Harris County deputies could soon have a new place to practice everything from avoiding crashes to safely ending pursuits.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is planning a new driving training facility that officials say will provide deputies with a dedicated course to prepare for situations they encounter behind the wheel.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the goal is to give both new cadets and experienced deputies continued training while reducing preventable crashes.
“This is really just a pivotal moment for us. It’s really reimagining what training could look like,” Gonzalez said. “We want to make sure we’re training, we’re preparing, and also preventing.”
Deputies currently practice skills including defensive driving, distracted driving, crash avoidance, speed control, and pursuits.
That includes learning how to perform a PIT maneuver, a technique deputies can use during a pursuit to stop a fleeing vehicle.
Deputy Eddie Pavloski, who has been with Harris County for 34 years and has spent several years teaching driving, said deputies need to prepare for situations that can develop quickly on the road.
Pavloski said there are about 67,000 crashes on average in Harris County, making driving training especially important for deputies who spend significant time on the road.
The sheriff’s office has used its current training facility just south of NRG Stadium for roughly 15 to 20 years. Pavloski said the limitations of the site prevent instructors from practicing some skills they would like to incorporate into training.
“The driving track facility, we can touch a lot more things like accident avoidance, lane control,” Pavloski said. “We don’t have lanes out here, so we can touch on those kinds of things.”
The new facility is expected to include a dedicated driving course stretching about a mile, allowing deputies to train for traffic stops, pursuits and other emergency driving situations in a controlled environment.
Officials said the facility will also include classroom space and a control tower.
Having a dedicated course would allow HCSO to conduct training throughout the year instead of depending on the availability of other facilities.
Gonzalez said that becomes important when deputies encounter unpredictable situations in the field.
“Once you’re out in the field and things are dynamic and moving quickly, you have to have a good understanding of what the vehicle can do,” Gonzalez said.
The facility is also expected to serve agencies beyond the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Pavloski said constables, school police and other law enforcement agencies will be able to use the regional training facility.
“We’re teaching our deputies to be safe, but also to avoid the public, to make them safe also,” Pavloski said.
The project was approved by voters as part of a public safety bond.
HCSO officials said they are looking at beginning construction in 2027, with the facility expected to be completed after that.
