The Jones County Sheriff’s Office hosted four days of active shooter training last week with participating officers from local and state agencies as well as from surrounding counties.
Known as Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, it was led by certified instructors JCSO Capt. Travis Douglas and Investigator Lt. Kenny Allen. Certified instructor Sgt. William Jackson and MCCD (Motor Carrier Compliance Division) SFC Richard DiPaolo also assisted in the training.
Douglas said planning for the training began over the 2021 Christmas holidays with conversations between Sheriff Butch Reece and Jones County School Superintendent Charles Lundy.
The instructors have taught the class multiple times in addition to CRASE (Citizens Response to Shooter Events) trainings for new teachers, businesses and churches.
Douglas said the focus of CRASE training is teaching what to do before law enforcement arrives.
He said the recent tragedies in Texas and New York certainly created an urgency for agencies to be prepared, but it also added some hurdles.
“We had set the dates, ordered the books and worked out the logistics, then Uvalde happened,” the captain said.
Allen said the ALERRT Center usually provides all the equipment and materials needed.
“They let us know they couldn’t do it. Everybody in Texas was being retrained,” he said.
The instructors said they spoke to the sheriff and Chief Deputy Earl Humphries, and they were told to purchase what was needed for the training. Douglas said he started looking online. He said when they worked with cadets from MCCD in May, they asked that agency where they got their equipment.
“The next thing you know, we were on the way to Atlanta,” he said.
Allen said they placed a huge order with the provider there and were able to get the same guns, rifles and bullets needed for the training.
Douglas said all the law enforcement officers with JCSO were required to attend the training. In addition, officers with the Gray Police Department, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, two officers with the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force, MCCD and Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office attended.
The training was held at the Maggie Califf Complex. Each training session spanned two days, July 11-12 and 13-14, and included both class time and hands-on exercises. The participants received credit for 16 hours for attending the training. The situations included various team scenarios, and each officer had a solo training exercise.
Douglas said a lot of people and support are needed for the training, and the Califf building was perfect for the exercise. He said he and Allen started setting up the building the week before with the assistance of Joe Evans with the Jones County School System, who turned on the power and air conditioner and offered any assistance needed.
He said Lundy and Raymond Braziel came to observe the training as did Board of Education Chairman Ginger Bailey and District Attorney Wright Barksdale.
Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore participated in the training as one of the role players as did corrections officers and other volunteers from the community.
The role players acted as victims, hostages, casualties and sometimes shooters, which were essential to the training. Volunteers from Jones County Fire Rescue and EMS also played key parts in the training exercises.
Douglas said the training is basic in order for a 25-year veteran of law enforcement and the officer right out of mandate school to work together flawlessly.
“All the agencies are important to make sure everyone is on the same page,” he said. “We have to know how to work as a team.”
Allen said the solo training was essential.
“The scenarios teach how to respond alone. We do not wait. When we arrive in an active shooter situation, we engage,” he said.
Douglas added that some of the exercises started in the parking lot. Officers are always taught to go to the sounds of gunfire.
“You keep going until you take out the bad guy or die trying. If you can’t do that, you don’t need to be in law enforcement,” he stated.
The captain said the training includes how to get the injured to the help they need.
Allen said communication between the officers is key.
Douglas said, at the conclusion of each scenario, the exercise was critiqued by instructors and the officers involved.
“We talked about what was good and what needed to be better,” he said. “Class participants asked questions, and we made them talk it out in their head.”
Allen said they essentially did their reports without having to write it down.
Douglas said the scenarios did not follow any patterns because the bad guys do not have a rule book.
“We have to expect anything,” he said.
Allen always volunteers to be the bad guy in the training exercises. He actually plays multiple roles, including suspect safety officer and training safety officer.
“There is a lot of structure involved in this training with a lot of moving parts,” he said.
Douglas said the training is beneficial to the community, school system and law enforcement.
DiPaolo said it was interesting to see the officers walk in on day one of the training and watch them grow as they completed the training.
“They go home with a confidence because of what they have learned,” he said.
Douglas said the videos from Uvalde and Buffalo were shown in the classes. DiPaolo said watching them was difficult, but he explained they are needed to see the mistakes that were made.
“It’s important to see those mistakes. That’s how we learn,” he said.
Douglas said officers need to see the behavior of the shooters in order to know how to stop them.
“Uvalde reiterates why we need to do this. Our reactions need to be automatic. No waiting whether we are by ourselves or with a team,” he said.
DiPaolo said after the training, officers know what they need to do. “They are certainly more confident in their ability,” he said.
“They can execute what they need to execute,” Allen added.
Reece said it is sad that there have been so many events during the last few years.
“We train every year and hope we never have to use it. We know it can happen anywhere,” he said.
The sheriff said the intent of the training is that the first person to arrive at a scene will go in and take care of it. He said the training is important not only for the safety of the schools.
“I feel like we are safer because we know we are prepared,” he said.
Bailey said she took the opportunity when she visited the training classes to thank the officers involved.
“It’s very important to have a plan. We can’t wait to react; we learned that from Texas,” she said.
The chairman said she feels the training is vital. She said the gun shot in the gym at Jones County High School was a wake-up call.
“We can’t say it’s not going to happen here because it already has. We were lucky that day, and I feel like it was because we were in God’s hands. We have a good team in Jones County, and that makes a difference,” Bailey said.
You keep going until you take out the bad guy or die trying. If you can’t do that, you don’t need to be in law enforcement.
– Capt. Travis Douglas
