DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- Ahead of the next school year, Dallas Police, the Dallas Fire Department and Dallas ISD met for joint training to respond to a potential active shooter call. The departments ran several scenarios Wednesday at Thomas Edison Middle Learning Center.
"Our officers, in these types of situations, need bravery, and they need courage," says Police Chief Eddie Garcia. "The way you gain bravery and get more courage is by training and by ensuring you know what you're doing and ensuring that, in your heart, you know that when the time comes, you need to go in and save lives."
Garcia says officers need physical training, but running drills like that can also prepare them for the mindset they would need. He cites the shooting at Love Field Monday as a reason patrol officers must always know how to respond to an active shooter situation.
"This training is extremely important," Garcia says. "The best example I can give you is all my men and women know what Officer Cronin did. That's the message my officers have. That's the standard we're holding them to."
Dallas Fire Rescue Chief Dominque Artis says the training also gives different agencies a chance to work together.
"We go through collaboration and cooperation with our partners to make sure as we respond, we understand our roles and what the expectation is for each," he says.
Artis says Dallas Fire Rescue has worked with Dallas ISD for training on how to stop someone who is bleeding while paramedics respond and also included them in scenarios like Wednesday's training.
"Times are changing, and we have to be ready for all types of hazards. This is only one of the hazards we prepare for on a daily basis," he says.
"We can never stop. We can never train enough to protect our children and the school district," says Dallas ISD Police Assistant Chief Jerry Cockrell. "It's ongoing. Our goal is to make sure folks go home every day safely, and this partnership will continue to grow."
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