Ocoee breaks ground on law enforcement training facility

Representatives from law enforcement agencies in Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Edgewood, University and Orange County Public Schools stood on a large lot of leveled dirt imagining the possibilities of the future. 

What simply is a field of dirt on East Crown Point Road in Ocoee will become the City of Ocoee Regional Law Enforcement Training Facility, which has been 10 years in the making. 

The training facility will serve law enforcement agencies across Central Florida, meeting a constant and growing need among police departments throughout the region for indoor space for training. 

With the turning of the dirt, Ocoee City Commissioners Scott Kennedy, Richard Firstner, George Oliver III and Mayor Rusty Johnson as well as Ocoee Police Department Chief Vincent Ogburn and City Manager Craig Shadrix celebrated the groundbreaking of the 15,000-square-foot facility Thursday, Oct. 9. 

They were joined by dozens of law enforcement officers, city of Ocoee staff members, government officials and others. 

“This facility represents more than bricks, steel and concrete,” Johnson said. “It represents safety, preparation and our community’s commitment to support the men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day.”

Ogburn said the start of construction signifies a start of a new chapter in how the department prepares and trains officers and serves the community. 

“This facility will represent a commitment by our city, state and law enforcement community to invest in excellence, professionalism and the future of public safety,” he said. “The men and women who come to train here will receive the finest training, ensuring they’re prepared for the challenges of tomorrow, while upholding the values of dignity, honor and integrity. The training facility will be a place where collaboration and innovation meet the noble mission of protecting our citizens. It will not only strengthen our officers, but it will reinforce the trust between the community and law enforcement.”

Courtesy rendering

First of its kind in Central Florida

The City of Ocoee Regional Law Enforcement Training Facility will be a facility for law enforcement agencies across Central Florida to use. 

“For the first time, law enforcement agencies across Central Florida will have a shared space where they can train, strengthen their skills and prepare for the challenges of modern policing,” Johnson said. “This will be a place for around-the-clock, 24-hour opportunities for training, ensuring our officers are ready to respond to any situation at any time. That means safer neighborhoods, stronger partnerships and greater peace of mind for all of us.”

The facility has a budget of approximately $12 million, of which $2 million came from a grant from the state. It is estimated to be complete in 18 to 20 months.

The regional facility will feature two multi-use community classrooms as well as 15 indoor and soundproof shooting lanes, and the building will provide law enforcement 24-hour access. Some of the training police departments can conduct include being able to practice shooting rifles, bringing in a vehicle into the facility so officers can simulate getting out of the vehicles and practice defensive tactics in the classrooms. 

“It’s going to be a fully functioning training facility,” Ogburn said. 

Johnson said the training facility also reflects the growth in Ocoee. 

“Our city is one of the fastest growing in the region, and with that growth comes the responsibility to build wisely, to invest in our future and to ensure that public safety remains at the heart of everything we do,” he said. 

Shadrix said making the center a reality has been “the greatest team effort” the city has undertaken in the past 20 years. 

“This project is almost 10 years old,” he said. “It’s been on the drawing board that long, and in an era where we talk about government efficiency and trying to do things better and make our money go further, projects like that that are going to be interjurisdictional with multiple law enforcement agencies working together are part of that because there’s not enough training space in Central Florida.”

Photo by Liz Ramos

Meeting a need

When the city of Ocoee was working with the state legislature on the appropriation of the $2 million grant, Shadrix said the city had 19 letters of support from other law enforcement agencies. 

“I was really shocked and surprised by that but that highlighted a glaring need in the space for training, a space that people could get their training quicker resulting in well-trained law enforcement being on the street more instead of having to wait in line to get crucial training,” he said. 

Police departments need a facility to be able to receive the most up-to-date training to ensure officers are using the most relevant tactics to protect the community and deescalate situations. 

Winter Garden Police Chief Steve Graham said not all training can be done with a simulator, so having a space to conduct hands-on training is instrumental to preparing officers. 

He said the state also requires officers to qualify with firearm training at least annually with their duty firearms. Winter Garden officers qualify at least once per month, Graham said. Access to a shooting range is critical to ensuring officers are qualified. 

Police departments from all over Central Florida will be able to schedule trainings at the facility, and several departments already are eager for the facility to be built and open. 

Miguel Garcia, the deputy chief of the Edgewood Police Department, said the opening of this facility is critical because his department solely relies on other agencies that have training facilities to allow his department to use them for training. The Edgewood Police Department uses Ocoee Police Department’s and Winter Park Police Department’s outdoor shooting ranges for training. 

Garcia said although Orange County and Orlando Police Department have their own training facilities, those departments have thousands of officers needing to use those facilities for training so availability is limited. 

Some departments are traveling a minimum of 30 minutes to training facilities, which means officers are spending at least an hour traveling instead of policing the streets. Less travel time means training doesn’t take officers off the streets for as long. 

Ogburn, Graham and Garcia all said the benefit of the facility being open 24/7 will be that officers will not need to come in for training on their days off. 

Garcia said officers on the midnight shift can train at night during their shifts rather than coming during the day shift to then work their shift or coming in on their days off. 

“It’s a lot to ask someone to put on a vest and put their lives on the line,” he said. “We don’t want to disturb their home lives too.”