthy and safe environment for us all,” Vitek said. “The Public Training Center will further advance the department’s service to our community and region, while also providing excellent training opportunities for all those who participate. This project is a shining example of how effective government can happen when we all work together.”

Holmes noted how exciting it is to see a project through from the ground breaking to the ribbon cutting, and how the facility will benefit so many more regional agencies besides St. Charles police. She added that she loved the fact that much of the funding came from cooperation between a Democrat and a Republican State Senators.

Keegan presented each of those who contributed to the facility’s funding with a bronze fox statue and a model police car.