Summers County Sheriff’s Department invests in new tactical gear

HINTON, WV (WVNS) – Over the past several months, southern West Virginia has experienced a lot of potential threats in schools.

Summers County Sheriff’s Department gets bodycams, tasers, rifles

Nowadays, nobody can be entirely sure of their safety. The Summers County Sheriff’s Department is taking this into consideration as they purchased new tactical gear.

They recently purchased a ballistic shield, ballistic body armor, updated rifles, and an active shooter response bag full of tourniquets and other first aid items. This new gear was bought using drug-forfeiture money.

Chief Deputy Tim Adkins told 59News he is hoping to add ballistic helmets to their list of new equipment.

“Giving someone a piece of equipment is easy, but providing the training to utilize that equipment is a whole other can of worms. Our approach to that is, ‘Yes. I am going to give you this piece of equipment, but you are going to prove to me that – by our standards that you can effectively utilize it in the way that it is designed to be utilized,’” said Chief Deputy Adkins.

Chief Deputy Adkins confirmed that all the deputies will be trained to use the new tactical gear.

They will also be undergoing firearm training to hone their handling of the weapons. The entire sheriff’s department will also start working on their fitness to respond more efficiently to emergencies.

Tactical plans are being developed to respond to calls in closed quarters, like schools and churches throughout Summers County.

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“Hinton and Summers County, as far as I am concerned – 75% of the time is a modern-day Mayberry. We have no issues with [it] staying that way every single day. But there may come a time where we have to utilize the equipment and it is our responsibility to make sure we utilize it in the way it is designed so that we can save lives,” said Chief Deputy Adkins.

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