De-Escalation Training Key Focus of North Metro Gun Range Expansion
Law enforcement officers in the northwest metro will soon have a new tool to help them learn de-escalation tactics and crisis intervention training.
On Thursday afternoon, a collection of lawmakers, law enforcement and city officials broke ground on an expansion of the North Metro Regional Public Safety Training Facility in Maple Grove.
“We are so grateful to have this facility finally off the ground and be able to provide those opportunities for de-escalation, situational training, to really allow everyone to know that they are able to indeed come home safely to their families at the end of the day,” said state Rep. Kristin Bahner, DFL-Maple Grove.
The $17 million project was made possible thanks to funding from Maple Grove, Plymouth, Brooklyn Park and Hennepin County. The state also contributed $3.5 million in bonding dollars.
A rendering of the completed North Metro Range Regional Public Safety Training Facility in Maple Grove.
The building serves 20 different local, state, county and federal law enforcement agencies.
The current facility no longer fit the needs of all of the agencies who use it. The project will expand it from 22,000 square feet to 58,000 square feet.
“I think this is a re-funding of the police. We are investing in our officers to meet those challenges,” said Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner. “It’s complex. You’ve got mental health crises. You have active shooter incidents and all the different types of responsibilities in between those things I just described. So when you fund the police, and you fund them in the right way, we’re going to have the best trained and professional officers on the road and in our communities.”
The expansion project will be complete in the fall of 2022.
