Farmington Area Officers Train for School Shooting Response

Farmington Public Safety and Farmington Hills Police officers started the school year fresh from training in how to handle every parent's nightmare. 

Through the County Law Enforcement –Tactical Response Coordinating Group (OakTAC), officers participated Aug. 27 in an "active shooter protocol scenario" set up at the closed Jefferson Middle School in Pontiac. More than 400 Oakland County officers have been trained since June. 

"This kind of training is very, very expensive," Farmington Hills Police Commander Matt Koehn said. "Because OakTAC got a grant, this was all at no cost."

Koehn said in addition to the hands-on lessons, the training builds trust among neighboring departments and ensures that if an incident happens in a bordering community, "everybody knows the procedure ... It really is good to all be on the same page." 

More than 400 police officers have been trained so far this year, and more than 1,000 will be by the end of the year. That's two-thirds of the police officers in Oakland County, Koehn said.