BSO conducts active shooter drill ahead of start of school year
MIAMI - More than 60 Broward Sheriff's Office deputies participated Monday in an active shooter drill ahead of the start of the school year.
"The more we impose on them now. The better they are going to respond in the field when it happens," BSO Sheriff Gregory Tony said.
Tony believes the best way to train his deputies is to make the training stressful enough to feel real.
Deputies were given little information going into the drill. Tony said a man was barricaded in a room with students. He said they should stop the killer first before they help people who are hurt.
"We prepared," Tony said. "We're doing the things that are important and we're gonna continue to test our capabilities before bad things happen."
This training is common at the start of school, so deputies have reps under their belt. They'll know how to clear a room and help anyone who might be hurt while waiting for paramedics.
Tony said that school resource officers are in school for several reasons, but the main reason has always been to protect people inside the school.
"We're smiling and we're hugging these kids and working with these teachers and staff, but our fundamental priority is to safeguard the people in these buildings," Tony said.
New School Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn said this can help the police get a fresh feel for this kind of scenario close to the start of the school year.
"The more training, the more practice the better awareness you're gonna have, the faster the reaction time is gonna be," Hepburn said.
Tony said his agency often trains with local police departments because more than one agency responds if there's a threat at a school.