Deputies prepare for school, work place violence

A man walks into an office and begins shooting; a young student has a rifle in a classroom. These scenarios are ripped out of the headlines and too horrific for most people to think of, but these situations are exactly what deputies dealt with on Wednesday as they went through training with the Special Enforcement Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The day began at Eliot Middle School in Altadena with deputies from Crescenta Valley and Altadena Sheriff Stations in a classroom. Deputy Jim Corrigan of the Special Enforcement Bureau (the sheriff department’s version of the Special Weapons and Tactics) described situations that both he and his team have encountered throughout L.A. County, siimilar to “shooter-type” scenarios like the Columbine High School and Virginia Tech incidents as well as shootings that have happened outside the country.

“Every time [this type of crime] happens we learn from it,” he told the deputies.

Corrigan ran through the procedures of what to do in case of a work place and school campus shooting. The emphasis was on getting as much information as possible, working together as a team and resolving the situation quickly.

“And keep the problem in front of you,” said Bureau Deputy Rick Rector.

For the purposes of Wednesday’s exercise, the deputies were to react to a report of a student with a gun at school.

After a review of procedures, Corrigan divided the class into groups and each member of the Special Enforcement Bureau supervised as deputies ran through the exercise.

Deputies stood in a diamond formation, where four deputies stood back to back thereby covering all angles. They made their way down the hall of the middle school, always aware of their surroundings and of each other.

“This sharpens their skills and they have to work together,” explained C.V. Sheriff’s Capt. David Silversparre.

He was there along with Altadena Capt. Roosevelt Blow. Silversparre explained that the two stations call upon each other for support in many situations and that this type of exercise helps deputies know each other and, more importantly, work together as a team.