MISD Police conduct safety training to better protect students & staff

MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – The Midland ISD Police Department conducted training over the past two weeks to prepare themselves, and other law enforcement, for the upcoming school year.

The training is called “ALERRT” or Active Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. It is mandated by the state of Texas for all peace officers.

“It shows real life situations that officers go into,” said Scott McKown, MISD Chief of Police. “There’s an active shooter in these scenarios. When the officers go in there’s wounded, they have to decide: what’s the first thing I do? What’s the second thing I do?”

The state has also mandated that every campus in Texas have an armed security guard. While MISD has more than doubled the size off their staff of officers since last year, they are still actively hiring.

To help better assist the officers already on the campuses, a new tool has been implemented for law enforcement, as well as teachers and staff.

“We are going to a push button notification. It’s called Crisis Alert, and it allows faculty, if there’s a situation, they push a button and it’ll notify responders on campus, including police officers, to go to that area,” said McKown.

The push button is GPS activated, and shows where the threat is in the building. This allows for a faster response from law enforcement.

The safety training is designed to help officers deal with stressful situations, should a threat arise.
“This training is research-based, and it trains officers in situations that they’re going to be called to go into,” said McKown. “These situations are very stressful. They have to make many split-second decisions.”

The safety training will take place before the start of the school year for MISD, which is Tuesday, August 13th.

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