Area law enforcement talk recent active shooter training

(ABC 6 News) – Area law enforcement and first responders held training in March. Every police officer, firefighter, deputy and paramedic was trained on how to respond to an active shooter situation.

Rochester police’s most recent active shooter training was in March, which was for every cop, firefighter, deputy, and paramedic.

It’s called 3ECHO training. Portions of this training are done in schools.

The bulk of the training is getting officers on the scene and training them to get into buildings to de-escalate the situation.

In the past, officers were trained to wait for three to four officers to be on the scene before going into a building. Now, that’s no longer the case.

"We have altered because we have recognized the sooner an officer can get into a building and neutralize a threat, the more lives we can save. And the expectation is that they go in, once they arrive on the scene. Certainly collaborate with officers on scene but they don’t necessarily need to wait," said Lt. Paul Gronholz with the Rochester Police Department.

Officers are trained on how to move around a building whether they’re acting alone or in a group.

"We get together, train on something that if it were to happen here, it’d be pretty chaotic, to say the least. So that’s why we try to make consistent training," Gronholz said.

In RPDs, a situation is considered secure when every room has been searched, the suspect has been neutralized and there is no danger to first responders.

First responders refresh this training every couple of years but Lieutenant Gronholz said he’d like to train on a more annual basis.