WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The Wilmington Police and Fire Department broke ground Tuesday, symbolizing the start of construction on their new public safety training facility. 

  • New facility will be a training site for the Wilmington Police Department and the Wilmington Fire Department
  • Building named after one of the first African-American police officers in the city and a fallen firefighter
  • Expected to be up and running fall 2019

The wooded area across from Maides Park will soon be a 30,000 square-foot, state of the art building dedicated to training new recruits and returning officers. The facility is named after Sergeant Edward Lee Haynes, one of the first African-American police officers in the Wilmington Police Department and Captain Eric Lacewell a fallen firefighter.

 Family members of these local heroes were at the ground breaking ceremony, and said it's an honor to be a part of something like this. 

"That's all I hear, that he was a good guy," said Anita Haynes as she talked about her dad Sergeant Haynes. "And I think that meant more to me than anything else. That people respected him and thought of him as fair and that he was one of the good guys."

Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous had similar remarks saying Sergeant Haynes was an icon, with no one better to name the building after.

He and other local officials are excited for a facillity that has been 10 years in the making. 

Wilmington Police Department public affairs officer, Linda Thompson said they have never had something like this before.

"We have really had to juggle and move around how we train our folks," said Thompson. "And so, we're excited because for the first time. We will have a building dedicated specifically for the sake of training our personnel."

The Haynes-Lacewell Police and Fire Training Facility will have an indoor shooting range, training classrooms, simulators and more office space to accommodate the near 500 officers and firefighters that these departments train annually. Training currently happens at off-site facilities. The police department partners with the New Hanover County Law Enforcement Officers Association for their firearm training, and both departments use Cape Fear Community College as a resource.

Thompson said police officers are mandated by the state to complete 40 hours of training each year.

"This new facility will certainly allow us to meet those mandates easily each year by having adequate classrooms space which we're already short on," said Thompson. "And certainly having an indoor range, which in inclement weather, will make it more accessible."

Chief of the Training Division at the Wilmington Police Department Herman Born said their current building is too small to house their offices, training, and first-responders. He said when recruits are being trained the busy building can be a distraction.

"Every time a call comes in the sirens go off, they go down the street," said Born. "If there are people in this part of the building, they are roaming throughout the building. [The new facility] gives us the ability to be able to provide training in a quiet, distraction free environment."

Thompson said in addition to enhancing regular operations, they want to reach out to the community. 

"Training simulators will certainly give our citizens an opportunity to see, first hand, some of the things officers are faced with on a daily basis," said Thompson. "So we're excited because we will be able to open our doors and invite the community in."

The facility should be up and running by October 2019.

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