Is Lawrence Prepared to Effectively Respond to an Active Shooter?

Fear is Natural: Knowledge is Key.

Just the thought of an active shooter event in Lawrence can cause anyone, especially parents of school-aged children, to nearly shake with fear.

“Is the Lawrence Kansas Police Department (LKPD) prepared for an active shooter event? The short answer is yes,” says LKPD Lieutenant Mike Cobb, who is certified to train officers and community groups. “I also know that short answer isn’t enough, and the community needs to trust it’s accurate.”

That’s why Cobb sat down to explain the training and tactics LKPD uses, including a mandatory advanced refresher course happening at LKPD throughout the month of October. Cobb says, “We devote a lot of time and attention to preparing for worst-case scenarios, and an active shooter event certainly rises to that level.'” He says there are also important tactics everyone needs to know.

Sgt. Josh Guile leads an active shooter scenario during this month’s training while Lt. Cobb and LKPD officers listen.

LKPD’s Commitment to Officer Readiness

“We take the possibility of an active attack in Lawrence very seriously, and all of our officers are prepared,” says Sergeant Joshua Guile, who also teaches refresher courses to detectives, patrol officers, and command level staff.

This readiness is based on a core philosophy: immediate engagement. Officers are trained to go straight to the threat without waiting for backup. Neither trainer is shy about immediately addressing the main concern almost everyone they encounter has after watching news reports.

“I first tell them, ‘We are coming’. I need to say that because they all have that doubt at first,” says Cobb when he presents to groups in Lawrence. “We’re not stopping for locked doors, closed doors; we’re coming, and we are going right to the threat,” continues Cobb. At that point, he says, his group is ready to get past the fear and begin to learn.

Key Training Concepts for Law Enforcement:

• Aggressive Attack: Officers are trained to aggressively push toward the shooter, giving them tools to gain the confidence to win a confrontation, even one-versus-two or against a person with a high-powered weapon. Officers will push to the threat to stop the killing, to end the incident as soon as possible. The object is to take the threat away from citizens and place it on the officers quickly.
• Constant Updates: Training is a continuous process. “The updates and retraining are critical. We don’t want to train in the past. We want to keep training for the future,” says Cobb. The department constantly follows national and global incidents to learn, adapt, and stay ahead of evolving criminal tactics.

This intense training is designed to embed the correct response so that when a high-stress situation like an active attack occurs, officers can rely on their training, including advanced breathing techniques, to make sound decisions.

LKPD Lt. Mike Cobb

Empowering the Community

Empowering the community with the knowledge to increase their own safety is a vital part of the LKPD’s strategy. Lieutenant Cobb dedicates significant time to community outreach, “We love giving this presentation to the community because we believe in it,” Cobb says. ”And we know that it empowers citizens instead of scaring them.”

The department’s public training emphasizes the principles of Avoid, Deny, Defend:

• Avoid (Evacuation): The highest correlation for survivability is avoidance—getting out of the building. Evacuation is the number one priority.
• Deny (Access): If you can’t get out, deny access to the attacker rather than simply hiding. This involves barricading doors and preparing to defend yourself. Hiding in plain sight increases the risk of being harmed. Attackers are looking for people under desks, behind doors, in closets, and other obvious hiding places.
• Defend: If all other options fail, you must be ready to defend yourself so grab anything that could potentially be used as a weapon. You have a legal right to do so.

The training also encourages citizens to be ready to act and snap out of the natural “freeze” response. LKPD uses training created by The ALERRT Center at Texas State University. Experts have been learning and designing new strategies since its creation in 2002. (www.aleRRt.org) “You are not helpless and what you do matters in these situations,” says Cobb.

Officers train using scenarios to simulate an active shooter event.

Much More to Learn – Community Engagement and Trust

Lieutenant Cobb and Sergeant Guile schedule dozens of community presentations each year. These trainings are offered to community groups for free and have consistently received positive feedback, with attendees leaving feeling empowered, not paranoid.

To request a training, contact the department via email at CRASE@LKPD.org.

By consistently training its officers to an exacting standard and actively engaging with the public to share life-saving skills, LKPD is working to ensure that the short answer—“Yes, The Lawrence Kansas Police Department is prepared”—is an answer the community can trust.