The Roger D. Garrison Law Enforcement Training Center

By Sheriff Frank Reynolds

The Cherokee Sheriffs Office (CSO) is fortunate to have one of the finest training facilities in Georgia. The Roger D. Garrison Law Enforcement Training Center (RGLETC), named in honor of former Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison, was established in 2013 to offer specialized law enforcement training for agencies throughout metro Atlanta and north Georgia.  

The 42-acre campus is located in Canton next to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center. The training division is led by Captain John Gunning, a retired command sergeant major with 28 years of military service and over 20 years as a certified Georgia peace officer. Captain Gunning has a staff of seven full-time instructors, 13 adjunct instructors, and two administrators.  

Since January of 2017, the RGLETC has supported 261 classes, nearly 20,000 law enforcement officers and deputies comprised from 26 separate federal, state, county, and city law enforcement agencies, by providing instruction, classrooms, firearms ranges, and technical support. Numerous other government agencies and charitable organizations utilize CSOs RGLETC facilities for meetings, training, and events. On any given day, the training center has nearly 50 students from at least two or three law enforcement agencies.

The firearms training complex is complete with pistol, rifle, and shotgun ranges on traditional turning target platforms and more modern computer programmed steel targets. This includes two multi-purpose ranges, a 50- and 100-yard range, a 25-yard turning target range, and a Bill Rogers computerized steel target range, 50-foot rappelling tower, and 6,500-foot indoor multipurpose building.  

Although firearms proficiency is a part of the training curriculum, de-escalation techniques are equally emphasized. A lot of time is spent training in the field, but classroom time is also an integral part of the training curriculum. The RGLETC offers students the opportunity to attend classes on ethics, Georgia and Constitutional law, first aid, community relations, and a variety of law enforcement courses required for advanced certification through the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Counsel (P.O.S.T.).

Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 38-8-21) requires each peace officer to undergo 20 hours of mandatory training to include firearms, de-escalation, mental health, use of force, and community policing. Most CSO deputies receive an average of 100 hours of annual training. The CSO also hosts an annual 36-hour in-service class for all certified deputies and city officers throughout the county. This ensures deputies and officers are training on topics that are specific to the needs of our community and to their specific duty assignment.  

In order to keep the facility properly maintained, other law enforcement agencies make annual financial and equipment contributions to a designated training fund that is maintained by the CSO finance office.

In addition to training law enforcement officers from around the state, the CSO hosts an annual Sheriffs Office Citizens Academy, where citizens learn about the CSO and its function within the community.

The RGLETC also hosts a citizens firearms course through the Apple Seed Project, a program that emphasizes basic marksmanship skills, firearms safety, and history of the United States as it pertains to the 2nd Amendment. Reinhardt and Columbus State Universities are off-site campuses for their certificate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees, a partnership that helps CSO employees further their educational goals.

The Cherokee Sheriffs Office is dedicated to providing our community with the finest public safety, and the RGLETC sets the standard for all law enforcement agencies in the state of Georgia.