Pick187
12-22-2009, 12:05 AM
In my younger days on the SWAT team I was in charge of finding a training location and set up a scenario. I spoke with the local principal of the high school and he gave me the go ahead to use a section of the high school that shouldn’t be occupied since we were training at night. I set up an active shooter type scenario with a cadet acting as a role player with an old rubber M-16 that was used for drill at the local National Guard as his weapon. The scenario was that the cadet was to make contact with the team and then break contact and retreat to a far room down the hall and barricade himself.
What went wrong?
Unbeknownst to us a teacher had come in on her off time to do get some work done. The teacher had seen the young cadet with what appeared to be a real rifle running down the hall. The teacher barricaded herself in the classroom and called 911. Dispatch alerted officers to a man with a gun at the high school and everyone responded not knowing that the SWAT team was training there. Officers were setting up outside the high school and getting ready to make entry by the time we found the teacher under her desk. We luckily were able to notify dispatch about the situation before armed officers enterer.
What has changed because of this.
Dispatch and on duty officers are now notified of where and what type of training there will be. If an exercise is done at a school, we request a notice go out to the teachers before the training day. If the building is equipped with a PA system, we announce there is law enforcement training about to commence and for anyone in the area to come and make contact with us. A safety person goes room to room and checks occupancy prior to training starting.
What went wrong?
Unbeknownst to us a teacher had come in on her off time to do get some work done. The teacher had seen the young cadet with what appeared to be a real rifle running down the hall. The teacher barricaded herself in the classroom and called 911. Dispatch alerted officers to a man with a gun at the high school and everyone responded not knowing that the SWAT team was training there. Officers were setting up outside the high school and getting ready to make entry by the time we found the teacher under her desk. We luckily were able to notify dispatch about the situation before armed officers enterer.
What has changed because of this.
Dispatch and on duty officers are now notified of where and what type of training there will be. If an exercise is done at a school, we request a notice go out to the teachers before the training day. If the building is equipped with a PA system, we announce there is law enforcement training about to commence and for anyone in the area to come and make contact with us. A safety person goes room to room and checks occupancy prior to training starting.