HOULTON, Maine — While there have not been any cases of school shootings in Aroostook County, that does not mean that law enforcement officials are complacent on the subject.
To get a better understanding of how police can approach a shooting incident, a group of about 20 law enforcement officials from throughout Aroostook County participated in a two-day workshop at Houlton Middle-High School on Aug. 2 and 3.
“We are trying to increase department training and host more training exercises here,” Houlton Police Chief Tim DeLuca said Wednesday. “We want to be more of a focal point in Aroostook County. We specifically wanted to do some active shooter training sessions.”
Police officers from Madawaska, Caribou, Presque Isle, Limestone, Van Buren, Fort Fairfield, Houlton and the Maine State Police participated in the clinic. Funding for the clinic was paid for through a grant from the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency.
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- Derek Jones, a national trainer with the ALICE Training Institute, goes through a mock active shooter drill at Houlton Middle-High School Wednesday, with local law enforcement serving as the students. The clinic was part of a two-day workshop for County police officers. (Joseph Cyr)
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- Derek Jones, a national trainer with the ALICE Training Institute, goes through a mock active shooter drill at Houlton Middle-High School Wednesday, with local law enforcement serving as the students. The clinic was part of a two-day workshop for County police officers. (Joseph Cyr)
Those completing the two-day class were to be certified ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) Training Institute instructors, with the goal of teaching these techniques to area school officials and business owners.
The ALICE tactic — considered controversial by some — differs from traditional thinking toward school lockdowns, which was something that struck a chord with the Houlton Police Chief.
“This program was intriguing, so we wanted to take a look at it to see if we can implement some of the items here,” he added.
Some consider the ALICE Training Institute techniques for handling a school shooting scenario as controversial because the techniques involve teaching unarmed citizens how to engage, or even attack if necessary, a person brandishing a weapon.
RSU 29 Superintendent Ellen Schneider stated that the sessions were not part of, nor sanctioned by the school district.
Derek Jones, national trainer with the ALICE Training Institute, speaks to a group of Aroostook County law enforcement officials Wednesday during the first day of a two-day workshop on active shooters. (Joseph Cyr)
“This is not a school sponsored training,” she said. “The police department is simply using our facility to hold a training for law enforcement from around the County. Law enforcement often utilize school facilities for their trainings in the summer.”
Schneider said she would be open to any suggestions that the Houlton Police Department might have on ways the district could enhance its policies.
Attempts to reach the Maine Superintendent’s Association for comment were not successful.
According to the company’s website, “The threat of an active shooter attack is rare, but very real. We aim to eradicate the ‘It can’t happen to me’ mentality and change the way people everywhere respond to armed intruders. At the ALICE Training Institute, we believe that individuals should be prepared for active shooter events and empowered to make their own life-saving decisions. Once empowered to make their own life-saving decisions, individuals must be trained in proactive active shooter response options, rather than a passive, mandated, one-size-fits-all response.
“We want all Americans to have the knowledge and skills to survive when shots are fired. We can achieve this by training as many people as possible and implementing training in drill form across all organizations. We have seen the successful results of fire drills. It’s time to start anticipating man-made disasters.”
Derek Jones, a police sergeant from Georgetown, Massachusetts, is a national trainer for the ALICE Training Institute and came to Houlton for the two-day seminar.
“Basically, we are teaching unarmed citizens how to respond to an active shooter event,” Jones explained. “So if a bad guy comes into a school [or hospital or business], has a gun and starts trying to kill as many people as possible, what can a person do for themselves before police show up.”
Jones said most school protocols are for buildings to go into a “lockdown” mode, where students lock their classroom door, hide in one corner of their classroom and wait for the police to come save the day.
“Gunmen can go through locked doors, so the question should then become, ‘What are you going to do to defend yourself?’,” Jones said. “Our program teaches alternatives that can enhance lockdown procedures. If there is a gunman in a building, the first thing should be [for students] to get out.”
If escape is not an option, Jones said the ALICE Training Institute encourages people to barricade doors with as many objects as possible to make it more difficult for a person to break into the room.
“Don’t just rely on a locked door,” he said. “And look for another way to escape. Is there a window you can get out?”
Should those options fail, and a gunman enters the room the last option is to counter.
“Do something to distract the gunman,” he said. “Run around, throw something, scream and holler. Do anything you can to distract the person, whether it be throwing a stapler or mug at the person’s face. They can’t shoot [accurately] if they are dodging objects at their face.”
In cooperation with Houlton Middle-High School, Houlton Police conducted a lockdown drill last school year, and has plans to do similar drills at both Houlton Southside and Elementary schools next school year, possibly utilizing some of the new techniques taught to officers, DeLuca said.
