How Are School Officers Trained?

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While the Parkland, Florida school shooting unfolded, officials say an armed resource officer at the school did not go inside.

Alabama News Network spoke with officers of the Elmore County Sheriff’s Department about what’s expected of a school resource officer in the event of an active shooter on campus. They say every second counts.

The department’s captain, Chris Zeigler says his department makes sure officers that are assigned to schools are trained for active shooter incidents.

“We’ve prepared them with the gear that they would need. They have plate carriers, long guns, first aid kits, we put a lot of time in effort into preparing, hoping that it never happens but I think we’ve done a very good job of preparing for those scenarios,” says Zeigler.

The department does not have a dedicated resource officer for each school. Instead officers rotate as security officers on campuses during school hours patrolling hallways and parking lots.

“There’s good and bad to both because we’ve got guys that are highly trained and prepared and they do more than just that, so I think they are more well rounded in my opinion,” says Zeigler.

Many people question why the officer in Parkland, Florida didn’t go inside the building as Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 students.  Zeigler says as for his department, officers are trained to immediately engage any threat.

“So when things  happen, it’s no thinking. It’s just reacting and getting the job done and doing what they are supposed to do and what they have been trained to do without hesitation,” says Zeigler.

While most suspects enter schools with weapons like AR-15’s, Zeigler says an officer already on school grounds is still well prepared.

“If I have time and I’m out in the parking lot and hear gun shots, I’m going in with that long gun not a pistol. I’ll have it as a primary pistol secondary,” says Zeigler.

He says it is all about mindset and that could make the difference between life or death.

“Human nature is fight or flight and unfortunately when people go through training that human nature is still there,” says Zeigler.

Captain Ziegler says each department is different, when it comes to what they do.

The resource officer on the campus during the Parkland, Florida shooting has now resigned.