Emergency Preparedness In Montgomery
Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham says when it comes to emergency preparedness, local law enforcement strives to be two steps ahead. That means constant training, and learning from other emergency situations.
Cunningham explains “when you start talking about horrific events which took place in Orlando and over in London we learn a lot from what they saw, what witnesses say and then they come back and tell us ‘hey this is what we saw before it took place.'”
One thing that Cunningham says has changed in recent years is more communication between law enforcement agencies.
“We now know how important it is to at the drop of the coin, to notify other agencies saying we need your assistance” he explains.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Training facility is home to one of the two 300 degree Firearm Simulators in the state, which training coordinator, Sgt. Thomas Griffith says is instrumental in preparing officers for active shooter situations. He adds “I don’t know if it gets any more real than this , this is as close as it is to being real without actually engaging and using live ammunition with real people”.
Law enforcement is only one part of the equation, Cunningham says it’s also important for the public to be more prepared.He explains “well we’re going out from law enforcement going into companies, corporations churches, and we’re teaching them on what to do in the event that you have an active shooter and how you need to react to that”.
