Chesco Law Enforcement: 'We Are Prepared' For Active Threats

WEST CHESTER, PA — Law enforcement officials in Chester County assured the public on Tuesday that, in the wake of the Florida school shooting and other similar tragedies around the nation, they are prepared for the worst. They also offered several suggestions to the public to help deal with potential threats.

"Many people have asked whether Chester County law enforcement is prepared for such an incident," Tom Hogan, Chester County District Attorney, said in a statement. "The response is simple: we are prepared, but hope never to be called on to use that preparation."

The DA's Office, along with the Chester County Department of Emergency Services and the county's Police Chiefs Association, said that law enforcement officers in the county have trained extensively to handle active threats and mass casualty incidents. They also laid out some of the specific ways they've prepared, ranging from monitoring and prevention efforts, to responding to an actual event, to what to do in the case of a "mass casualty incident."

Officials said that all tips and potential threats are investigated.

"For every 100 tips we receive, maybe one tip actually represents a viable threat," Hogan said. "But every tip must be followed up and investigated."

Authorities were also very clear about the role of the first officer to arrive on the scene of an active shooter, which became an issue of some controversy following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"(The officer) immediately enters the building, finds the shooter, and neutralizes the threat," Hogan said. "The officers do not wait for back up and do not hesitate. Every second that goes by represents another life potentially lost."

And police are not the only ones that have a way to fight back. County law enforcement offered three recommendations for the public - and public policy - to help handle threats. They recommended that students practice the "run, hide, fight" active shooter drills at least twice a year, and that firearms owners lock up their weapons. Finally, Hogan dismissed the notion that teachers should be armed.

"Do not arm teachers," he said. "Our law enforcement and military go through extensive and ongoing training to address active shooters; most teachers lack that training. In addition, teachers may lose a gun or have their guns stolen, creating more danger. Finally, when responding to an active shooter situation, our officers are trained to neutralize the threat. If a police officer charges into a school in response to an active shooter and finds an adult wielding a gun, that person is going to be treated as a threat and neutralized, which may mean being shot."

Patch file photo