Port Jervis Police Opens Shooting Range and Training Center Dedicated to Police Chief

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—The Port Jervis Police Department held an opening ceremony for the Chief William J. Worden Training Facility on May 9, a project that has been 15 years in the making.

The training facility includes gym equipment, training technology, a classroom and meeting space, and an outdoor shooting range. The interior walls are decorated with photos and awards honoring police officers from the Port Jervis Police Department’s history, dating back to the force’s early days.

Police Detective Kyle Mitchell, president of the Police Benevolent Association, spoke at the ceremony, saying that the facility is being named after Police Chief William Worden for his care for the police force.

“We’re not just dedicating the building, we’re dedicating it to the man that made this all happen,” Mitchell said. “For those who don’t know Chief William Worden, I can’t think of somebody that’s more dedicated to training and the well-being of the officers that he presides over.”

Mitchell said that the plans for the facility and shooting range have been in the works for more than 15 years and that it eventually became a joke that it would never happen.

Worden said at the ceremony: “We’ve had a lot of struggles with getting it off the ground with funding and working through the state, getting permission for this site. I heard jokes that we would be on Mars before we have a range building.”

The naming of the facility after the chief was kept secret, as was the designation of May 9 as Chief William Worden Recognition Day by Port Jervis Mayor Dominic Cicalese. Worden said he did not know about it but had noticed that his colleagues and the mayor were acting strangely in the days before the opening.

The facility replaces the Police Benevolent Association meeting place that was destroyed in the 2005 and 2006 floods, Worden said. He said it gives the union a home, a place to preserve history, and a place to strengthen officers.

Cicalese, Orange County Legislator Tom Faggione, and New York Assemblyman Karl Brabenec all spoke in appreciation of Worden and thanked him for his service to the community since joining the department in 1993 and becoming chief in 2007.

Port Jervis Police Spokeswoman Meghan Ede told The Epoch Times on May 12 that ground was broken on the facility about a year ago and that, at that time, it was decided to name the building in honor of Worden.

There is a memorial plaque on the exterior of the building that commemorates Worden’s service to the community and the police department, ending with, “May every officer who trains here carry forward [Worden’s] spirit of leadership, honor, and devotion to public service.”

Worden thanked the town of Deerpark, which helped secure approvals for the developments, and state Sen. James Skoufis, who helped secure funding for the facility.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of New York Assemblyman Karl Brabenec. The Epoch Times regrets the error.