FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence police spent all of Wednesday participating in their annual active shooter training.
Lieutenant Mike Brandt said the motto of the training was “stop the threat” and minimize the number of injuries and deaths. Officers rehearsed a number of advanced exercises that equipped them both physically and mentally to respond to any type of attack.
“The intensity of the training is geared toward helping our officers work through the fight, flight or freeze that every human being experiences. We wear a badge, we wear a gun, but we are still completely human and this environment helps us build up the ability to operate in that highly stressful situation,” Lt. Brandt said.
Police trained in groups and one-on-one. Police say it’s likely that an officer may be the very first responder to a scene and will have to stop the shooter. In the past 19 years since the shooting attack at Columbine High School, police have changed their tactics and no longer wait for backup before entering a scene.
“Such going back to Columbine, officers were trained to wait. Wait for tactical teams to get here. Wait for backup,” said Corporal Justin Head. “And then you start thinking every second you wait, somebody’s kid is getting hurt.”
The yearly course aims to introduce officers to new tactics and refresh the skills they already know. Officers practice for a number of scenarios that they could potentially face while responding to a mass casualty incident, including one where they’re exchanging gunfire with the suspect.
“As the day progresses, the stress level increases. The scenarios’ intensities increase and then, yes, force-on-force occurs where there’s the stress level of ‘I may get shot,’” explained Lt. Brandt.
Officers say they hope the day when they are forced to use this training in real life never comes, but if it does, they want students, parents, and teachers to know they’re as ready as possible.
“We’re not training people to roll over. We are here for a purpose. End the threat. End the threat. We’re in the game. We’re in the fight. We’re in until we get the job done,” Lt. Brandt said.
Police also learned how to use medical equipment so they can help medical teams and other agencies on scene provide aid to victims.
