75% of armed incidents happen at night, so one metro sheriff wants deputies training in the dark

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Deputies in Douglas County are trying to shine a light on the obstacles they face in the dark since they say 75% of armed confrontations happen at night.

Channel 2′s Tom Jones got a behind-the-scenes look at how Douglas County deputies train in the dark.

“The world looks a lot different with the lights off,” Master Sgt. Omereo Potts with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

“At nighttime, it’s a lot harder to see everything. Your depth perception is off, your color perception is off, everything looks black and white,” Deputy Amanda Coleman described.

Firearm trainers say the state mandates daytime firearm training. Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds has also mandated that his deputies undergo yearly nighttime firearm training.

“Statistics show that 75% of armed confrontations happen during lowlight situations, so it’s very important that we train on that,” Potts said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• 1 shot, killed at Family Dollar in Clayton County, police say
• 8-year-old girl critical after getting hit by car while she was getting on school bus
• Fulton DA, special prosecutor admit to relationship, call motion to disqualify ‘meritless’

Jones was there as trainers turned off the lights to simulate darkness so deputies could undergo the nighttime training.

Deputies then went through several scenarios where they had to hit a target with no light, one with flashing lights and one with a flashlight or the light on their weapon.

Coleman says the training isn’t only helpful for nighttime situations. She says it also helps for when she has to pursue someone in a dark building or in a heavily wooded area.

“You just never know. The public needs help 24/7, and it’s our job to make sure the public is safe,” she said.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Arrest made in connection to crash that killed Georgia State Patrol trooper in Gwinnett County Trooper Jimmy Cenescar was trying to stop a motorcycle for a traffic violation when his car left the road and crashed into an embankment.

©2023 Cox Media Group