Tulsa Police Prepare For School Shootings
Reported by: Abbie Alford
Email: aalford@fox23.com
A deadly shooting and a hostage situation at two schools today and they happened half a world away.
Tulsa law enforcement officers are on alert and they already have a plan of action.
In Finland a gunman opened fire in a classroom at a trade school killing ten people and then killing himself. In Canada a reported 16-year-old put a gun to a pastor’s head a school during mass.
Fox 23’s Abbie Alford spoke with Sergeant Luke Sherman to find out how all Tulsa police officers are trained to respond to an active shooter while protecting students.
All 800 plus Tulsa police officers are training on former school grounds. Due to a shift change officers are now given the opportunity to train in the Active Shooter Response training more often than before.
Uniform officers are usually first on the scene and they say they don’t like to waste any time when it comes to public safety.
During a rescue scenario officers gather and follow their target. All they know is that they are responding to a school shooting.
You hear a three bangs and an officer pretending he’s been shot.
“Ahh I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot.”
Although they are in training their every move is taken seriously.
The leader of the rescue crew shouts to his crew, “We are coming right behind him, swivel, pivot,” says Officer Adam Woodward.
A mother who has a daughter entering pre-k next year says she’s relieved to know patrol officers are training to protect her kids.
"As a parent to me it's important because I wouldn't know who is on duty and who wasn't. So whoever is called to take action I would want them to have all the training that they could have," says Darci Zoellner.
Officer Woodward says as beat officer in East Tulsa all of this training for potential real-life situations is crucial to protecting the public.
“It's very dynamic on how we enter the building, to the people that we encounter, to the information that we gain, to how we get wounded people," says Woodward.
The Tulsa Public School Police Chief says once all the officers are hired for the TPS force they too will go through the same Active Shooter Response training.
The Tulsa Public School Police Chief says once all the officers are hired for the TPS force they too will go through the same Active Shooter Response training.
A spokeswoman for The Broken Arrow Police Department says its officers go through the same training, however, it is varied throughout the year.
Tulsa Police Prepare For School Shootings
