WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Following a school shooting that left six victims dead in Nashville, a Northeast Tennessee law enforcement agency told News Channel 11 it is prepared should deputies ever have to respond to a similar situation.
“All of our officers are trained to address the threat immediately, you do not wait,” said Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton.
Sexton said equipment used by authorities to respond to situations like school shootings has improved, and officers are trained to use the tools necessary in those scenarios. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) has equipped almost all of its officers with ballistic shields that Sexton said would help protect them if they had to enter a dangerous situation.
According to Sexton, officers responding to an active shooter situation are trained to secure the area in a specific order.
“They’re well-equipped first to neutralize the threat, and then the next step is to start rescue and those who are wounded or who need help,” Sexton said.
The WCSO utilizes navigation technology that allows officials to locate deputies in real-time and can also display blueprints to buildings whose floor plans have been provided.
“Let’s say, for instance, an officer has an active shooter at a school,” Sexton said. “It pulls up the map of the school. The hallways are labeled by color.
“We need to know where an officer went in or where the bad guys are at. This way, everybody can pull it up on their map and see where that officer was or is heading too.”
Sexton said he wants the navigation system expanded to more than just schools in the county, in case there’s an active shooter elsewhere.
“We have plans in place that we can pull it up and have a map of each school,” Sexton said. “We hope to do that with businesses and parks, anything throughout the county.”
Tom Patton, public information officer for the Kingsport Police Department (KPD), said officers he works with undergo extensive training for school shooting situations.
“Our training emphasizes on response to these types of situations,” Patton said. “While we haven’t had an actual school shooting here in Kingsport, it doesn’t mean we won’t or can’t have other situations where this training has come into play.”
Patton states the KPD also does cross-training with school security to make sure everyone is trained across the board.
“We also evaluate their security, security procedures and infrastructure as well,” Patton said. “We want to make sure that we help them and guide them to make sure their buildings and procedures are as safe as possible.”
