NEWARK — A new chapter in police training at Central Ohio Technical College has kicked off with the opening of Thomas J. Evans Hall at 1000 Sharon Valley Road.
The $3.1 million building will give future law enforcement officers more room to learn, train and prepare for the realities of the job.
The 6,500-square-foot facility offers expanded training opportunities for all future law enforcement officers.
The Thomas J. Evans Foundation purchased the building in 2020 and leased it to COTC at no cost. As of this year, Evans Hall is the permanent home of COTC’s Peace Officer Basic Training and Criminal Justice Technology programs.
“This is an exciting day,” COTC President John Berry said. “We’ve been long interested in providing a facility for training our first responder network that isn’t integrated into everything else.”
The facility provides dedicated classrooms, faculty offices, a tactical room, armory and space for cadets to learn alongside one another. The standalone building also includes break rooms and spaces designed to encourage interaction among cadets and the law enforcement officers who help with training.
Academy classes have already moved into the building.
“This allows them the capacity to grow, develop and learn in a way that we just can’t do on the central campus,” Berry said.
Honoring those who serve
The opening ceremony brought together college officials, law enforcement representatives and community members to celebrate new training space.
We celebrate an investment in our students, our law enforcement partners, and the safety and well being of the communities we serve.
President john berry
Before the ribbon cutting, COTC invited a number of individuals involved with the facility’s opening to speak.
COTC Board Chair Andrew Guanciale, Congressman Troy Balderson, Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy Executive Director James Cyphers and Colonel Chris Barbuto all spoke during the ceremony.
Among those attending was was Melissa Osborn, the mother of Danville Police Officer Thomas Wayne Cottrell, Jr., killed in the line of duty January 17, 2016.
“I have a tremendous respect for the cadets who are just beginning their journey, knowing the risk, but choosing to serve anyway,” Osborn said.
Cottrell was a 2002 graduate of COTC’s police academy.
“That’s why this building, and the education these cadets will receive here, means so much to me,” Osborn said.
“Every hour of training, every lesson learned, every skill mastered, helps prepare them to make sound decisions, protect the people they serve and return home safely to the families who love them. My hope is that every cadet who trains here will carry Thomas’ legacy with them.”
More room to train
The new building addresses a longstanding space problem for COTC’s police academy.
Before Evans Hall, the academy only had one classroom and Commander James Reese said he often needed to find another space for training.
“We only had one classroom at Adena Hall,” Reese said. “If I had a second cohort in, I had to find another place for them.”
The academy now has room to accommodate different groups and training needs — currently, three cohorts use the space. According to Reese, the day and night academies share a classroom, while a cohort from the Wood County Sheriff’s Office uses another.
Emilie Finlay, who began at the academy in August, said she was looking forward to using the expanded training space.
“I’ve always had a passion for helping, and my husband is also a detective,” Finlay said. “It’s a huge privilege to be one of the first classes to be a part of the opening. It’s a beautiful facility.”
Finlay said she is most looking forward to the Tactical Training Room, which is four times the size of the previous locations mat room.
“It’s plenty of room to do our defensive tactics. It’s plenty of room to practice our technical training, and not have to worry about anything being in our way,” Finlay said.
Since 2014, 100% of COTC police academy graduates have passed the state certificate exam. COTC is also in the top two open enrollment police academies in the state.
A closer workspace
The building also gives Reese an office alongside the cadets.
“I’ve been moved five times since I started three years ago,” Reese said. “Having my office right here next to them, instead of being off in another building, is really nice.”
Funding through a partnership with Ohio State University also helped support a classroom that can be converted into an emergency operations center. And movable walls allow staff to adjust spaces for different training scenarios.
Reese credited former academy Commander Jeff Sowards with getting the Evans Hall project moving about four to five years ago. Reese took over full-time three years ago after working as an adjunct for 10 years.
Berry said Reese was instrumental in building “the outstanding reputation of law enforcement programs we enjoy today.”
Reese is already considering additional improvements, including virtual reality training and electronic manuals.
“I want (cadets) involved, because we’re going to learn more,” Reese said.
A regional resource
COTC’s law enforcement programs draw cadets from agencies across the region, including departments in Beverly, Plain City, Cambridge, Zanesville, New Albany and Reynoldsburg.
Berry said about 85% of COTC graduates remain in the communities they serve. The college hopes Evans Hall will help strengthen those local connections.
“One of the greatest strengths of COTC’s law enforcement programs is the close working relationships we’ve established with local police departments, sheriff’s offices and other public safety agencies,” Berry said.
Those partnerships, Berry said, are central to the facility’s purpose of preparing officers and serving the community.
“Today we celebrate much more than the opening of a beautiful new facility,” Berry said. “We celebrate an investment in our students, our law enforcement partners, and the safety and well being of the communities we serve.”
(Here are Alexandra Hopkins’ photos of the event).
