Meridian Police Department Officer Chameria Washington applies a tourniquet to her partner’s leg Wednesday during an active shooter training course at Meridian Public Safety Training Facility. Photo by Thomas Howard

Law enforcement from multiple agencies were at the Meridian Public Safety Training Facility on Wednesday training how to respond in the event of an active shooter situation.

 

The class included members of the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department, Meridian Police Department, Marion Police Department, Meridian Community College and Meridian Public School District police departments, Picayune Police Department and more.

 

Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department’s Lt. Erik Shirley said the course is designed to give law enforcement the tools needed to respond to an active shooter, either on their own or with other officers. The first part of any response to an active shooter is stopping the threat, he said, followed by treating the injured.

 

“The next thing is getting EMS in, fire department, other agencies in there, local, state and federal agencies in there to help investigate the crime scene and then deal with the evidence collection and moving on from there,” he said. “This is a very complex, very in-depth beginner class. There are a lot of moving parts to it.”

 

Good communication is vital in an active shooter response, Shirley said, and officers taking the class are taught to communicate clearly and in person to minimize any chances of a misunderstanding. Law enforcement officers rely on technology, either a radio or cell phone, he said, and part of the class is breaking that habit.

 

“So we break it down that we force them to talk face-to-face, verbally,” he said, “Also to use basic hand signals that everybody understands. Everybody knows what a thumbs up sign means. Everybody knows what a thumbs down sign means, so we force them to verbally communicate and not be dependent on a physical device.”

 

Wednesday’s class also included information that would not initially come to mind such as how carrying an injured police officer is different from carrying an injured civilian, Shirley said.

 

“Picking up an officer with a vest on, duty belt and all that is a little bit different than picking up just a civilian with regular clothes on,” he said.

 

Officers were also trained in checking for gunshot wounds, applying tourniquets, what information to give emergency medical staff about a patient and more.

 

Following a lunch, officers relocated to Southeast Lauderdale High School where they were able to put their classroom skills from the morning to use in a real location. Shirley said the Lauderdale County School District has allowed the class to use its facility for their training.

 

“It’s a real school. It has desks. It has opening and closing doors, how to deal with those,” he said. “It’s a real environment that they have an idea of how crowded a classroom is, and could be with students in it, desks and everything else.”