I am a retired deputy sheriff from out of state living in Austin. The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) is a United States federal law, enacted in 2004, that allows two classes of persons -- the "qualified law enforcement officer" and the "qualified retired law enforcement officer" -- to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of any state or local law to the contrary, with certain exceptions.
In order to be considered a "qualified retired law enforcement officer," one must be a person who "(1) retired in good standing from service with a public agency as a law enforcement officer, other than for reasons of mental instability; (2) before such retirement, was authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and had statutory powers of arrest; (3)(A) before such retirement, was regularly employed as a law enforcement officer for an aggregate of 15 years or more; or (B) retired from service with such agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of such service, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by such agency; (4) has a non-forfeitable right to benefits under the retirement plan of the agency; (5) during the most recent 12-month period, has met, at the expense of the individual, the State's standards for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry firearms . . ."
I meet all these qualifications except number 5. I have not been able to find a place to qualify with my pistol. The Austin PD range is out of the question since I am not a retired APD officer. Returning to my agency yearly is not an option. I found the Austin PD Retired Officers Association web site,
http://www.aproa.org/ who recommended using Schaefer Training Academy in Dale, Texas to qualify. I emailed Tom Schaefer but I have received no reply. I called and got his answering machine.
Is there any placed where I can meet the annual qualification?