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Flossmoor police call H-F active shooter drill a success

With the assistance of Homewood officers, the Flossmoor Police Department hosted an active shooter drill at the H-F High School campus. School staff members, along with a few student volunteers, role-played during the March 22 drill while officers led a mock evacuation, followed by an hour-long debriefing to answer any questions from participants. 

 

With the assistance of Homewood officers, the Flossmoor Police Department hosted an active shooter drill at the H-F High School campus.

  Flossmoor Police Officer
  Mark Cagle, at left, discusses
  the active shooter drill at a
  debriefing session, as Officer
  Courtney Kimes listens.

School staff members, along with a few student volunteers, role-played during the March 22 drill while officers led a mock evacuation, followed by an hour-long debriefing to answer any questions from participants. 

Flossmoor Deputy Chief of Police Tod Kamleiter said the H-F staff was placed in classrooms while responding officers fired off blank shots in two different hallways.

“We set up a scenario where we were able to get all H-F staff into about 27 classrooms, with multiple teachers in each class posing as students,” he said. “The idea was to expose them to the actual sound of gunfire — blanks.”

Classes at the high school concluded the day before the drill, the beginning of the annual spring break. On the day of the drill, a Friday, teachers were on campus for an institute day.

With H-F student volunteers role-playing as injured students, Kamleiter said enforcing the seriousness of the drill was paramount.

“We wanted the drill to have a realistic feel,” he said. “Walking those hallways, the volunteers made it all seem more realistic for us as responding officers.”

Following the drill, police hosted the debriefing, answering questions from the teachers and showing them a video of the drill.

“It was a success in terms of meeting our mission, and being able to show the staff at H-F that we are prepared for any emergency, at any level,” Kamleiter said.

With 98 percent of Flossmoor police officers SWAT-certified, Kamleiter said he’s confident that the force is prepared to meet any challenge to keep the community safe.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to do this,” he added.

 

 

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