"I would say you can't prepare for a specific incident, because we don't know what it's going to be, but what you can do is develop the ability to adapt and respond — that is why we drill to practice key tactics and skills, but also instill in first responders how to adapt on the fly and react professionally, efficiently and effectively at whatever gets thrown at you," Myers said Thursday.
Fourteen people were killed and 17 were injured Wednesday after husband and wife Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik opened fire at a Christmas party in San Bernardino. Police in Newport News and Hampton train in order to be prepared for active shooter incidents, but also pool the resources of neighboring agencies to produce the best response.
"The need for consistent training across the area is of great importance, so for the past 18 months, we have been involved in regional trainings with Newport News PD, Virginia State Police, FBI and other local jurisdictions to ensure that the our area is well-prepared in the event of a possible attack," Hampton Senior Police Officer Ashley Jenrette wrote in an email.
In Hampton, the SWAT team would be activated in an incident such as the San Bernardino shootings, according to Jenrette. The Hampton SWAT team trains 16 hours a month as a team, as well as an additional four hours of training to concentrate on their individual specialty. The SWAT team also does an annual 40-hour training to retain certifications.
The Newport News Police Department will be increasing patrols during the holiday season.
The Newport News Police Department will be increasing patrols during the holiday season.
The division also has a Mobile Response Team that is composed of officers who are assigned to the operations branch. These officers train once a month and are equipped with specialty equipment for active shooter incidents, as well as crisis situations, Jenrette wrote.
In Newport News, Myers said that every officer is trained to respond to an active shooter incident, but there are also different teams that go through tactical-type training.
Myers also said that police officers in charge of training are constantly compiling resources from "after-action" reports of agencies that have gone through an active shooter incident. He also mentioned training opportunities offered outside the department that teach officers how to handle active shooter incidents by using lessons learned from recent ones.
Shown in this file photo is a hat with the logo for the Community Emergency Response Team.
Shown in this file photo is a hat with the logo for the Community Emergency Response Team.
"I'm pretty sure that within the next six months to a year there will be training opportunities to explore lessons learned from the Paris attacks, from the Colorado planned parenthood shooting and then from the San Bernardino shooting …" Myers said. "We are always looking at best practices, lessons learned and then implementing those into training so that cops on the beat can be aware and equipped with methods that an active shooter may use."
On Thursday, Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center had a training exercise for an active shooter situation, conducted by the York County Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the York County Department of Fire and Life Safety. For more than two hours, a tactical team practiced at the hospital in an exercise with simulated gunshots. Lt. Dennis Ivey, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said the training exercise had been in the works for several months and was not a reaction to the San Bernardino shootings.
The drill involved a scenario in which hospital president David Masterson was threatened by a disgruntled individual. Don West, facilities director for the campus, said initially there were talks of postponing the exercise after Wednesday's events but eventually the decision was made to continue.
Myers said the recent shooting incidents have also highlighted the hard work of police officers.
"I believe in the last few weeks where for hours on end community members have been able to watch on the news unbelievable bravery and courage, swift action on the part of the police, that that needs to be a part of the ongoing dialogue and balance against the constant bombardment of news of those incidents where the acts of a single officer gets called into question —often rightfully so — but the result is the condemnation of all police."
Staff Writer Austin Bogues contributed to this report.
———
©2015 the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
Visit the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) at www.dailypress.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
