Upshur County deputies complete high-speed driving training

JACKSON’S MILL, W.Va. (WBOY) — Upshur County Sheriff Mike Coffman and his deputies took an extensive driving course at WVU’s Jackson’s Mill Airstrip Wednesday morning in order to better train them in driving at high speeds.

During the course, deputies were required to make a number of high-speed maneuvers in their police cruisers under the instruction of a retired law enforcement officer from Marion County, Florida, Robert Campbell.

“There is more officers killed in the line of duty in automobile accidents than there is with actual gunfire so it’s very important to practice what they learn out here on the course once they get into the real world exercises on the road,” Campbell said.

Sheriff Coffman said that he believes anything that he and his deputies do on a daily basis should be included in their training. He said he thinks that this kind of hands-on experience reminds them what cars will do in certain situations and that it trains them to “just be better drivers in general.”

This type of training is required once a year and Coffman petitioned the state to get approval for his deputies to receive in-service credits for Wednesday’s training.

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