CMU students and the rest of the community can hope to benefit from recent improvements made to Grand Junction’s police training program.

Phase one of the Colorado Law Enforcement Training Center (CLETC), which includes a driver-training track, was officially dedicated in a ceremony on August 15. CLETC is former Mesa County Sheriff Riecke Claussen’s vision started over two decades ago and will serve the needs of Western Colorado and Eastern Utah law enforcement, first responders and students in the Colorado Mesa University Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) academy.

Phase one of the CLETC came with a price tag of $1.4 million. The motive behind the creation and funding of this new facility is to create a more realistic training scenario, rather than utilizing empty parking lots for training, and to provide pragmatic education for those in CMU’s POST academy.

The dedication ceremony included comments from CMU president Tim Foster, Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and Grand Junction Mayor Sam Susuras.

Located on 115 CO Highway 141, CLETC sits atop an 80-acre parcel of land acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management by CMU.

“I believe this is a benefit to the community and provides a resource for CMU students involved in the POST program,” CMU Director of Media Relations Dana Nunn said.

Future additions to this multi-phase project will include a simulated city block training area, a pistol shooting range, a POST classroom building, a fire training area, and a fitness course.