Seized Building Transformed into Wayne County Sheriff's Office Training Center

Sheriff Shane Fisher proudly reported recently that the increased visibility of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office vehicles in the Southgate community is a result of a training curriculum conducted at the Wayne County Sheriff's Office Training Center, located on Chisholm Road.

In December of 2019, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, along with the TBI and the 22nd Judicial Drug Task Force, raided a building on Chisholm Road about a mile north of the Alabama state line. That building turned out to be what Sheriff Fisher called the most elaborate and sophisticated marijuana grow house he had ever seen. The bust was so large that semi trucks had to be brought in to haul the plants and equipment from the site.

As shown in the photos above, the building that was once illicitly used for illegal drug activity is now being put to good use in a totally different way – it is now the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Training Center. The size of the building, approximately 7,500 square feet, allows for the setup of all types of different training scenarios, such as the recent active shooter drills.

“Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies were recently trained in active shooter scenarios using the most realistic, state-of-the-art equipment by our own in-house instructors, who are second to none,” said Sheriff Fisher. “Our deputies are continually trained to have the highest level of professionalism and ability to better serve and protect our citizens. This interactive training provides deputies much needed, real-life scenario incidents to better prepare for serious incidents like active shooter responses.”

It is absolutely great to know that the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office presence in the Southgate community is not the result of illegal activity, but for valuable training in which the Sheriff’s Deputies will become highly skilled in responses they will hopefully never have to use in our Wayne County communities.