MD Schools Police Hold Drill Ahead Of New School Year
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- It's the call no cop ever wants to hear.
"All units. Officer is down. Officer is down," came the disembodied voice from the police radio.
"Are you able to advise description of the subject," the woman asked.
An officer was hurt and an active shooter was on a school campus.
Thankfully, this time, it was just a drill put on by the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department.
Police Information Officer Det. Delontay Dumas described the scenario.
"Today we had an active shooter with ten kids and a teacher in school today," Dumas explained the fictional crime scene. "This is a unique situation. Typically active shooters are at a traditional grade schools. Today, we participated in an active shooter situation at an adult facility."
MDSPD teamed up with agencies from across the county Wednesday for an active shooter exercise at the South Dade Skill Center.
Click here to WATCH CBS4's Lauren Pastrana's report
The training was meant to coincide with the impending start of a new school year.
"School's getting ready to start in a couple weeks, in fact, on August 18th. We want the community aware that we're ready and prepared for an emergency," Chief Ian Moffett said.
They try to make these drills as realistic as possible.
Cops surrounded the Southwest Dade campus with guns drawn.
A chopper hovered above, along with a drone equipped with a camera to get a better feel for the situation.
At one point, an injured officer was carried out of the building.
Minutes later, a suspect was led away in cuffs.
Students waited outside until the campus was secured.
The police department is already planning its next drill for six months from now, proving it can never be too prepared when it comes to the student safety.
"Our law enforcement partners and the community, we all work together to make sure your kids are safe and understand that parents know their kids will be safe in the event of an emergency," Chief Moffett said.
He said the drill was specifically designed to test a tactical medical program where first-responding officers are trained to treat patients until medics can arrive.
In total, Chief Moffett said 20 officers received that training.
He said parents can rest a little easier knowing the district has a cop in every elementary, middle school and high school throughout the county.
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