Dozens of RCMP officers spent last week running through a Cochrane school carrying fake guns and being splattered by paintballs as they were trained to deal with a mass shooter.
In response to the increased mass shootings in North America, Sgt. Jeff Campbell said the training exercise is an example of how police are evolving their scenario-training techniques.
More than 40 RCMP officers from southern Alberta attended a two-day Immediate Action Rapid Deployment course at the St. Timothy School where officers learned how to handle “active threat” situations such as a shooting or multiple victims being stabbed.
“Scenario-based training is taking place in all police stations around North America … they learn what an active threat is and how to deal with it accordingly,” Campbell explained.
“Even though it is in a school, what they are learning here today can be applied to any active threat situations.”
The purpose is to train members to act quickly when responding to volatile or life-threatening situations, such as a hostage situation or if there is a possibility of someone being gravely injured or killed. The officers in training – the majority from Cochrane – were taught how to draw down a threat, how to handle the victims, and how to secure a building and deem it safe again.
Since mass shooting began in North America, starting in 1999 with Columbine High School and a second few days later in Taber, Alta. – “active threat” situations have only increased – with 354 active assailants in North America last year and multiple people killed, according to Campbell.
“It is not a matter of if this is going to happen in our area, it is a matter of when,” Campbell stated.
“Since 1999 every police department across the world has changed their way of thinking with an active threat.”
RCMP officers are being trained to recognize an active threat and respond accordingly to scenarios that were previously handled by a SWAT team or Emergency Response Team.
Typically, an active threat situation is over in 10 to 15 minutes and the RCMP can no longer afford to wait for backup, Campbell explained.
Some of the changes include better protective vests and bigger guns.
Four RCMP officers were shot and killed in 2005 in Mayerthorpe, Alta., and afterward the RCMP approved the use of bigger guns for “active threat” situations.
“After the fatality came out it was realized that we needed a firearm platform that could extend beyond our pistol or shotgun … in layman’s terms it’s an assault rifle,” Campbell said.
The training took place at St. Timothy School between March 29 and April 1 while the school was empty due to spring break. The majority of Cochrane officers are now trained in Immediate Action Rapid Deployment.
“It took a major incident to get things to change but policing is always evolving because we’ve gone from traditional concepts to everything else … we have to constantly evolve, we cannot stay stagnate,” Campbell said.
