Senior Patrol Officer Clay Layne of the Warsaw Police Department has used his woodworking skills to help the department get better organized.

Layne was honored Friday at the Warsaw Board of Works meeting for installing cabinets in the department's dive truck, Special Weapons And Tactics vehicle and building a safety cage at the department's outdoor firing range.

"By capitalizing on Officer Layne's expertise, we are now able to contain and secure equipment in the appropriate vehicles and no longer required to load and unload them before and after each application," said Warsaw Police Chief Steve Foster.

"This allows unit members to respond more quickly and efficiently."

Layne, a 1998 graduate of Warsaw Community High School, has loved woodworking since he was a teen.

"I always loved building things when I was in high school and that interest has stuck with me," he said.

Layne was hired with the department in 1995 as a probationary patrol officer and has served as a senior patrol officer with the department for the past five years. He also is a member of the department's dive and SWAT teams.

Layne's love for woodworking has continued over the years.

He installed cabinets in the department's dive truck three years ago. The project took him two weeks to complete. The truck was donated by Sprint and is used for search-and-rescue procedures in locating drowning victims.

The cabinets he built store diver's wet suits, dry suits, masks, snorkels and fins.

Other items stored in the cabinet include water flashlights, underwater cameras and lift bags for lifting cars that are submerged in water.

The department also uses the vehicle for hostage stand offs.

"We used to store the gear at the department, but now 90 percent of our dive equipment is stored in the truck and that makes for a quicker rescue response," Layne said.

There are 16 members on the dive team that use the equipment. The team consists of members from the Warsaw Police Department and Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.

Layne also installed cabinets in the department's SWAT vehicle three years ago when the bus was donated by the Kosciusko Area Bus Service.

Items stored in the cabinets include shields that protect officers from gun fire and sludge hammers and crowbars used to force entry in instances of a standoff.

The vehicles are stored in the department's police garage behind the Warsaw Police Department.

Layne also built a security cage at the department's outdoor firing range in June. The range is at the wastewater treatment plant and is used by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and Fort Wayne SWAT team for training.

He built the security cage that stores the Warsaw Police Department's targets for target practice, doors for entry training and maintenance items such as rakes and shovels to maintain the area.

He framed in the cage with plywood sheeting, put ceilings in and built a loft storage area.

"I have been happy to donate my time and skills to the department so officers are better equipped to complete training," Layne said. [[In-content Ad]]