SARASOTA, Fla. — Officers in Sarasota are training for a real-life scenario if there’s ever an active shooter at a school.
The training was unknown to the officers taking part until they were called by dispatchers Friday morning to an active shooting scenario at Southside Elementary School in Sarasota.
Officers were forced to make rapid decisions like they would in the case of a real-life active shooter situation. There were roll players who played the victims and the suspect. Officers had to find where the shooter was in the school.
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Part of the training was a test to see how well law enforcement and emergency agencies could work together in an active shooter situation.
“If you’re a police officer in the United States in 2022, if you’re not prepared, you may be in the wrong profession. This is an assignment that is above all others,” said Sarasota Police Captain Kenneth Rainey.
In addition to the Sarasota Police Department, members from Sarasota Fire-Rescue, Sarasota County Schools, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office dispatch worked together for the training scenario.
