Training for active shooter situations

Law enforcement officials in Pueblo said recent mass shootings stress the importance of training for active shooter situations.

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office holds training drills monthly. “Every deputy that works for the Sheriff’s Office has received the training and how to respond to an active threat situation,” said Capt. Paul Toth.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 was with deputies as they trained at Pleasant View Middle School in Pueblo West in October. Deputies are even trained to respond alone. Toth said that was one of the lessons learned during the deadly shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.

“The contemporary response now is even if it’s just one officer as soon as they’re on scene they’re responding and addressing the threat versus surrounding and waiting for larger teams or units to come in,” Toth said.

In the event of an active shooter situation, law enforcement officials would meet in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), at the Pueblo County Emergency Services Center. From there, they can monitor several cameras throughout the county, including cameras positioned inside of schools. They also have an application that allows them to live stream video from a cellphone and watch it at the EOC.

“You can’t have one set playbook that says this is what we’re going to do in every circumstance because they’re never the same,” Toth said.

Both the Pueblo Police Department and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office offer training to private businesses on how to respond to active shooter threats. Capt. Jeff Bodmer, of the Pueblo Police Department, said instructors have a lesson plan geared toward private citizen response. For more information, call 719-543-1160.

Bodmer said the Police Department has had four active shooter drills within the last year with SWAT members.

As for the Sheriff’s Office, Toth said, “We could also offer them on-site training with a sheriff’s deputy who would come out, look at their location, their business and help them to develop some ideas for how to respond or address how to follow the principles of run, hide, fight within their business.”

For information on training with the Sheriff’s Office, call 719-583-6125.

Toth encourages people to watch a video posted on the Sheriff’s Office website that describes how to respond to an active shooter situation. To view it, visit: http://www.sheriff.co.pueblo.co.us/law/rhf.html