Prattville Police Department Lt. David Williams, commander of the Drug Enforcement Unit and Special Operations Team, gave an overview of the Special Operations team and explained the training attendees would be receiving. He also introduced team members from which they would receive their instruction. Operator Sean Malloy, Sgt. Jeff Hassell (alpha team leader), Operator James Darden, Operator Trey Shanks, Sgt. Ty Ray, Lt. Wayne Barlow (sniper), Mike Vineyard (bravo team leader), and Operator Ken Nesbit led students during the exercise training.

Students were instructed on safety and staying hydrated in the hot, humid training area used for this exercise. Special Operations Team members checked every student to make sure there were no weapons, live rounds, or tasers in the training environment. Students were trained during the first half of the class using blue or orange tipped plastic training weapons. By using training weapons, students were better able to focus on team formation and movements.

When students moved into the live training scenarios, they were given weapons that would only fire plastic pellets or paint pellets. The use of plastic pellets and paint pellets emphasized errors and identified areas that needed correction or repetition.

(Left) Blank rounds and paint rounds. (Right) Weapon with a blank firing adapter.

Students watched footage from the Columbine High School incident. As Lt. Williams started to discuss what they had seen, Operator Vineyard came in shooting blanks for effect. Williams said, "You will never be able to figure out where an active shooter incident is going to take place. It could be in this building, the hospital, a courtroom, a restaurant, you have to be prepared."

Officers must be able to focus past the chaos, past the environment, to think clearly and function as first responders. The target could be an individual, a group of individuals, a business, but their mission is mass murder. Over the last fifteen years, the average duration of an active shooter incident has been two and a half minutes. They make their breach, make their entrance, start shooting, are interrupted by civilian intervention, first responder law enforcement or they commit suicide. In the last fifteen years, 51% of all active shooter incidents have been interrupted or neutralized by civilian intervention.

During scenario training, trainees were instructed when to shoot and when not to shoot while dealing with an active shooter. Students were instructed how to properly move, cover their areas, and clear rooms when no shots were being fired. When shots were heard in other parts of the building, they were instructed to move faster and even more efficiently to systematically search the building and ultimately neutralize the shooter(s). Part of the training was to learn to control aggression, heart rate, focus, and to function properly and efficiently within this high-stress environment.

Simulated hostage situation being demonstrated by PPD Special Operations team members.

Prattville Police Department trained 34 of their own officers as well as security personnel from Baptist Health and officers from the Millbrook Police Department.

More Photos