(Austell, Ga. – April 6, 2016)
Officers from the Chattahoochee Technical College Police Department received eight hours of Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) credit after completing active shooter training at the college’s Austell Campus on Wednesday, April 6.
Back row, from left: Jamille Bradfield, PIE, City of Atlanta Department of Corrections; MPO Louis Defense, PIO, City of Smyrna Police Department; LT. Glenn Daniel, PIO, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office; and Phyllis Banks, PIO, Albany Police Department; front row: Dee Dee Doeckel,
CTC’s Executive Director for Marketing, Digital Media, Recruitment External Affairs; CTC Officer Dione Turner; and CTC Communications and Records Manager Lynn Quick.
“The purpose of the exercise is to train our officers on what to do during an active shooter event. Chattahoochee Technical College’s Police Department trains for active shooter scenarios twice a year. As POST-certified officers, campus police are required to keep up their training and education, and force-on-force training scenarios are imperative in preparing for crisis situations,” CTC Training Officer Tim Hilley said.
The multi-jurisdictional training exercise, which coincided with spring break for CTC students, began with familiarity training for campus police officers as well as officers from local law enforcement agencies.
Sgt. Dana Pierce, spokesman for the Cobb County Police Department, headed a morning classroom training session where he instructed officers on how to disseminate information to both the news media and the general public. Later in the day, public information officers from CTC campus police, the Atlanta Department of Corrections, Smyrna Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Albany Police Department tested their skills during a mock press conference hosted by the college.
“As the sergeant in charge of the Cobb County Police Department’s Public Information and Crime Prevention Office, my goal for those who attended the active shooter training being offered at the Chattahoochee Technical College campus was twofold: media relations and surviving active shooter public information officer 101,” Pierce said. “Hopefully, at the end of these two sessions, anyone attending my part of the day’s activities will better understand the media and how to perform the duties of a public information officer before, during and after an active shooter situation.”
The active shooter portion of the training exercise began just before 1 p.m. after officers were dispatched to a call that shots were fired on the Austell Campus. Responding officers, armed with airsoft training weapons, made entry into the building and quickly eliminated the threat. In order to make the training scenario as realistic as possible, some members of the Chattahoochee Technical College’s staff and a few students volunteered to play the role of “victims,” and after being rescued by local fire and medical services personnel, they were taken to a triage area.
CTC campus police officers participate in an active shooter training exercise.
CTC Communications and Records Manager Lynn Quick said campus dispatch was responsible for fielding calls, watching campus cameras and updating officers on new developments during the training exercise.
The Chattahoochee Technical College Police Department is also looking to prepare civilians for active shooter situations and will host two Civilian Response to an Active Shooter Event training sessions on May 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the auditorium (A112) at the Paulding Campus, located at 400 Nathan Dean Blvd. in Dallas, and on June 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the Grand Hall of the Appalachian Campus, located at 100 Campus Drive in Jasper.
For more information, contact Officer Tim Hilley at (770) 443-3634 or by email at tim.hilley@chattahoocheetech.edu.