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Officers train to handle violent school intruders

Middlesex Township patrolman Conrad Pfeifer, left, and Mars Police Chief Kevin Radford, right, attended training this month to learn how to handle a violent intruder or school shooting. Adams Township Police Chief William Westerman is in the middle.

ADAMS TWP — Three police officers who serve in the Mars School District have taken training to increase security in the district's five schools.

Mars Police Chief Kevin Radford said he and Middlesex Township patrolman Conrad Pfeifer this month traveled to Brentwood High School for ALICE training.

ALICE stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate.

This training goes beyond the lockdown-only training officers have received in the past, Pfeifer said.

“It enhances what I was doing with (the school district),” Pfeifer said. “It's the next logical step.”

Pfeifer explained that in the past, the standard in the case of a violent school intruder was to lock the space where students and staff were and to hide.

“But sitting in your room is not the best answer if (the intruder) is in your room,” Pfeifer said.

The ALICE training included statistics on violent school intruders, including the fact police rarely, if ever, stop the incident. Pfeifer said shooters normally commit suicide when they hear sirens or someone at the school tackles the intruder.

Pfeifer said the officers learned how teachers and administrators can barricade a school room, safely evacuate students and staff and counter a violent intruder.

“It could be anything from a trash can over the head to the football players in the room tackling him,” he said.

Pfeifer believes the standard on violent school intruders is heading in the direction of ALICE-type training, in large part for insurance reasons.

“It's been mentioned that insurance companies may stop providing insurance to school districts that use lockdown only,” Pfeifer said.

Radford said he and Pfeifer hope to meet with Mars Superintendent James Budzilek and plan an event where this new information can be shared with administrators, teachers and staff.

He and Middlesex Sgt. Randy Ruediger attended another seminar last week, also at Brentwood High School, to become certified as school resource officers.

While Adams Township police have a contract with the school district to have an officer on school property at all times during the school year, Radford thinks adding a resource officer at one or more of the schools would be a good idea.

“You can never have too high of a (police) presence in schools, the way things are today,” Radford said.

He hopes that Budzilek and the school board will be receptive to the idea.

“They're definitely interested in the safety of our children and learning institutions,” Radford said.

He said a school resource officer in the district could help prevent and deter crime, as well as deal with situations as they arise.

“The way the atmosphere is and all the incidents going on around the world, we try to make sure it doesn't happen here,” Radford said. “But if it does, we would be ready to handle it.”

Budzilek praised the police that support the district.

“The Mars School District is fortunate to have dedicated officers who work in Middlesex and Adams townships and for Mars Borough,” Budzilek said. “They constantly stay in the forefront of school safety with training and then pass their expertise and recommendations onto the school district.”

The officers hope to meet with Mars administration after school starts next Wednesday.

The ALICE training was sponsored by the Brentwood School District. Radford said no other officers from Butler County attended the training.

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