Homer Police Chief Robert Pitman Discusses New Training Equipment On Happenin’ In Homer

In this week’s edition of Happenin’ in Homer X101’s Jack Eves speaks with Robert Pitman, Police Chief of the Homer Police Department, on their new firearm simulator and training equipment to prepare officers for real-life environments. 

The system is made by VirTra at a cost around $102,000. The Homer Police Department received a grant totaling just over $105,000 from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. With the remaining amount from the grant, and a donation from the Cortland Breakfast Rotary Club, Chief Pitman says he was able to construct a room to house the simulator in the Town Hall. That room was dedicated to Officer Edward Byrne, who was an NYPD Officer that was killed in the line of duty while on assignment protecting a witness to a drug case back on February 26th, 1988.