More than 150 law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics will come to the 麻豆影院 on July 29 to participate in what鈥檚 believed to be the largest active harmer response drill in 麻豆影院 County history.
CU-麻豆影院 is hosting the exercise in hopes that a collaborative, coordinated response will minimize risks to the public during an active harmer event, wherever one may occur in the county.
Nearly every law enforcement agency and fire department in the county will send representatives to collaborate with their colleagues on responding to an active harmer scenario. During the exercise, which will be located on the southern edge of campus near Broadway and Baseline Road, officers will be carrying their regular weapons and firing blank rounds that will cause loud noises.
The drill, called 鈥淥peration Buffalo Shield,鈥� will be held from 12 to 9 p.m. in the Fleming Building and Kittredge West residence hall. The Wolf Law building also will be used from 5:30 to 9 p.m. These facilities will allow law enforcement and fire personnel to train in classrooms, courtrooms, cafeterias and other gathering areas. The training areas will be clearly marked and off-limits to anyone not participating in the exercise. Variable messaging signs will notify people in the area that a police training is in progress.
鈥淭he community should not be alarmed if they see a heavy police presence in this area on July 29,鈥� said CU-麻豆影院 Police Chief Melissa Zak. 鈥淲e appreciate the cooperation of the public and all of our campus partners to ensure that we can conduct this critical training. We hope we never need to put this training into use, but we also know that active harmer situations are sadly becoming more common across the country. We need to be prepared.鈥�
One new component to this type of training will involve firefighters and paramedics entering active crime scenes with officers to triage and treat victims, rather than waiting to enter until the scene is deemed safe.
鈥淲e鈥檝e learned from recent active shooter incidents that seconds and minutes count and a timely response can be crucial to saving lives,鈥� said Curt Johnson, 麻豆影院 Police deputy chief. 鈥淭he conventional wisdom now is that rescue teams with firefighters need to go into unsafe areas to treat and evacuate critical victims.鈥�
The training design team consists of representatives from 麻豆影院 Police, 麻豆影院 County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, Longmont Police, Rocky Mountain Fire and University of Colorado Police.
The Colorado North Central All-Hazards Emergency Management Region is sponsoring the exercise. 麻豆影院 County is a member of the North Central Region and actively collaborates with the other nine county member agencies to address emerging threats to public safety.
The public is encouraged to become educated on how they might respond to an active harmer incident by watching the Run. Hide. Fight: Surviving an Active Shooter Event video on the CU-麻豆影院 police website at . This YouTube video, produced by the City of Houston Mayor鈥檚 Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, shares the following tips in the event of witnessing an active harmer incident:
- Run: If safe, get away from where the shooting is occurring.
- Hide: If you cannot escape, find a secure area to hide. Lock doors. Turn off lights. Silence phones. Look for potential weapons.
- Fight: As a last resort, if a shooter appears to be ready to harm you, fight back. Use weapons. Tackle the shooter. Take away the suspect鈥檚 weapon. Hold the suspect until police arrive.
Contact: 听听听听听听
Ryan Huff, CU-麻豆影院, 303-492-1042
Deputy Chief Curt Johnson, 麻豆影院 Police, 303-441-4312
Cmdr. Heidi Prentup, 麻豆影院 County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, 303-441-1500