Here’s how Manatee cops and schools say they’re ready if a gunman attacks your child’s school

If someone were to attack a school in Manatee County like what happened on Valentine’s Day in Broward County, local law enforcement officials say they are prepared.

Tension and fears have been high at Manatee County schools and elsewhere in Florida after the attack Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead and 15 others wounded.

Law enforcement, along with fire departments, emergency medical service personnel and school district staff frequently train in the event of a similar nightmare at a Manatee County school.

“We are as prepared as we can be,” Sheriff Rick Wells said Friday. “The best thing we can do is get there as soon as possible.”

Training for active shooter situations includes anyone who might be first on scene, he said.

“We’re constantly looking for ways we can train better,” Wells added.

Schools in Manatee County regularly conduct lockdown drills during which administrators, faculty and students exercise what they should do in the event of an emergency. Full-scale active shooter drills are also done, most recently in August 2014 at Braden River High School, where multiple agencies participated in the realistic exercise. Students have not been present during full-scale drills.

Law enforcement conducts various other types of drills to prepare, according to sheriff’s office Lt. Andy Ramdath, commander of the SWAT team. Firing blanks to simulate an actual shooting seems to be very effective training method, he said.

New standards

Standards have changed a great deal since mass shootings at American schools became an epidemic, he said. At the time of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in 1999, the standard was for police to contain the scene and wait for the SWAT team before entering an active shooter situation. Since Columbine, that standard changed and first responding officers are trained not to wait for SWAT.

The current standard for law enforcement officers is to enter a school and run straight toward the shooting and attempt to stop the shooter — bypassing any victims.

Mandatory active shooter training was implemented by then-Sheriff Brad Steube after he took office in April 2007. Every sworn deputy at the time was required to complete 16 hours of active shooter training conducted primarily by qualified members of the SWAT team, including Ramdath. Active shooter training was also added to the training required of all new recruits before field training.

School resource officers undergo even further training for responding to such situations.

Under the sheriff’s current general orders, deputies are supposed to wait for backup and enter a shooting scene in groups of two or three. But Ramdath said while that may be their orders, he feels many law officers won’t wait for backup.

“I think a lot of officers would have a hard time standing outside a school while a shooting is happening,” Ramdath said. “It may come a time where a single deputy may have to do the best that they can.”

Wells echoed Ramdath’s opinion that while it is protocol, it’s not one he expects would be followed should a shooting ever erupt at a Manatee County school.

What needs to improve?

Training also includes assessments of each school’s vulnerabilities and discussions of how to improve protocols. Local law enforcement and the Manatee County School District have a very good working relationship, both sides agree.

Each time a mass shooting occurs, “it brings a renewed sense of energy and results in law enforcement and the school district getting together and saying, ‘What can we learn from this? How can we improve our safety protocols,’” school district spokesman Mike Barber said.

Ramdath said he recently met with school district officials to discuss safety protocols and tentative plans to conduct more drills this summer.

“There’s no cookie-cutter answer,” Ramdath said. “We have to move forward ... we have to think progressively.”

It’s all about mindset, Ramdath said. He trains others, especially school officials, that they need to think like a “bad guy” and what vulnerabilities a suspect may take advantage of.

In the event of a mass shooting at a local school, first responders and school officials agree that while it may be a parent’s instinct to rush to the school, that can lead to more chaos. Distraught parents outside an active school scene would force law enforcement to use some of their resources for crowd control rather than focusing on stopping the shooter.

“Trust in your first responders and know that we are going to do everything we can to ensure the safety of the children,” Ramdath urged parents.

The Bradenton and Palmetto police departments regularly work with other local agencies to coordinate their responses to active shooter or other situations at schools because, as occurred in Broward on Wednesday, it would likely be a multi-agency response. Both departments say the school resource officers work closely with school administrations in training and are familiar with the campus layouts.

Talk to your kids

The biggest suggestion Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler has for parents is to talk to their children about personal safety, so they can be prepared should they ever need to protect themselves.

Bradenton Police Sgt. Dennis Stahley, who oversees the department’s resource officers, said, “It’s good to have a plan with your kids. Talk to them. It’s important that they know law enforcement is at their schools.”

On Friday, Bradenton police were investigating what they consider a credible threat after a note threatening violence at Manatee High School was found on campus Thursday morning. Just a week ago, Bradenton police arrested a man less than two hours after he drove onto Bradenton Christian School’s campus during the morning drop-off and made threatening statements.

Should a shooting ever occur, Barber said, the school district would be able to send out emergency alerts by phone, email and text as well as through their mobile app. The school district regularly uses all these modes of communication when it needs to get information out to families so it is important that contact information remain updated.

The shooting in Broward is a reminder of the importance of students or others reporting anything suspicious.

“The most important thing is if anybody sees anything that's of concern that they bring to attention of law enforcement and the school,” Barber said. “It is better to look into and have it not be anything, then regret not bringing it forward.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2018 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Here’s how Manatee cops and schools say they’re ready if a gunman attacks your child’s school."