Cops train for active shooters, hoping it never happens
“Active shooter” is the call no officer wants to hear over their radio, but it’s one law enforcement is increasingly preparing for as mass shootings become more common across the United States.
Weekend killings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, showed clearly how deadly a single gunman can be. In Dayton, at least, a rapid police response stopped the killing quickly.
In Ramsey County, the sheriff’s office is training deputies to “prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” said undersheriff Mike Martin.
“We're training our officers to respond quickly to eliminate the threat and then to ensure that there aren't secondary threats, other suspects or explosive devices and those types of things,” Martin said, adding that deputies get 16 to 24 hours of training annually.
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While it’s important that officers know how to respond to active shooter situations, Martin said it’s just as important to know how to try and prevent them — from event security to erecting barricades and installing and monitoring security cameras.
“Oftentimes,” he said, “you may not see all the protective measures that are in place but they're there in case they're needed and they're being used to keep people safe.”
While there’s no perfect process to respond to active shooters, the more training officers receive the better, said Peter Johnson, a trainer at Archway Defense, Minnesota-based organization that trains police around the country on how to respond to situations like the shootings in Texas and Ohio.
“All these teams, whether they're a SWAT team or the individual officers throughout the entire state, are continually trying to find ways to polish that process more.” he said.
Acting quickly is vital.
“That may mean a difference between people living and dying,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, an independent research organization that works with police on how to work through critical issues in their communities.
“Clearly in Dayton the other day had that person not been stopped there's no telling how many people would have died. So time makes a difference,” he said. “Training makes a difference [and] equipment [like protective vests and rifles for police] makes a difference.”
While training is crucial, Martin says community ties can be a key weapon in stopping mass killings before they start.
“Really that the best information that we get comes from the public,” Martin said.
“There's so much out there, it's very difficult to identify people without having some type of prior knowledge,” he said. With a tip through a criminal investigation or from the public “we can watch and see whether or not that person's behaviors are escalating.”
What to do if you see suspicious activity:
The Department of Homeland Security has some tips on what to do if you see suspicious activity. Using the “5 W's,” the DHS suggests you report who you see, what you see, when you saw it, where it happened and why it’s suspicious activity.
More Details available on the DHS “If you see something, say something” website.