Vermont police practice response to school shooting emergency | 02.23.2007 | 06:44:17 | Views: 5421 | ID: February 23 '07: The Times Argus reported in Vermont that state and local police are practicing their coordination and response to a school shooting and how the various levels of law enforcement communicate with each other during the emergency. Drills in Rutland County were attended by about 50 officers, the Times Argus reported. State Police Lt. Donald Patch, the head of the State Police barracks in Rutland told the Times Argus, "We know if we have this kind of incident at any of the schools, it's not going to be just state police, Castleton police or Fair Haven police, or anybody else. ... It's going to be a combination of everybody who shows up. It's important that we're all on the same page. It's about being prepared." The exercise was held during school vacation so that students would not be present. During the drill, officers with unloaded hand guns broke into small groups and moved into a school where the make-believe gunman was terrorizing students. Using formations, officers surveilled rooms, working from one classroom to another using defense positions. Patch said the room clearing is "part of the training. You work with what you have ... They're learning room clearance and movements down a hallway in an area where you have an active shooter. ... It's a way of moving through not only a school, but any building, to try to clear it out and find the perpetrator."
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