Radford University hosts tactical police training
Radford University hosted in-depth tactical police training Jan. 9-12 that covered tactical medic training and active shooter protocol.
The training, developed by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT), is considered the premier law enforcement training company and is funded by the federal government via grants. ALERRT is based out of Texas State University.
“The training is realistically-based and ALERRT has different types of scenario training and drills,” said Radford University Police Department Chief Dave Underwood. “It’s as close to reality as you can get. We wanted to have our officers and officers in other agencies go through the training together.”
The four-day training session was held inside of Young Hall.
“We found by looking at some different incidents is that the injured need to be treated and transported to a high level of care as rapidly as possible,” said ALERRT adjunct instructor Kevin Nicholas. “Most studies will show that examination is the leading cause of preventable death. If we can teach the first responders – such as police officers – to effectively address the issue of blood loss, then we can save more lives. Our entire goal with both training sessions is to save more lives.”
The skill and abilities taught during the tactical medic training are transferrable to other aspects of life.
“We teach them emergency and casualty care-based principles,” Nicholas said. “The skills can also be used to aid other officers and taking care of your family, for example.”
Training participants practice tactical medic strategies taught during the training session.
The first two days of the training focused on active-shooter situations.
“We brought it to the college campus because I wanted to bring it home and I wanted to make sure that we made the training as realistic as possible,” Underwood said. “I have my officers training in buildings on campus. I want them to be more tactically familiar with the buildings and train inside of our buildings in case we do have an incident. I believe that the tactical medic training will help us save lives in the event of an active shooter type incident. This training makes us more prepared.”
The combination of the active shooter training and the tactical medic training makes for an important combination that helps each agency achieve the goal of saving as many lives as possible.
“There’s a lot of active shooter trainings available, but there are not many medic trainings,” said Tazewell County Sherriff’s Office Lt. Jonathan Hankins. “It’s important because when you are involved in an active shooter event, you have the responsibility to be able to treat anyone who is wounded.”
The Radford University Police Department (RUPD) and the Radford City Police Department both participated in the training.
“The fact that we are all getting the same kind of training – at the same time – is going to be really advantageous for us if we ever have an incident like this,” said RUPD Sgt. James Dunford. “The more officers that we can get through this kind of training the better. It is standardized for everybody and the more you train together, the more familiar you are going to be with each other. I think it was a great opportunity for all of us.”
The mutually-beneficial training positively impacts the community, as the police agencies are better equipped to treat injuries and protect lives.
“We want to make sure we are in the best position to save lives,” Underwood said. “We felt like combining the two types of training provided the most in-depth knowledge possible.”
Nine agencies participated in the training session, which included Radford University Police Department, Richmond Police/Fire, Richmond Fire Marshal’s Office, Radford City Police Department, Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Wytheville Community College Police Department, Norfolk’s Sheriff’s Office and the Prince William County Police Department.