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Story Archives: On target at OPSO: Donation yields expert training for deputies


On target at OPSO: Donation yields expert training for deputies
by Scott Rogers - posted Thursday, April 16th, 2009 @ 10:10 amE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
Some of Ouachita Parish Sheriff Royce Toney's best shooters got extensive training this week thanks to a financial donation by a local citizen.

About three months ago, Edward Seymour of Monroe contacted Toney about doing something positive for the Sheriff's Office.

"He's a good friend and supporter and he called up and said he wanted to do something for us," Toney said.

Turns out, Toney had the perfect idea. He told Seymour about the need for firearms training for several of his deputies.

Seymour, an avid hunter, was aware of a SWAT training course in Texas and offered to send some of Toney's deputies there for training.

"Well, we got to thinking about it and I called him back and said, 'Hey buddy, why don't we bring the course here and instead of teaching two deputies, we could teach 25,'" Toney said. "He said, 'Set it up, and I will pay for it.' And, he did."

Seymour gave the sheriff's office some $10,000 to bring two of the country's best tactical handgun instructors to the sheriff's rifle range.

Typically it costs law enforcement agencies $1,000 to send one officer to be trained by these experts.

"These guys aren't cheap," Toney said. "They are professionals. That's all they do … train police to shoot."

Toney said his motto has always been about teamwork and trying to get the community involved with local law enforcement agencies.

"This is his way of doing just that," Toney said. "Our sheriff's office is not the best in Louisiana … it's the best in the United States, and thanks to Mr. Seymour, it's getting better and getting more professional."

Lt. Robert Brown, OPSO training officer, said shooting skills are perishable and if law enforcement officers don't train frequently, they could loose their touch with a firearm.

"If you don't practice it, you lose that fine tuning," Brown said. "You never lose the gross motor skill, but you lose the fine tuning, and that's what makes the difference between hitting a target where you want."

The deputies picked for the five-day training are some of the sheriff's office's best shooters. Several of them are weapons trainers themselves, so they will use the experience gained from this week's course to teach their fellow deputies.

"This sure as heck beats sending two deputies, and thanks to Mr. Seymour, these guys will teach our other deputies," Toney said.

Seymour has always wanted to attend a course like the one offered this week at the rifle range, but he never made the time to pursue it.

"Since I wasn't going to go, I thought why not send some of these guys to it because they would benefit from this pistol training," Seymour said. "It just makes sense. I thought about my family … we live here and do business here and these guys - our law enforcement officers - make it possible to do all the things we enjoy."

Seymour hopes others in the community will support the local law enforcement agencies in any way they can.

"I've been fortunate to enjoy some success and I can certainly afford to pass it on, and we can't do anything really without these guys," Seymour said. "If they all left town for the week, we would, too."

"We're counting on them," he said.

Toney added, "It takes the community to police Ouachita Parish, and thanks to Mr. Seymour it has been made a heck of a lot easier."
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