School shootingActive-shooter training programs for local law enforcement
Active-shooter training sessions have been in high demand as law enforcement agencies have increased the attention they pay school security after the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting. More than twenty-four officers from various northern California law enforcement agencies participated in a two-day active shooter training course funded by DHS.
More than twenty-four officers from various local law enforcement agencies participated in a two-day active shooter training course funded by DHS.
The training gave officers hands-on experience when responding to a potential shooter on a school campus. The event was hosted by the Northern Division of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and led by Sergeant Adam Battle.
Battle told the Times-Standard that since August, CHP has led eighteen active shooter training sessions on campuses in Northern California. The sessions have been in high demand as law enforcement agencies have increased the attention they pay school security after the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting.
In the training session, officers were placed in a situation simulating what they could encounter if they were responding to a school shooting. An individual equipped with non-lethal plastic bullets posed as the shooter. Officers entered the building and used their training to subdue the shooter, while ensuring the building’s occupants were safe.
The Times-Standard reports that the training has been offered since 2006, but with the Sandy Hook incident still fresh in everyone’s mind, the training sessions have been intense.
“In light of what we have been seeing across the nation, this training is excellent,” CHP Officer MattHarvey said. “It really helps put it into perspective. We live in a small community; a lot of us have children that go to these schools. It really brings it home, knowing that any one of us could be responding to this type of an incident.”
CHP Officer Chris Nelson, who had his first active training session recently agreed with Harvey.
”You get adrenaline and tunnel vision — all the real effects of what you would be going through if this were an actual shooting,” Nelson told the Times-Standard. “Those bullets may be plastic, but they still hurt. I think that’s the best part — being able to feel that adrenaline and working through it, keeping a level head.”
The second day of training was cut short due to a small electrical fire in the building Thursday afternoon, but Battle was assured that they will be able to make up the half day in the future.
According to Nelson, there is now a nationwide shift on how officers respond to an active shooter situation. Officers are now being trained to enter the building immediately in school situations.
“It used to be, if we got a call like that, that patrol units would arrive on scene first and secure the perimeter while waiting for a SWAT team to show up,” Nelson told the Times-Standard. “Things are changing. With active shooters, there isn’t enough time to wait for a SWAT team.
“Just looking at recent history, this is obviously something we can’t stand by and wait on,” Nelson added. “We know we need to be prepared to act.”
