Administration

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office is excited to announce that we will continue to offer training for citizens. We are proud to be one of the few law enforcement agencies in the country that allows citizens to train alongside military and law enforcement.

Our citizens classes, Principles of the Defensive Handgun, will be offered on the following dates. Due to popular demand, we have added a fifth class. Please contact Mady Portish at mportish@co.boone.in.us with any questions.

April 26-27, 2025 (co-ed)

May 31-June 1, 2025 (ladies Only)

June 21-22, 2025 (co-ed)

July 26-27, 2025 (ladies only)

August 23-24, 2025 (co-ed)

To register for Principles of the Defensive Handgun, please go to https://fs17.formsite.com/mbeard/PrinciplesDefensiveHand/index.html.

You can also register for all classes at https://www.boonecountyindianasheriff.com/divisions/administration/training/.

*All 2024 classes were full with waiting lists. Sign up early!

In addition to our citizen handgun courses, we are again bringing in Steve Tarani, the number one instructor in the country regarding personal security and safety. Protective Services Handgun, June 14 – June 15, 2025 and Edged Weapons CQB Pistol, October 18 – 19, 2025. Both classes are very popular so sign up early!

Information on the courses is below.

Again, for any questions regarding any of our classes, contact Mady Portish at mportish@co.boone.in.us. Once you are signed up, reporting instructions will be emailed to you 2-3 weeks before the class.

Principles of the Defensive Handgun

Price: $200

April 26-27, 2025 (co-ed)

May 31-June 1, 2025 (ladies Only)

June 21-22, 2025 (co-ed)

July 26-27, 2025 (ladies only)

August 23-24, 2025 (co-ed)

Course Description:

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office is offering a 16 hour “Principles of the Defensive Handgun” course to qualified applicants in 2025.  It will be held at the Boone County Sheriff Firearms Range in Lebanon, IN.  In the past, we have had many requests for a ladies only class. Due to these requests, we are offering a “Ladies Only Principles of the Defensive Handgun” course. There is no difference in the curriculum.  It is merely limited to ladies only.

A small .25 or .22 or .32 caliber pistol is NOT recommended for this course.  They inhibit the training and learning process.

This course is designed for the novice to the experienced male or female firearms owner.  The two-day course instructs the student in Gun handling, Marksmanship, and most importantly, Mindset.  It is instructed by Major Brian Stevenson, of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, and staff.  Stevenson is the department’s Senior Range Master, a guest Firearms Instructor at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, and former Commander of the Boone County Special Response Team, a multi-agency “SWAT” team. Stevenson has been an Indiana Law Enforcement Academy certified firearms instructor for 25 years and has been teaching this curriculum for many of those years.

Requirements:

Eye and hearing protection, a suitable pistol with at least two magazines, a belt holster, approximately 350 rounds of ammunition, and tuition of $200, $75 NON-REFUNDABLE deposit.  (As there is no fiscal impact on the Department for the course, all costs relating to the course must come from the student tuitions.)

There will be a 12-student minimum and a 24-student maximum for all Principles of Defensive Handgun classes.

For all Full-Time Boone County Employees and all Local (within Boone County) Law Enforcement Officers there will be no charge for this course.

Protective Services Handgun

June 14 – June 15, 2025 from 0900 – 1600 each day

To register for the Protective Services Handgun Course, please go to https://fs17.formsite.com/mbeard/tarani/index.

Learn the skills and gain the supreme confidence of a protective services professional moving their protectee(s) with a gun out. Take advantage of this extremely rare opportunity to learn on-the-job knowledge of active protective services professionals. A professional hands-on approach to doing what it takes to get yourself and your protectee(s) immediately off that fateful “X” and to safety while delivering rounds down range, this vetted protective agent training curriculum affords you the opportunity to develop and utilize your instinctive reflexes to solve difficult armed threat engagement protection problems.

Applicable at home, work, and travel, this is an opportunity for you to take home field-tested techniques gleaned from the professionals. Course content includes the Fundamentals of Protection, Protective Intelligence, Threat Assessment/ Response, Attack Recognition, Active Killer Response, How to move yourself and your family to and from controlled/ uncontrolled areas, protective measures against threats in confined/ open-areas, how to control attacks on principal (AOPs) with protection to/ from structures and vehicles, deployment of your weapon in an active protective movement, managing the injury/ distance liability gap, cover and evacuation, approach and departure techniques and defense against single and multiple attackers.

To qualify for this class: You MUST be able to pass the Bill Wilson 5×5 Handgun Skill Test with a score of 45 or better. All registrants will be tested! No refunds will be issued on class day so please don’t register if you can’t do it! If you do register and fail to pass, then you are welcome to attend the course using your blue gun but you will not be allowed to shoot.

Packout gear: one duty or CCW pistol, holster (IWB/ OWB) and a matching blue/ red (inert training pistol – if you have one), three magazines (and mag pouches), eye and ear protection, ball cap, cover garment (course is run from either open or concealment), range kit and 250 (minimum) rounds to 500 (maximum) rounds of ammunition.

Edged Weapons CQB Pistol

October 18 – 19, 2025 from 0900 – 1600 each day

To register for the Edged Weapons CQB Pistol Course, please go to https://fs17.formsite.com/mbeard/tarani/index.

In this program of instruction, DoD/ LE personnel are trained in how to defend against an edged weapon attack utilizing handgun edged weapon CQB defense. The very same training used by highly specialized DoD/ LE and protection professionals required to successfully managing multiple assailants, this program answers the questions: What can I do to defend against an assailant who is attacking me and or my partner with an edged weapon and I CAN’T get to my firearm in time or take the shot? What can I do in those precious few seconds when I’m reacting to a surprise attack, while trying to get to my gun? What if I’m taken off guard and have nothing in my hands – how can I defend myself and/ or my partner from a life-threatening edged weapon assault? What’s the very best way to make effective round placement in the shortest amount of time and under duress, with my duty handgun at close quarters? With an estimated average of 4.0 seconds from awareness to first combat effective round placement on confirmed threat, how can I cut my time down to a more realistic response time of under two seconds? If you carry on/ off duty, then this program is a must for your operational tool kit! Blue gun version: Bring blue/ red inert training pistol (hand-gun replica) and matching holster. Live fire: total 500 rds, duty weapon and rig (at least a level-one retention holster), three mags minimum, the usual range kit.

Steve’s Bio
Professional educator, author and keynote speaker Steve Tarani has served the United States defense, law enforcement, and intelligence communities for over 35 years as a respected subject-matter expert/ service provider in protection, firearms, and defensive tactics to numerous high- and low-profile federal agencies. Formerly sworn in the states of California and Nevada, Tarani is a former fulltime Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) protective-programs employee and was formerly on staff at the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Security Institute (Security Force Training Dept.) at Kirtland Air Force Base (NM). He is a DoD and FLETC-certified firearms instructor who has been on staff at Gunsite Academy (AZ) for over 25 years and is formerly an adjunct instructor at the SIG Arms Academy (NH) for over 16 years. Specializing in awareness-based training, Tarani is also the published author of eleven books and contributes monthly to numerous industry periodicals. He remains a private-sector protective agent, member of InfraGard and serves on the National Sheriffs’ Association School Safety and Security Committee.

Steve’s biography and more information about him can be found at https://stevetarani.com/