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Madison County Sheriff's Office working to build public trust

New technology means officers get more hands-on training to prepare them for difficult situations.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Within the past year, law enforcement has been placed under a microscope. 

The Madison County Sheriff's Department is trying to alleviate some of the community's concerns.

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Hometown Lenders, a local mortgage broker firm, donated a training simulator that will be used to help educate officers. The officers will be placed in common, tough situations and will have to decide how to deescalate them. 

One such scenario is a routine traffic stop in which the driver has a firearm. 

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"Law enforcement, for lack of better words, is looked at right now in some parts of the country as the enemy," said Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner. "When something bad happens, whether it be a shooting, whether it be your house broken into, whether it be your car broken into, they're calling us. And we want to be trained and make sure we know what we're doing when we get there." 

Billy Turner, the CEO and owner of Hometown Lenders hopes this new addition will help keep the community safe. 

"Only a few organizations in the nation have this type of state-of-the-art training," said Billy Turner. "It allows our police force to set up scenarios and train on scenarios, so that when they do show up on the scene, they have the best opportunity to make the best decision." 

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