Role-playing a scenario no one wants to confront in real life, more than 200 officers and firefighters took part in active shooter training in Mt. Pleasant this week.
At the newly vacant West Ridge Elementary School, participants learned how to respond to an active shooter, breach doors, find entry points, and get people to safety.
It’s training that Mount Pleasant Police Chief Robert Botsch told TMJ4’s Tahleel Mohieldin was necessary for law enforcement across communities.
"Unfortunately, we have had active events in Wisconsin," Botsch said. "We've had them in multiple different venues, in different cities, in different counties, so no community is immune from it."
To prepare officers for the unthinkable, about 20 community volunteers role-played as victims to add more realism to the scenario. High school senior Abigail Jutrzonka was among them.
Watch: Officers, volunteers role-play active shooter training in Mt. Pleasant:
“It’s sad,” Jutrzonka said. “It’s sad that this is a reality for us, but it makes me feel better knowing that there are programs to train the cops.”
Jutrzonka heard about the training in her criminal justice class and signed up to volunteer because she wanted to help.
Former teacher and mom Mary O’Connor also took part. She knows firsthand how much anxiety even the threat of an active shooter can bring for students and parents.
O’Connor said the training exercise offered some relief.
“When we’re doing these scenarios, they stop and train if something’s not quite the way it should be,” she recalled. “They stop and talk about it, which is really good because then when it does actually happen, they’ll know exactly what to do.”
First responders from Mt. Pleasant, Sturtevant, and Caledonia all participated in the training. Botsch said collaborating with other departments helps establish consistent protocols and good communication, which could prove crucial.
“It ensures that everybody’s on the same page, everybody’s talking the same language,” he explained. “Everybody’s using the same tactics and is able to move through a threat-based environment as safely as possible.”
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