NPD sniper details experience for library program

Newton Police Department Detective Chris Wing gave a presentation Monday at the Newton Public Library explaining the day-to-day life of a trained law enforcement sniper. Wing discussed his training, the technical aspects of being a sniper and displayed some of his tactical gear and equipment.

Wing has served 13 years as a full-time police officer. He is a trained firearms instructor, range safety officer, rifle instructor, field training officer, serves as a technical accident investigator and has trained in an advanced sniper school. Wing currently fills one of two positions at the Newton Police Department as a trained sniper.

Nicole Lindstrom, public services librarian, said she thought the public would be interested in learning more about what a sniper really does.

“We saw a huge increase of circulation in the ‘American Sniper’ movie and books,” Lindstrom said. “So I hope to see people informed about what Officer Wing does, and that he provides an informal setting to learn about a police sniper.”

Lindstrom said she originally paired the demonstration with a showing of the “American Sniper” movie but has since changed it so the movie will now be shown at 5:30 p.m. Thursday for adults at the Newton Public Library.

Wing explained that a sniper is a skilled marksmen, trained in camouflage and infiltration. Snipers specialize in observation, reconnaissance and surveillance, and operate as an individual, pair or team.

“They need to be physically and mentally fit,” Wing said. “It’s definitely not normal to kill someone.”

Snipers engage in targets anywhere from 20 to 1,000 plus yards. Wing said snipers are required to be masters of range estimation and confirmation. Snipers use both close and distant-range weapons, as well as different types of camouflage to blend into their environment.

“The most important job of a trained sniper is to report suspicious activity and provide precision fire to protect officials and innocents,” Wing said.

Wing said some examples of a situation in which a sniper would be required somewhere like Newton would be in a hostage situation, barricaded gunman or a bank robbery. As a law enforcement sniper, Wing gains information, or “intel,” for SWAT team entry, so a SWAT team would understand the details of a situation before taking over.

Wing said shooting is 20 percent mental and 80 percent physical skill.

“It’s definitely difficult laying in one spot for a long time, gaining intimacy with your target, and calculating the distance and weather conditions to take the shot,” he said.

Wing said although he has never had to take a sniper shot, through his training, he is mentally prepared to do so. When asked during the Q&A session following the presentation, Wing said he did not think it would be “nerve-wracking” to take a shot.

Wing said he has always had a fascination with guns, and that some of his skill must be genetic — inherited from his grandfather, who was a sniper in the South Pacific during World War II.

The “American Sniper’ movie brought world-wide attention to what military snipers do. Wing said before that, not a lot of people talked about snipers.

“Physically, snipers don’t really want to draw attention to themselves, and there shouldn’t ever really be ego involved in what we do,” he said.

Wing is currently taking over the sniper program at the Newton Police Department, and working on becoming a sniper instructor. The Citizens Police Academy is now taking applications for its upcoming September program, which trains local citizens in the duties of law enforcement.

Contact Savannah Eadens at newsroom@newtondailynews.com