UNG Public Safety trains for active threats

The University of North Georgia Department of Public Safety held on-campus training sessions during the month of May to maintain skills in the event of an active threat.

All sworn UNG police officers took part in the eight-hour training which included a classroom session covering tactics, rules of engagement and policies and procedures surrounding an active threat. The afternoon was the practical exercise where officers are placed in a simulated situation with role players.

“We want our entire police force to be trained on that type of situation,” Greg Williams, director of Public Safety and chief of police, said. “We want to build up their confidence.”

The training, organized by Sgt. Trent McGuffey and Senior Officer Rusty Myers, focused on a single-officer response.

“There’s always going to be a first person there,” Myers said. “That’s the thing about an active threat situation. You can’t wait on other people because the longer you wait, the more people potentially could get hurt or killed. You’ve got to address it yourself.”

Officers were trained to avoid distractions and be able to search as quickly and thoroughly as if they had multiple officers with them. To create a chaotic situation, the fire alarm sounded, music blared, the sounds of gunfire rang out, and role players screamed to provide layers of distractions.

“We want their hearts racing. We want it to be really uncomfortable. They have no idea where the threat is,” Williams said.

Volunteers, including Russell Willis, executive director at the Oconee Campus; Savannah Plumly, administrative assistant; Chris Adams, chief technology officer; and Beverly Martin, parking and transportation manager, came from all five campuses to help make the event more realistic.

“The community engagement and participation are just really fantastic,” Williams said.

“It shows people are aware of the threats, they’re worried about the threats, and they want honestly want to know what we’re doing about it, and so they get a firsthand look.”

Role players gained experience, too.

“It showed them a little bit of what to expect should this type of event ever occur,” McGuffey said. “It was great to have them work with us and know that if something ever did happen, we would also have that support from them to help us, because we’re going to need it.”

Rendering first aid is also part of the training.

“Our model of response is that if we cause injury to somebody and it is safe for us to do so, we will render medical aid until the appropriate authorities arrive,” Williams said. “The whole idea is to stop the threat, not necessarily kill the perpetrator. All our patrol cars carry kits for life-saving measures until EMS can arrive.”

UNG Public Safety provides officers active threat response training annually. Some officers have had it several times. The university consistently collaborates with law enforcement agencies and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency for active threat trainings to ensure best practices. Additionally, many have been to off-site trainings and advanced trainings.

“We have all the tools should there be a need to respond to something like this, but what we can’t guarantee they have is the confidence to use any of it. That’s where the training comes in,” Williams said. “The idea behind the training is to force them to use their training and their tools to confront a situation, and then hope we hope we never have to use any of that.”

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