COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Coeur d’Alene City Council approved a new training facility for the Coeur d’Alene Police Department (CDAPD) to enhance officer training.
City Council President Dan Gookin highlighted the importance of the facility, noting that CDAPD has been sharing space with the fire department and street department, creating challenges for training. “The next meeting we voted on it, it was unanimous we got the PD a training facility that they’ve never had before,” said Gookin.
The facility will provide a dedicated space for hands-on training, free from disruption. Gookin stated, “We didn’t have a dedicated place where these guys could go and shoot stuff and blow stuff up or whatever it is. Train inside real life action stuff we didn’t have it and they can go here there everywhere now they have the facility which is great!”
Gookin also expressed satisfaction with the project’s progress. “So, it actually happened quite fast for a government project. Usually these things take months, years but this is going along really smoothly, we just got the report yesterday that everything’s going fine.”
Police Sergeant Jared Reneau emphasized the significance of scenario-based training, describing it as crucial for officers. “Scenario based training really is some of the most valuable training officers receive so having the resource with the dedicated building for that is going to be a huge benefit to the police department,” he said.
The facility, expected to be a large structure, will be used for scenario-based training exercises. Reneau explained, “It allows us to let officers or expose officers to those situations in a safe environment to basically let them practice to really trigger that psychological stress response so they can manage that adrenaline and the chemical cocktail rush that comes along with those things.”
Gookin added that the building will feature durable, movable walls, providing an adaptable training environment. “And is being constructed in a way that going to be very durable, movable walls inside, and it’s going to be just perfect for them which is what they needed,” he said.
The community stands to benefit from this training, as officers will be better prepared for worst-case scenarios. Reneau stated, “You know hopefully in our training it’ll show some deficiencies where we can train better and help officers practice on how they respond to those situations.”
The project is expected to cost less than $160,000. Gookin was eager to expedite the process. “They came to us, and they were like let’s do it in next year’s budget and I was like no let’s get it done now we’re moving this salt facility let’s get that thing started so that we can get the guys in their sand training as soon as possible,” he said.
