Police Bring Shooting Range to Winthrop

The Winthrop Police and Harbormaster departments were able to do some training last week with Boston Shooting Club Mobile Shooting range.

Deputy Chief John Goodwin said about 50 individuals practiced in the mobile range, that was  located next to the Larson Rink last week.

“Our climate-controlled mobile range is 54 feet long with armored three-quarter inch AR500 steel that houses Dura Block ballistic rubber panels capable of stopping a 7.62x51mm rifle round,” said Howard Lewis, managing partner of the Boston Shooting Club.

Inside the range, officers are able to work through various scenarios, over 700 available, domestic violence and more. The trainer can change the scenario mid-stream and change the outcome of the victim or the police officer.

In one possible scenario a young man is arguing with an older man. He keeps waving the officer off. But then it’s noticed that there’s a bulge in the back waistband. Scenario A notices the bulge, then the young man reaches into his pocket and comes up a cell phone. In Scenario B, the bulge is noticed and the young man takes out a pistol and shoots the trainee in the face.

They are all real scenes that officers run into when responding to calls or pulling someone over. There are only split seconds to act.

“This is the most state-of-the-art firearms training available,” said Goodwin, who works with the department’s range instructors, Det. Dennis Hickey and his nephew Officer Sean Hickey. “The officers are challenged with live scenarios on the screen and they can change as the action is unfolding.”

Goodwin acknowledges some of the neighbors were a little apprehensive about the range being parked at the rink. He said they do use live bullets,  which are key to training. The training also involves non-lethal force such as pepper spray, tazers and handcuffs. The range also costs $1,000 a day, which is less expensive to going out to a private range.

“This is more of when not to shoot,” Goodwin said, adding that training is required twice a year.