Kids & Family

Manchester Police Get a Hand from Manahawkin Boy Scout

Robert Cort donated a new shooting bench to the department as part of his work to the rank of Eagle Scout.

The Manchester Township Police department got a much-needed replacement for its shooting range, thanks to some help from a Manahawkin Boy Scout going for his Eagle rank.

Robert Cort, 14, spent weeks gathering the materials and building the department a new shooting bench—pouring about 54 hours of his time and effort into the construction—which has been installed to replace one destroyed by years of weather and use.

It's a valuable addition, police said, given the amount of firearms training local officers have to undergo annually.

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A dozen Manchester firearms training officers spend hundreds of hours working with members of the department, who have to run a battery of drills—in the fall training, police said, officers had to do everything from fire through the windshield of a car to hit targets while on the run—designed to mimic real-world situations.

When it comes to regular qualifying, Manchester goes beyond the state's requirements—instead of having officers pass by getting the state-standard 48 out of 60 hits in a scoring area on the range, Manchester requires its officers to get 55 out of 60.

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Besides hosting training for the local department, Manchester's range also runs training and simulations for various agencies in the area throughout the year.


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