On Dec. 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.
That event led to increased security measures in schools and public buildings throughout the county. In Sherburne County, the sheriff’s department implemented new security measures to ensure public safety and the safety of county employees in the case of an active shooter at the Government Center.
“We started an active shooter program after Sandy Hook and we developed training for all the county employees,” says Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott.
Policies and procedures were developed for employees within the Government Center, including evacuation guidelines and lockdown guidelines. Safe rooms were established in every department and 41 panic alarms were installed throughout the Government Center.
“Now someone doesn’t have to pick up a phone and dial 911. They just have to hit the panic alarm,” says Brott. “That would notify our master control and they will immediately dispatch our campus security, so we’d have a rapid response.”
Brott says in the event of an active shooter, evacuation is usually the best option for employees. But depending on the situation, that’s not always possible
“If they’re not able to evacuate, there’s a safe room in each department with a special lock they can go to during an active shooter event,” he says. “They’re also trained to take members of the public with them to get them out of danger as well.”
All employees were required to watch a video called Run, Hide, Fight, which enacts a scenario of a gunman shooting in a public building. The video shows the three different options people have once the event begins.
Sherburne County department heads now show the video and train any new staff to make sure they are familiar with the new security policies, their department safe room and the special door locks.
Campus security personnel do regular walk-throughs after hours using an active shooter scenario on the grounds and in different departments.
And there are designated areas where employees are required to gather after an incident is deemed safe.
“We want to account for them, interview them and treat them for injuries,” says Brott
County commissioners were trained how to respond if there is an active shooter at the Government Center. They get refresher training every year.
The sheriff’s department recently updated security because of the incident in New Hope in January where two police officers were shot by a gunman during a city council meeting.
“We put a uniformed officer in our county board room for the regular sessions and the workshops,” says Brott. “We felt like it was time to do it, not just for the safety and protection of the commissioners, but for all county staff and any members of the public that happen to be visiting that day.”
Brott says the commissioners didn’t request it. But they are supportive of the additional security. So are the employees and staff.
“We want the community and the public to be aware that we do have security measures in place,” he says. “If we can prevent something from happening or minimize the casualties by having someone in the board room or having some additional security measures in place, it seems to make sense.”
