Michigan school districts take part in active shooter training ahead of school year
LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Several Metro Detroit school districts took part in an active shooter training in Livingston County Monday.
Amanda Depape, director of security of the Anchor Bay School District, says it has been a top priority of the administration to explore all ways to improve school safety since the unfortunate tragedy at Oxford High School.
"We see too much trauma; it's too close to home," Depape said. "It's definitely another added layer of protection and security within the school district, amongst other things that the district is doing."
The two-day training coordinated by Fortis Group includes active shooter training, target practice, situational drills, and stop-the-bleed training, among other tasks.
"I really see this as being cutting edge," said Mike Kinaschuk, Livingston County emergency manager and former Brighton police chief.
Kinaschuk believes schools need to be trained and prepared for the worst, given the tragedy in Oxford and many others nationwide.
"You go to schools, and mainly people say, 'Well, this doesn't happen here. So, therefore, we're not going to take it seriously; we don't do that.' That's all fine and good until the day after something happens. Maybe we should've done something more," he said.
Kinaschuk said the training is important because there are many preventative elements to the training.
"It's like putting the seatbelt on after the crash, it doesn't make any sense. Schools need to be prepared and they need to be prepared long before any event takes place," Kinaschuk says.
"Many districts are taking a lot of extra measures, spending a lot of funding to improve their security," said Brian Bastianelli, CEO of Fortis Group.
Bastianelli said his company's school security training is comprised of much more than target practice for school security guards. He says there is great emphasis placed on building relationships with students.
"All of it is just to try to prevent a future occurrence with deterrence," Bastianelli said.
On the second day of the training school, resource officers will be trained by law enforcement specialists who are experts in detecting concerning behavior.
As for Depape, she admits this is a sad but necessary world schools must operate in. She said districts must do what is necessary to keep kids safe.
"It's the key to keeping the kids safe," Depape said.