Active Shooter Response Training Available At No Cost to Law Enforcement
January 18, 2013
In the wake of the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn., state and local law
enforcement across the U.S. are evaluating their readiness to respond to an active
shooter incident in their area. NCBRT would like to make law enforcement agencies
aware of an available grant-funded training opportunity to prepare for active shooter
incidents, the Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response, or LASER, course.
By now, many law enforcement agencies have adopted a more proactive response protocol
in which responding officers pursue and engage an active shooter immediately to stop
the threat, which saves more lives than the traditional response protocol in which
responding officers surround the shooter and wait for the SWAT team to respond. However,
not all agencies have had necessary hands-on training to prepare for such incidents.
The LASER course teaches uniformed officers who are first to arrive on the scene to
respond immediately in pairs. It is referred to as a rapid deployment by first responders
as opposed to the traditional tactical team response. This protocol is taught through
a combination of classroom lecture, hands-on exercises and realistic response scenarios.
"This course offers you the opportunity to not only be taught different techniques
and concepts, but at the same time, to experience the situation and understand some
of the difficulties that will come with it," says Ray McPartland, a course participant
with the New York City Police Department.
The hands-on exercises include breaching exercises, in which participants actually
use rams and cut through chains. The response scenarios are made as realistic as possible,
so participants are able to get into the mindset before they actually encounter such
an incident on the job.
"The experience of the scenarios is one of the most important parts of the course,"
said Kit Cessna, NCBRT Instructor. "I have noticed a huge difference between scenario
one and scenario four. Students do much better in scenario four because they are so
much more confident."
The LASER course also addresses technical aspects of planning and implementing a rapid
law enforcement deployment to an active shooter. One such issue is communications.
Course participants will be able to relate the importance of communication in responding
to and resolving an active shooter incident.
Another technical aspect addressed in the course is weapons use. Participants will
be able to explain gun turret technique and how weapons discipline and fields of fire
are maintained when using this technique. Instructors also discuss the importance
of familiarity with local building floor plans in developing a hasty response plan.
The LASER course is recommended for all state and local law enforcement and those
who may respond to or support the response to any type of active shooter incident.
It is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Department of Homeland Security
and is completely mobile. Course instructors and materials come to you at no direct
cost to your agency, meaning agencies simply need to provide a training facility.
NCBRT is committed to preparing as many law enforcement personnel as possible to respond
to active shooter incidents. To achieve this goal, NCBRT encourages established trainers
or instructors in academies, agencies or departments to attend the train-the-trainer
version of the LASER course. Upon successful completion of the course, those trainers
and instructors are able to teach the indirect version of the course in their own
jurisdictions, using course materials provided by NCBRT.
To schedule the LASER course for your agency, please contact your regional training
coordinator