On Wednesday, August 13th, Sergeants O'Connor and Malcolm gave a presentation to teachers and administrative personnel at the Crest Ridge High School.  They were there to give those in attendance some guidance and direction on how to deal with an active shooter event should one happen at their school.  Sergeant Shane O'Connor is the SWAT Commander for the joint Warrensburg and Johnson County Sheriff's Office Special Weapons and Tactics Unit here in Johnson County.  Sergeant Malcolm is the Sheriff's Department's D.A.R.E. Officer which services many of our Johnson County schools.  Both of them have specialized training and were there to share their experience and knowledge with those in attendance.

Sergeants O'Connor and Malcolm spoke to over thirty teachers and administrators about incidents which could occur within the school property, however much of what was discussed was the Active Shooter Scenario.   They explained to them that no two incidents or locations are exactly the same and the one thing that is an absolute, some type of action must be taken by the leaders to protect themselves and most importantly the children under their care and control.  They explained and demonstrated to those in attendance several different options available to them.  Using a toy gun which shot small soft rubber bullets, they demonstrated what would happen if minimal action or no action was taken.  They showed how quickly how things could go from calm and normal to complete chaos with high injury and mortality rates.  They then demonstrated several different actions which could and should be taken when they first became aware of trouble.  With each of the options given to them and demonstrated, fewer and fewer people became victims.   Because of this training, teachers and administrators will now have a plan on what to do and how to do it.  The Sheriff's Department welcomes the opportunity to assist and work with the numerous school systems and their staff to make our schools a safe place for our children.