Sheriff says active shooter response training is a critical part of SCPSO training

St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said his department has been working closely with St. Charles Parish Public Schools and the Archdiocese of New Orleans for years to coordinate active shooter response training so that all sheriff’s office personnel can be best prepared if an active shooter situation were to ever unfold at a local school.

“Our office created an active shooter response plan shortly after the horrific incident at Columbine High School in Colorado,” he said. “I recall watching those events unfold on television in my office in 1999 with my then Chief Deputy Joe Cardella and commenting that we have to do something to prepare for such an unthinkable event. Staff members got to work obtaining all the data on active school and other shooting events and crafted a plan allowing our school system input as well.”

Champagne said large scale active shooter response training is held every third year at a school in St. Charles Parish in coordination with the school district, and that the sheriff’s office also participates in smaller scale active shooter response retraining annually each summer.

The SCPSO first introduced active shooter response training in 2001.

“Since 2006, the Sheriff’s Office has held seven drills at various schools throughout the parish,” Champagne said. “The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Charles Parish Public Schools, St. Charles Parish Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, St. Charles EMS, Fire Service, and our industrial partners participate in the drills. Other agencies are invited to observe.”

The goal of the training, Champagne said, is to provide deputies with the skills needed to respond and quickly resolve an active shooter event.

“Law enforcement officers’ primary objectives when responding to an active shooter is to stop the killing, stop the dying, and evacuate the injured as soon as possible,” he said, “Our deputies learn and practice tactics such as weapons management, room clearing, tactical combat casualty care, and incident command.  All of these skills will help them to achieve these three operational objectives.”

Champagne added that the training is well organized and done in accordance to and beyond standard.

“Our response plan is updated on a regular basis as new data is obtained,” he said. “Officers receive annual retraining, so they are better prepared to respond if a situation arises. All of our enforcement officers receive this training so everyone, no matter what their position, is better prepared to respond.”

Champagne said he is proud that his department’s plan has been disseminated around the country over the years.

“Our staff has even provided training and guidance to the Archdiocese of New Orleans since we had two Catholic schools in the parish as well,” he said. “Presentations have been made to the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association as well a few years back.”