Active Shooter Training Helps Prepare, Protect Somerset County Community

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — SWAT, K-9 units, drones, and police personnel gathered at the Jewish Community Center(JCC) in Bridgewater to help better prepare and protect the Somerset County community.

Somerset County Sheriff Darrin J. Russo, along with Undersheriff Tim Pino, Executive Director JCCLaura Friedman, and Assistant Executive Director JCC Paige Siberfein held an Active Shooter Awareness training on Tuesday and Wednesday, as active shooter events are happening more and more across the country.

"In the world that we live in right now, what's been going on, I think this is crucial for people to have that understanding of what to do when something happens," said Russo to Patch. "And what to do, more importantly, when we arrive. So it helps them help us. That's just at least an important aspect of life right now."

Russo previously offered the training about three years ago but was prompted by recent events to bring it back.

"I think with the climate that goes on in the country, or has gone on in the country, and even more recent events, we decided to pick this up again and do it again," said Russo.

One recent event on Aug. 27, two children were killed and 17 others were injured when a gunman opened fire during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in south Minneapolis.

The Somerset County Sheriff's Office, along with the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, Somerset County SWAT, Somerset County Office of Emergency Management(OEM), Bridgewater Police, and Somerville Police set up stations this week for religious and community leaders.

The first station is the Somerset County OEM mobile unit that arrives on scene if there is a hurricane or a flood or an active shooter. The police department that's on scene can then use it as a satellite office.

The second station is the K-9 station, where people can go and learn about all the different types of canines that are offered during these emergency situations. There are patrol dogs, narcotic sniffing dogs, bomb sniffing dogs, human scent tracking dogs, and therapy dogs.

The third station is the Somerset County SWAT truck that has the drone which can be used to find missing children or wanted fugitives. The drone also provided a different view during an active shooter situation. There was also a robot that police can use to send in during an active shooter situation.

The final station is the dive team, who would come out during rapid response, such as for flash flooding or if a car goes into a lake.

"I think it's important because everyone knows during an active shooter response to run, hide, and fight, but it's nice for the community to know what goes on on the other side of law enforcement that's responding, and have an idea of what they're thinking and what they're bringing," said Somerset County Undersheriff Tim Pino. "I think that helps them in their preparation, knowing what the police response is going to be like, and getting to meet up close and personal with the police, and asking them the questions that they have."

Russo noted that the training also helps connect authorities with the community.

"It's a great tool to show to everybody in the community what we're about, what we do, what's offered out there, how we protect you, how things work in general," said Russo. "It's one thing seeing it or hearing it, but when you come here and you get to actually experience it, things just go a long way for community leaders."

Pino added that the training also has a ripple effect as the community leaders who were present the past two days can now share their knowledge with others.

"I think it's important that Sheriff Russo puts this kind of program together in coordination with the JCC to bring it to community leaders and give them that opportunity," said Pino. "Now they take the classroom training and the practical training they learned, and they can take that back to their respective houses of worship and schools, and they can train their staff on what they learned over the last two days here."

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