CPA: Week 8 and Graduation

Last week, the Citizens’ Police Academy wrapped-up with information on two additional topics: active shooter response and the Police Reserve Program.

In an active shooter situation, when someone is trying to kill as many people as possible, we learned that survival depends on training, planning, and practicing.  For training, everyone should understand the “Run. Hide. Fight.” scenarios:

• If you are able to, you should get out, RUN.  Know the exits available to you and use them if possible.  When you get out, call 9-1-1 immediately and try to prevent others from entering the situation.
• If you can’t run, HIDE.  Shut and lock the doors or windows around you.  Barricade these points of entry and turn all light- and noise-making devices off.  Call 9-1-1 if possible, but maintain the quiet and darkness around you.
• If you can’t run or hide, FIGHT.  Use anything available to you to fight – your body, a stapler, a chair, bottles, packs of paper, anything you can use to throw, distract or otherwise hurt or incapacitate the attacker.

Besides training to understand our options in an active shooter event, we also learned that we should plan out what we would do in a variety of situations and environments (work, school, mall, festival, etc.).  Then, with a plan in place, we learned that we should practice what we would do, the routes we could take, and the objects that we could use as weapons.  With training, planning, and practicing, everyone can increase their chances of survival if they’re unfortunately confronted with an active shooter.

The “Run. Hide. Fight. Surviving an Active Shooter Event” video that we watched as part of our training was developed by Ready Houston TX, a program that produces videos, booklets, in-house or online training for emergency preparedness.

After this, we learned about the La Crosse Police Department Police Reserve Program.  Sergeant Jon Wenger and Police Reserve Commander Amanda Marshall provided a brief overview of the all-volunteer program.  Of the many ways the Police Reserves serve our community, they spend most of their volunteer time providing traffic control at large festivals, parades, and fitness events; helping officers maintain a perimeter at crash or crime scenes; and patrolling Riverside Park alongside volunteers of Operation River Watch.  They also discussed how people can get involved in the all-volunteer program.  For more information on the Police Reserve Program, visit the Reserve webpage on our website.

Assistant Chief Rob Abraham and Lieutenant Troy Nedegaard presenting certificate to Michael Vo.

To close the evening, and the entire 8-week course, attendees were provided a certificate of completion during a short graduation ceremony.

Congratulations to all participants of the 2014 Citizens’ Police Academy!