New Name of Firearms Training Center Honors Officer of 50 Years

The memory of one of the longest serving and most respected officers in St. Charles County law enforcement is now permanently preserved in the name of the training facility he helped establish.

John C. Bush, who served in the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department and Police Department 1967-2017, overhauled the department's firearms and tactics training program with a strict focus on officer safety. He is credited by numerous officers for setting high standards of training that eventually saved their lives during dangerous encounters.

On July 1, the Police Department's training range on rural Highway 94 was officially renamed the John C. Bush Firearms Training Center.

"John C. Bush served with honor and without favor, demanded excellence from all, and worked tirelessly to give law enforcement the skills needed to protect the public and themselves," the County Council declared in their ordinance approving the name change.

During his time in service, Bush held every rank from deputy to major. In 1977, local deputies were still supplying their own handguns to use on the job. Bush convinced the County's elected leaders to budget for department-issued handguns for the first time, so that equipment and training would be standardized.

He spearheaded construction of the department's first firearms training site, organized their first SWAT team, and introduced training for harrowing scenarios like vehicle ambushes.

Bush transferred to the County Police Department when it split from the Sheriff's Department in 2015, and retired in 2017. He since passed away, after which his children founded a charity in his memory, the 505 Foundation, dedicated to supplying equipment and training for law enforcement in St. Charles County.

The County's training center serves 27 law enforcement agencies, from local to federal. The facility includes a shooting range, classes and indoor demonstration space, live-fire training house, and virtual reality simulators.

The July 1 event commemorating the name change also celebrated the opening of a 20-lane expansion to the shooting range, paid for by $2.2 million from the FBI. The range now includes 50 firing lanes.

Separately, St. Charles County is forming an agreement with St. Louis, Franklin, and Jefferson counties to build a jointly run, regional police training center, paid for by $50 million in state funding.