Officers train for shooting situations with county emergency team
CRANBERRY TWP — More than 40 police officers from 15 agencies and departments across the county participated in an active shooter training program Wednesday at a building in Cranberry Township.
Hosted by the Butler County Emergency Services Unit (ESU), which is a squad composed of county officers who respond to high-risk incidents, the training session shared scenarios and instruction on protocol for school shootings or other active shooter situations.
“We try to give our training back to the patrolmen,” said Kevin Mikulan, sergeant with Zelienople Police and ESU tactical commander. “Our intent is to do this every year as a team.”
The training gave officers from different departments a chance to work together as they would in an actual active shooter situation.
“When there is an emergency, or you are in a stressful situation, you immediately fall back to your training,” said Ed Lenz, commander of the ESU and a sergeant with Adams Township Police. “If you’ve not trained to do it, you’re more likely to not know what to do or to freeze. By doing the training, they can immediately fall back on their training. They know what to do.”
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