NEMCC hosts active shooter response training for area law officers
ALERRT puts officers in real life situations, with non lethal ammunition for added stress
BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – NEMCC Police Chief Jason Jackson has been on the job for about three weeks and wanted to host an active shooter class on campus.
Officers from surrounding agencies went though the two day course known as ALERRT.
ALERRT stands for “Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training.”
Role players and officers are given firearms that use simunition rounds , nonlethal rounds that simulate live fire , but get your attention when they hit you.
“Our body will never go where our mind has never been so if we don;t put officers in stressful situations, and get stress innoculation they need, it could be a different outcome, this is vital training I believe all law enforcement and first responders should use,” said Jackson.
Officers go through various scenarios, such as what to do if they encounter an I E D, or improvised explosive device.
If there is active shooter or active attack call , there will be multiple officers responding. The priorities are to stop the killing and stop the dying. The ALERRT training puts all officers on the same page.
“ALERRT is a universal language for law enforcement, just like English is the universal language for air traffic controllers. It is not perfect, but everyone who is a pilot and air traffic control, uses English. The common language for law officers is ALERRT One,” said Jackson.
It also teaches responding officers to stay calm and remember LCAN, an acronym for location, condition of suspects or victims actions taken by the officer, and needs.
“There is a lot going through your mind. Even in this training, you will see rounding these corners and doing these things, individually, all the things going through your mind, knowing you have to engage the individual or individuals,” said Investigator Taylor Walker, with the Prentiss County Sheriff’s Office.
The Prentiss County School District purchased the safety helmets, sim rounds, and sim pistols for the drill.
There are also ALERRT classes for the public. For more information, you can call (662)728-6232.
