You’re laying face down in a dark room, screams and gunshots can be heard all around you, this was the situation Rachel Ford found herself in during a training exercise conducted in Building 8 on Wednesday, Aug. 13.
Sinclair Community College Police department, the Dayton Police department and the Dayton Fire department coordinated a training exercise where an active shooter scenario was played out. The training gave police officers and first responders the experience of dealing with hostage situations.
The training was conducted to create partnerships between the agencies in Dayton. Sinclair has participated in similar exercises in the past. Sinclair Police Chief Charles Gift said the Clery Act made such participation mandatory.
Chief Gift also stressed the administration’s concern for campus safety. Participants were given four hours of classroom training before breaking for lunch and then acting out the scenarios to apply what they had learned.
Rachel, a Sinclair mental health major, was one of the role players selected by Sinclair’s criminal justice department to participate in the training exercise. Role players consisted of staff, faculty and students. Ford played multiple roles including a gunshot victim.
She and athletic director Coach Jeff Price hid in his office and screamed for help as a part of their roles. Ford described the experience as frightening, dark and scary.
“The scenarios were pretty real when it came to us playing the shot victims on the ground yelling at the officers to come and help us. They ran in almost like it was some kind of video game. They were in their armor and had their arms up like they were holding a gun. The officer that was giving orders to the trainees had sound effects playing which were shotgun blasts, and also women and men screaming which sounded real. Some of the scenarios actually gave me anxiety,” Ford said.
This was the first time Sinclair Police trained with the Dayton Police Rescue Task Force. The Dayton SWAT team, Hostage Negotiation team and eight paramedics were also part of the training.
“It is important because these students that are training will be police officers,” Ford said.
She said officers must know what to do during any situation.
“These officers have to know exactly what to do when a violent and unpredictable situation like this happens. These future officers need to understand how to be organized and quick, also to know when to use force or deadly force,” Ford said.
Many faculty and staff have also attended active shooter training. Chief Gift encourages all students, faculty and staff to watch a video produced by the Department of Homeland Security entitled, If You See Something Say Something. The video can be found on Sinclair’s website.
Chief Gift assures that Sinclair is the safest place in Dayton; being located across the street from the Dayton Police station, having Sinclair Police on campus and having the Nixle warning system to alert students and staff about potential threats. This makes Sinclair safe and prepared for an event such as the training exercise according to Chief Gift.
Sinclair also has over 100 cameras, 1500 loud speakers and 23 blue light emergency stations located around campus for student safety.
“What is great about Sinclair is not only do our police officers here do such a great job but they are quick to respond. Another reason why I feel safe and a lot of students may not know is that a lot of the security guards that walk around wearing the green vests are retired police officers so they know the drill. I feel very safe and know our officers and security guards are very competent, especially seeing how the training we had was very thorough,” Ford said.
At a time when in some areas police departments are struggling to keep a good reputation with the public, Ford mentioned the events that occurred in Missouri.
“I feel like through our training we teach these officers on ethics and how to contain a situation without using deadly force. I understand the need if had to, but because Mr. Brown did not have a weapon, why was he shot? I get that police are getting a bad name for this and I know all cops aren’t bad,” she said. “I believe there is a quiet racism that still lives in our society. If you looked up the facts on African Americans and how much they get pulled over or just racially profiled, the numbers are high.” Ford said. “I also feel if the officer was wrong, then he should be punished somehow. It’s not fair.
I am not a cop basher at all, only stating that human rights are vital, and an action like this can lose the trust in police in our society completely.”
Ford feels that here at Sinclair our police force is ready to handle any situation, and that our police are trained thoroughly. She did however feel that many police departments could do some things better.
“I believe police departments need to work on not only how to better [handle] a situation versus always shooting or killing someone. I also believe they need to regain a better reputation with the public. Not everyone believes every cop is out to get them, and maybe they need to redirect how they interact with certain people in our society,” Ford said.
The training exercise and her participation was an overall positive experience according to Ford. She would be willing to participate as a role player again.
“It was fun, I get to interact and ask questions to the experienced police officers in our community. I got to see how they would quickly stop a problem existing in our school such as a shooting. It was a learning experience and isn’t that why we are in college? To learn and grow,” Ford said.
To enroll in the Nixle warning system and to receive weather closings and other safety information text Sinclair to 888777.