A local police Chief just returned from a trip to Washington D.C., where he talked safety with top experts across the country. The panel focused on how police departments should train to respond to active or mass shooting incidents.
Springettsbury Township's Chief talked with us about his meetings. He talked with top officials, including law enforcement leaders from Sandy Hook and Aurora and even Vice President Joe Biden, about the gun violence issues.
Chief William Hyers just got back from the Police Executive Research Forum in D.C. He went to share concerns about preparedness for active shooter incidents and to learn tactics for response. He says there have been too many shooting incidents in the past few years. "There have been eighty-two active shooter incidents since 2000. Eighty-two separate incidents and yet we only focus on Sandy Hook and Aurora. Eighty-two incidents is a lot, that's eighty-two separate Police Departments
His goal, is to create a master response team, that departments all around our area and in neighboring counties could use. "We have to train better together. We have you train, we train, because in incidents here in Springettsbury there is going to be 15-20 agencies responding."
Hyers says he brought home some hard facts. Police need to prepare to deal with the aftermath of shootings, like how to talk to parents of victims and that four out of ten active shooting incidents will be resolved by victims, not police.
Another item of concern, Hyers says, is that 33% of officers who go into an active shooting situation alone, will be shot. "So there's a lot of discussion. Do we have the right vests? Equipment? Are we teaching our officers something different, walk past dead, step over injured, neutralize the threat."
The Chief says his job now is to take everything he learned and find a way to share it with neighboring departments.
Springettsbury Township's Chief talked with us about his meetings. He talked with top officials, including law enforcement leaders from Sandy Hook and Aurora and even Vice President Joe Biden, about the gun violence issues.
Chief William Hyers just got back from the Police Executive Research Forum in D.C. He went to share concerns about preparedness for active shooter incidents and to learn tactics for response. He says there have been too many shooting incidents in the past few years. "There have been eighty-two active shooter incidents since 2000. Eighty-two separate incidents and yet we only focus on Sandy Hook and Aurora. Eighty-two incidents is a lot, that's eighty-two separate Police Departments
His goal, is to create a master response team, that departments all around our area and in neighboring counties could use. "We have to train better together. We have you train, we train, because in incidents here in Springettsbury there is going to be 15-20 agencies responding."
Hyers says he brought home some hard facts. Police need to prepare to deal with the aftermath of shootings, like how to talk to parents of victims and that four out of ten active shooting incidents will be resolved by victims, not police.
Another item of concern, Hyers says, is that 33% of officers who go into an active shooting situation alone, will be shot. "So there's a lot of discussion. Do we have the right vests? Equipment? Are we teaching our officers something different, walk past dead, step over injured, neutralize the threat."
The Chief says his job now is to take everything he learned and find a way to share it with neighboring departments.
