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Mock drill preps police By COURTNEY MARTIN, LTN Staff Writer Feb. 25, 2002 - The sound of a gunshot echoes through the hallways of Lincolnton High School. Two teams of officers meet the principal at the door and learn there is at least one gunman with hostages, maybe more. A team of four officers begin a sweep of the school building. The bad guy is in the library with hostages. The officers enter quickly and take him out with gunfire. A second team of officers enter the building, protecting the EMS personnel who will help the wounded. Another shot is heard and the four-man team moves out. On the second floor, an open door gets the officers attention. A quick look in and a second bad guy is found. He has two students as hostages. The officers rush in and confront him. “Drop the gun. Drop the gun.” Bang! He is shot by the officers after refusing to drop his weapon. The tension is gone. Everyone begins talking and even laughing. After all, it is just a training session. Saturday’s exercise at Lincolnton High was part of a statewide project prompted by the student deaths at Columbine High School two years ago in Colorado. The training started in August, according to Sgt. Doug Norwood, a training officer with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. North Carolina is the first state to put together a plan, he said. Individual cities and agencies have put together similar plans. “I’ve never had any SWAT training before, this is the closest to it,” said Officer Cory Trouille from the Conover Police Department. Several officers from other police departments including Conover, Cornelius and Huntersville are participating in the training. But it is the Lincolnton Police Department and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office who are in charge of the training sessions. “Chief (Terry) Burgin and Sheriff (Barbara) Pickens were eager to work together on this,” said Kent Lukach, training officer for the Lincolnton Police Department. “It’s really the first time the city and the county have gotten together to train.” All of those involved in the training say it went well. “Everybody is taking it in, learning a lot,” said Norwood. “It gives us exposure to the other departments,” said EMS Director Ron Rombs. “We get used to working together in this type of situation.” All Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Lincolnton Police Department officers will eventually go through the training, said Travis Leatherman, training officer with the Sheriff’s Office. Nine Lincolnton High School students and an Iron Station Elementary School teacher, Donna Robinson, have been participating as hostages. “It was exciting,” said Jonathan Gampers, a tenth-grade student. “I feel really safe in school, but it makes you think about what if it happened in real life,” said another tenth-grader Alli Buckner. Other agencies participating include the State Bureau of Investigation, Alcohol Law Enforcement, N.C. State Highway Patrol, Lincoln County Fire Marshall, Lincoln County Emergency Management, Charlotte-Douglas Airport Police, Shelby Police Department, Animal Control, the DMV and school administrators.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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