‘We don’t wait’: Seacoast police train for active school shooter threats

Uvalde, Texas; Parkland, Florida; Sandy Hook, Connecticut; Columbine, Colorado, all communities where children and educators lost their lives to school shooters, striking terror in the hearts of parents everywhere.

As unthinkable as a school shooting is, from Portsmouth to Dover, Hampton to Exeter, police in the Seacoast area have been planning and training for incidents they pray will never occur.

Following the confusion at Uvalde, Texas on May 24, when officers waited more than an hour before engaging the active shooter, police in the Seacoast say they received calls from parents concerning local response procedures.

Across the local area, law enforcement leaders say they believe an active shooter incident demands an instant response to engage and stop those intent on inflicting harm.

“The bottom line is we don’t wait; we go in immediately and stop the shooter,” said Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh. “We learned that from what happened in Columbine (in 1999). We don’t wait to set up a perimeter. If we have to break our way in, we break our way in.”

“That is the methodology,” confirmed Portsmouth Police Capt. Mike Maloney. “The definition of an active shooter is a homicide in progress. Is there anything you need to respond to quicker? The answer is no.”

The current policy, according to Hampton Police Chief David Hobbs and Seabrook Chief Brett Walker, is to move immediately and do whatever is necessary “to keep our citizens safe,” sentiments echoed by all law enforcement in the region.

In communities with private schools as well as public, they also fall under that response umbrella.

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“It’s our job to treat your kids as if they were our own by doing everything and anything possible to keep kids safe,” Maloney said. “If it means hanging it out on the line, that’s what we do.”

Police train for ‘active shooter’ incidents

Law enforcement has specific programs to train officers for active shooter scenarios, according to Exeter Chief Stephan Poulin, like Solo Officer Rapid Deployment, Tactical School Resource Officer Training and Critical Incident Training.

Officers are sent for training and learn what to do even if they are the first at the scene, Maloney said. Solo-officer response programs educate on how a single officer should enter a building alone when an active shooting is in progress, he said.

In preparation, the region’s police departments also take steps to provide responders the information they need to address life-threatening situations.

For example, in Portsmouth as in other communities, police and fire vehicles are equipped with schematics of every school building within their town’s borders. Additionally, Maloney said, cruisers have other strategic assets that assist in emergency responses, such as established plans for evacuation sites, setting up trauma areas and providing treatment in the “hot zones.”

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In Rye, Walsh received a grant from the state’s Homeland Security office to purchase and implement software for each cruiser that pulls up vital information on the town’s buildings at the tap of an icon on a computer screen. Responding officers from other agencies responding can access that information from a Rye cruiser’s computer as well, he added.

Recently, dozens of police officers from Exeter, Kensington and Hampton Falls, along with members of the Exeter Fire Department, took part in the annual day-long active shooter training exercise at Exeter High School, according to the Exeter Police Lt. Steven Bolduc.

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According to Zach McLaughlin, the new superintendent at Portsmouth’s SAU 52, similar training took place at one of the city’s elementary schools in late July. In Seabrook, except for the year of the pandemic, active shooter exercises at its elementary-middle school campus usually take place in August, Walker said.

Further, in communities across the region, residents have supported funding security measures for their school campuses, such as voters in SAU 16's six school districts of Exeter, Newfields, Stratham, East Kingston, Brentwood and Kensington, according to Associate Superintendent Esther Asbell.

Small agencies benefit from ‘close-knit’ police community

In a crisis, no community is alone in the Granite State, according to police leadership in the region. Smaller town police chiefs commented on the willingness of other agencies to come to their aid, including the New Hampshire State Police.

In New Hampshire, they said, police departments are “close-knit.” There are formal police mutual aid agreements between communities just like fire departments, they said, but officers monitor their radios constantly, showing up when needed, with or without a formal request.

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“Often,” Walsh said, “I’ve come out of responding to an incident here and found a State Police cruiser or someone from the county or a neighboring police department who came to help. We have resources available to us, often before we even ask.”

“That’s absolutely true,” Hampton Falls Police Chief Ryan Veno said. “Recently, Exeter had an active shooting training and extended an invitation for Hampton Falls officers to join in.”

South Hampton Police Lt. Robert Roy said state lines melt away in emergencies. South Hampton’s mutual aid agreements extend to neighboring Amesbury and Salisbury, Massachusetts, as well as Granite State towns, he said.

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“We all just know we’re going to be helping each other,” Hobbs said. “It’s all about relationships and we have great relationships with the other communities and agencies.”

The region also has a valuable asset in SERT, the Seacoast Emergency Response Team, a regional tactical group of dozens of officers from 13 police departments, said Walsh, this year’s SERT board president. Members train frequently on various crises, he said, and include negotiators, a psychiatrist and medical personnel, in addition to those providing SWAT-type operations.

Cooperation a key to school safety

Hampton Chief David Hobbs, a former school resource officer, said the cooperation between police and school officials is vital for school security, a comment repeated by other chiefs interviewed, as well as school superintendents.

The coordination includes methodologies and equipment that physically secure school buildings and grounds, to communications, training school personnel on defensive techniques, working with the state’s School Safety Readiness officials at Homeland Security, to school resource officers, parents and students.

The attention given to school security statewide isn’t haphazard, Hobbs said, every school must complete a school assessment every three years, conducted in conjunction with state Homeland Security school safety experts. Following those reviews, recommendations are sent out to local school officials for action, he said.

Just such a tri-annual assessment is planned for SAU 21 in the fall, according to Superintendent Meredith Nadeau. Also planned for October is “a tabletop exercise of our plans with our school teams and local emergency responders,” according to Nadeau.

SAU 21 includes North Hampton, Hampton Falls, Seabrook, South Hampton and Winnacunnet High School. Nadeau added staff will also be completing their annual ALICE training.

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A program developed for on-site school personnel brought to the region's school systems, the initials represent actions to take if confronted with a threat, according to Seabrook Police Chief Brett Walker. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate, he said.

Other SAUs also include the ALICE format, according to those interviewed.

“ALICE training is vital for all school personnel, even though it’s upsetting to contemplate,” Walker said. “It’s the reality of the times.”

The role of school resource officers

Assigned to local schools to provide a police presence, school resource officers do much more than check halls and entranceways, according to area police chiefs and superintendents. They interact with students and school personnel and allow them to “feel safe.”

“Our SROs are great people,” said SAU 90 Superintendent Lois Costa. “They make a real connection with kids and it puts everyone’s mind at ease. Students enjoy talking with the school resource officers. That goes a long way toward setting a tone.”

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Hobbs said Hampton’s SROs meet regularly with teachers and police staff. They’re able to help out in any number of ways, he said, including picking up the early warning signs of potential problems.

“Our SRO’s are part of a team,” Hobbs said. “We want our kids to feel safe, and parents to feel their kids are safe.”

Police officials throughout the region confirmed Costa’s and Hobbs’ evaluation of the multitude of ways school resource officers make a difference and play positive roles in schools and violence prevention.

Making 'connections' key part of school safety

According to North Hampton Police Chief Kathryn Mone, “maintaining and building trust is everyone’s responsibility,” during the school year and it's vital in preventing the horrors of school shootings.

“Our department and the North Hampton School are committed to preparedness for the unthinkable,” Mone said. “We make a daily commitment to prevention through communication and relationship building. We want everyone, from the youngest learners to every resident to speak up when they have a concern, or something doesn’t seem quite right.”

According to Costa, a common link found among those who have carried out school shootings is that “they had no connection,” but feel alone, disenfranchised, and often disgruntled with the school, their communities and lives.

Police departments through their SROs, as well as schools, are working to establish programs offering students opportunities to connect. Examples of that are programs offered that foster social and emotional learning in the region, such as those at SAUs 90, 16, 21 and 52.

“If a child has at least one adult he or she can make a connection with, they can have a successful educational career,” Asbell said.

This year, Hampton Academy is introducing advisory periods each day, Costa said, a time when small groups of students meet with an adult who “checks in” and helps them navigate through their days.

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Similar programs during the school day have and will exist in Exeter’s SAU, Asbell said, and both school systems have procedures in place for referrals should worries develop about individuals.

In SAU 21, Nadeau said programs like Responsive Classroom, Open Circle, and advisories support efforts to “help students be part of our school communities,” with behavioral interventions and response teams in place when concerns arise.

According to McLaughlin, at SAU 52, social and emotional programs already exist in the elementary schools, and he’s hoping to expand that to the upper levels.

“Social/emotional health, mental health, and whole child health is a focus of our School Board right now,” McLaughlin said. “We aren’t just looking at education from an academic point of view. We’re trying to produce happy whole human beings. It’s not just about being able to do the math; it’s about being a good human being.”

NH responds to need for safe schools

The 2018 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida led to the formation of the New Hampshire School Safety Preparedness Task Force, which reviewed school security measures. Exeter’s Asbell was on the team and helped write its recommendations.

All SAU officials across the state received copies of the report, Costa said, and after the recent attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, another review was undertaken and sent out. In July, for example, Hampton public and private school officials, as well as police and fire met to go over the recommendations, Costa said.

This year, as in previous years, the state made available funds to enhance local security. SAU 21, 90, 16 and 52 applied for portions of those funds, requesting hundreds of thousands of dollars between them for use with school security upgrades.

According to the Department of Safety, more than $10 million in funding is available in this round, to augment the $30-plus million previously available.

The state Safety and Education departments also released a “Back to School Safety” video last week to districts to enhance familiarity with emergency operations plans.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast NH police, schools train for active shooter threats