Now that schools are closed for summer vacation, school resource officers are getting ready for fall. More than 20 officers in Lafayette Parish took part in "active shooter" training at N.P. Moss Middle School today. This training is so important because it's the key to saving student lives. It's not only students but it's also staff. Statistics show in the last two years there have been 23 school shootings nationwide, two of them have been in Louisiana. These officers are training to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Dead bodies, shooting guns, scared teachers and students is just a glimpse of what a school shooting is really like. "It happened in Virginia tech and Columbine, so the odds are great. It can happen to anyone," said Cpl Ryan Richard. Sgt Mark Francis said, "You have to take on individuals in dark corners and in crevice areas. These things can be extremely stressful."
Stressful situations are a familiar to school resource officers, but Tuesday's training steps it up a notch. "You want to be a mentor, you want to be a father figure but at the same time you want to be a disciplinarian. You need to be a protector, so as a school resource officer we wear many hats," Cpl Wayne Griffin.
Statistics show the majority of school shootings end in either suicide or suicide by cop, which means the shooter leaves the cop with no other option but to kill them. The training is simulated with bullets comparable to paintballs called simunition rounds. The goal is to make the officers react like they train.
"We're preparing and putting these officers in different scenarios to prepare them for that, the chaos that they are going to see. They are going to have kids running out, possibly shot, teachers screaming, and everybody looking at them for assistance," said Cpl Richard.
The officers are supposed to call for back up but the person in charge is the first officer on scene. It's a big job with little help. "Time is of an essence. We can not run to our cars and get these special tools, vests or more ammunition. We can not do any of that," said Richard.
Today's training is one of many that will take place throughout the summer. At the end of it all, the officers leave with experience and exposure to something that doesn't happen very often. They hope to keep it that way.
Sarah Rosario
srosario@katctv.com


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