By Morgan Bryce
Associate Editor
Two representatives from the Opelika Police Department and Lee County Sheriff’s Office turned in a top-notch performance at a recent marksmanship competition in Clearwater, Florida.
Hosted by Snipercraft Inc., the four-day event featured group seminars and challenges designed to test the mental and physical competencies of its participants, who are active police or military snipers.
“SniperWeek is a unique training event for police and military snipers. It combines two days of comprehensive classroom lectures and presentations with two days of intense, job-related range training and competition,” according to an event posting on the Snipercraft webpage. “(It) is recognized as the largest, and longest running police sniper training event of its kind in the world.”
The duo, both members of the Lee County SWAT team, edged out 44 other teams from 25 states to win Alabama’s first-ever title. They also made history by leading both days of the competition en route to finishing with the largest margin of victory in the 26-year history of the competition.
OPD Capt. Bobby Kilgore said these officers’ achievements reflect the vast amount of work and energy put into the task of protecting Opelika and its citizens.
“We are tremendously proud of both of these officers for their accomplishment. It says that our officers are trained to an incredibly high standard … that we value training, that we put a lot of emphasis and resources on training, and for us, that never stops,” Kilgore said. “It benefits our citizens in the way that if there’s ever a need to use this type of force, they can be confident that our officers are going to use it correctly and precisely.”
For privacy and security reasons, the officers involved asked to remain nameless in this article.