Palos Park police to hold active shooter drill

From staff reports

Palos Park Police will fine tune their strategies for dealing with an active shooter to ensure the safety of both officers and citizens later this month.

The end goal of the January 30 drlll is to test the department’s active shooter response plans and fine tune them.

“Palos Park effective preventive measures are especially important when dealing with a possible active shooter,” said Police Commissioner Dan Polk. “Clearly, we see active shooters present a serious threat to police officers and the public, we need to be prepared.”

FBI data shows that 43% of the time the crime is over before police arrive. In 20% of the cases, the shooter moves on to another location. One-third of the officers who engage an active shooter are shot at the scene.   What police departments do before and after a shooting is almost as important as what happens on the scene itself.  Police responding to active shooters incidents such as an active shooter or active threat incident requires officers to locate and use appropriate means to address the threat to the public.  Police officers will work with fire and EMS to locate those who may be injured for treatment.

Palos Park officers will immerse themselves in role-playing scenarios with a focus on active shooter response.

Range Masters Jason Caiazzo and James Van Howe will oversee scenarios having a range of settings (schools, houses of worship, retail locations, outdoor events, etc.) with actors that will allow officers training to build skills ranging from situational awareness and target recognition to forming a rapid deployment team, coordinating on the scene, and more.